Fidel Edwards stunned England as the West Indies took charge of the fourth and final Test at the Riverside Stadium on Sunday with three late wickets.
At stumps on the third day England were 121-4 in reply to the tourists’ first innings 287, a deficit of 166, after danger man Kevin Pietersen was out for nought to the last ball of the day, caught behind off Edwards after under-edging a pull.
The round-arm quick finished with 3-40 in seven overs, England losing three wickets in 17 balls in all.
But Andrew Strauss was still at the crease with a series-best 72 not out.
That West Indies scored as many as they did was down to a second successive century from Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who made 136 not out.
England captain Michael Vaughan fell shortly before stumps for 19, edging Edwards to Dwayne Bravo at second slip after a stand of 73 with Strauss.
Nightwatchman Matthew Hoggard (nought) then recklessly edged an ambitious drive off Corey Collymore to first slip Chris Gayle.
Earlier West Indies, who had been 55-4, recovered with a stand of 86 between Chanderpaul and Bravo (44) before the left-hander and Collymore frustrated England even further with a last-wicket partnership of 58.
Collymore was the last man out, falling lbw to left-arm spinner Monty Panesar for 13.
Left-arm quick Ryan Sidebottom took 5-88, his first five-wicket haul in Test cricket.
Chanderpaul has now gone 13 hours and 24 minutes without being dismissed.
His 16th Test hundred was his second in as many innings after his 116 not out in England’s 60-run third Test victory at Old Trafford, where he made 50 in the first innings.
He also hit 74 in the drawn first Test at Lord’s.
By contrast left-handed opener Strauss had scored just one century in his previous 17 Test innings.
However, Strauss started confidently with his first five scoring shots all boundaries, including an on-drive off Edwards.
But Edwards reduced England to 37-1 when Alastair Cook saw a leg-glance well caught by diving wicket-keeper Denesh Ramdin.
Strauss completed an 80-ball fifty with 10 fours after the West Indies has drifted too many balls on to his pads.
Chanderpaul, dropped on nine Saturday by Ian Bell at third slip, was given some nervous moments in the 90s by his teammates.
He was six short of a hundred when Daren Powell irresponsibly tried to hook fast bowler Stephen Harmison and skied a catch to wicket-keeper Matthew Prior.
A rare loose shot from Chanderpaul, an edged drive over the slips for four against Harmison, took him to 98.
But next ball, trying to pull Harmison, Chanderpaul was hit on his unprotected left arm.
The 32-year-old, who missed the West Indies record innings defeat at Headingley with a knee injury, was still on 98 when Edwards was bowled by Sidebottom, leaving West Indies 229-9.
But having survived some testing deliveries from Harmison, Guyana’s Chanderpaul cut a loose one for four to complete a 176-ball hundred in nearly five hours with 14 boundaries.
West Indies resumed on Sunday on 132-4 with Chanderpaul unbeaten on 44 and Bravo 43 not out after rain had washed out Friday’s first day before bad weather meant only three hours’ play were possible on Saturday.
Bravo, not for the first time, gave his innings away when well set, adding just one to his overnight score before he inside-edged an attempted pull off Hoggard into his off-stump.
England already have an unassailable 2-0 lead in the four-match series. — AFP
