Windies want Edwards to keep firing

West Indies hope Fidel Edwards can carry on from where he left off at Old Trafford as they look to restore some pride in the final Test against England. Although 2-0 down in the four-match contest, West Indies will be aiming to build on their improved showing in a 60-run third Test defeat when the series finale starts at Riverside on Friday.

Old Trafford saw the return to Test cricket of Edwards, whose extra pace gave West Indies a physical threat they'd otherwise lacked so far this series. Often erratic, Edwards has an indifferent record of 67 wickets in 26 Tests at an expensive average of nearly 44 apiece.

But he bowled better in Manchester than match figures of 4 for 148 in 32.1 overs would suggest. "The timing was right for Fidel in that Test match," David Moore, the West Indies coach said. "He came in and bowled on a wicket that was hard and had a lot of bounce. He'd been short of top-quality cricket, so he needed some time to find his feet."

However, Moore stressed Edwards's pace was part of an overall bowling strategy. "If Fidel is making them jump around a bit, we need someone down the other end to be putting pressure on as well," he said. "Corey Collymore is very much an unsung player for us. He's our top wicket-taker, he just keeps chipping away with a very good economy rate."

West Indies' batting was bolstered last time by a defiant second innings 116 not out from Shivnarine Chanderpaul - their first century of the series - who'd missed the record innings and 283 run defeat in the second Test at Headingley with a knee injury. Moore said other players needed to follow Chanderpaul's lead if West Indies were to achieve what be only a third win in 39 Tests.

"We've got players who are getting good starts and not going on, from getting 40 or 50 to 80 or 100," he said. The stand-in skipper Daren Ganga would relish a fifty after being lbw for five and nought to Steve Harmison at Old Trafford.

"Daren's an excellent tactician and excellent captain," said Moore. "Unfortunately we haven't seen the best of his batting yet, but over the last six to eight months he's been averaging 40-plus, so I'm hoping his batting will come good for us."