West Indies take the honours in absorbing day

England 233 for 5 (Thorpe 89*, Hoggard 3*) trail West Indies 395 for 9 dec by 162 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Test cricket teaches you that good things come to those who wait. And so it was, that after the frustrations of Friday's washout, Saturday proved to be the most absorbing - and fluctuating - day of the series. By the close West Indies, who started and finished strongly, had inched their necks back in front, thanks to a crucial double strike from Dwayne Bravo. But with Graham Thorpe sitting pretty on 89 not out, the match was still very much in the balance.

Thorpe has been England's crisis man for the best part of a decade, but rarely can his arrival at the crease have been so reassuring as it was midway through the afternoon, when England had limped to 40 for 3 after squandering their morning momentum in a rash of ill-directed short balls. West Indies, who took their licks but stood their ground to add 120 priceless runs to their overnight 275 for 6, declared straight after lunch on 395 for 9, and suddenly found themselves in a position to boss the game. But Andrew Strauss produced the timeliest half-century of his fledging international career, as he and Thorpe added 177 for the fourth wicket to redress the balance of the day.

Strauss, whose huge composure belies the fact that this is only his sixth Test, was once again content to play well within his limitations. The majority of his 90 runs came courtesy of judicious cuts and nudges behind square, and he was looking a dead cert for his third Test century when Bravo capitalised on a slight period of anxiety to take out his off stump via an inside-edge onto the pads. Bravo then ensured that West Indies would finish the day on top by trapping Lancashire's favourite son, Andrew Flintoff, lbw for 7. It was a cruel decision for Flintoff and his legions of baying fans, as the ball would have missed leg, but Bravo - once again the pick of West Indies' bowlers - had earned his luck.

But Thorpe and the nightwatchman Matthew Hoggard survived the rest of the day with no alarms. Thorpe's innings was another collector's item to add to the litany of masterpieces he has painted since his return from exile at The Oval last summer. He was busy and unflappable throughout, and used his peerless eye for the gap to keep West Indies' fielders on their toes all day. He saved his best shots for the pace of Fidel Edwards, whom he timed delightfully through the gully region for four, and reached his fifty with a top-edge for four off Corey Collymore. But on 58, he had an astonishing reprieve, as Ramnaresh Sarwan at point fumbled the simplest of chances.

It was a pivotal moment of the day. The unlucky bowler was the left-arm wrist-spinner Dave Mohammed, who had been extracting some unsettling turn from the rough outside the left-handers' off stumps, and had Thorpe groping for the ball as he aimed an expansive drive through the covers. The ball looped gently towards Sarwan, who inexplicably muffed the chance, and Thorpe instantly changed his mode of attack, unfurling his slog-sweep to thump Mohammed over midwicket for two emphatic fours.

To West Indies' credit, they didn't allow their heads to drop, but the horse had undoubtedly bolted. They had, however, kept that horse well tethered for much of the day, especially in a morning session of uncommon brainlessness from England's seamers, who allowed themselves to be seduced by the sprightliness of the Old Trafford pitch, and West Indies ducked, weaved and occasionally flourished their way towards an impressive first-innings total. The runs were not easy to come by, but they flowed nonetheless, as aerial shots repeatedly flashed through the gaps in the field.

West Indies' fortunes were exemplified by their young wicketkeeper, Carlton Baugh, who produced a wonderfully composed 68. Against Derbyshire last week, Baugh made 150 not out, and once again his full repertoire of strokes were on show, allied to a fine display of guts as well. He brought up his half-century with a spanking cover-drive off Steve Harmison, moments after he had uppercut Flintoff - Adam Gilchrist-style - straight over the slip cordon's heads for four. He fell on the stroke of lunch, well caught by Michael Vaughan running back at mid-off, but by that stage his job had been done.

The most productive region for West Indies was the third-man boundary, which was indicative of England's rather overbearing mode of attack. One vicious delivery from Flintoff reared into Baugh's gloves, which prompted the arrival of the physio - not for the first time in the morning - while another attempted hook looped out of the reach of the despairing Geraint Jones. Plucky though he was, however, Baugh's main ally, Pedro Collins, was less adept at escaping the firing line, and after a brave innings of 19, he was forced to retire for eight stitches after taking a brutish Flintoff delivery flush on the chin.

Collymore was quickly introduced to the tempo of the session, as Flintoff thumped him in the ribs and the physio trotted out to administer yet more treatment, but he too hung around gamely amid the barrage, before Hoggard proved the folly of England's approach, as he rattled Collymore's off stump with a rare length delivery (383 for 8). The early morning initiative had been provided by Mohammed, who thumped three fours in an over from Harmison - a slashing cut and two sweetly driven half-volleys - and a six over midwicket off Ashley Giles.

With Collins unable to resume his innings after lunch, Lara cheekily declared just as England's fielders had resumed their positions. The ploy appeared to have an unsettling effect on Marcus Trescothick, who survived just one delivery before fencing Fidel Edwards low to Ramnaresh Sarwan at second slip. Collymore then conjured up one of the deliveries of the summer, as Robert Key was utterly squared up by a violently seaming delivery that clipped the outside of his off stump.

At 13 for 2, Vaughan and Strauss had no option but to drop anchor, and their 27-run stand progressed at barely two runs an over - the sort of stately tempo that batsmen these days tend to believe is beneath their dignity. But when Vaughan, who had been restricted to a pair of classily dispatched fours, played all round a yorker-length delivery from Bravo, Thorpe's appearance at the crease could not come quickly enough.