England break jinx

PORT OF SPAIN, February 18: The jinx is over, a smiling Michael Atherton said after England ended years of disappointment in the Caribbean w...

PORT OF SPAIN, February 18: The jinx is over, a smiling Michael Atherton said after England ended years of disappointment in the Caribbean with a three-wicket cricket Test win over the West Indies yesterday.

The victory, achieved 11 minutes after lunch after a tense, rain-shortened morning session at Queen8217;s Park Oval, evened the series 1-1 with three matches to play.

quot;A few of the lads have been here on numerous occasions and lostheartbreaking games,quot; said Atherton, who is on his second tour as captain.To finally break the jinx is certainly a good feeling for the lads andmyself.quot;

Atherton was particularly happy to notch England8217;s first win at Queen8217;s Park since 1974.

quot;It8217;s certainly a watershed at this particular ground,quot; said the 29-year-old Lancastrian. quot;The last four Test matches we8217;ve played here we should have, or could have, won all four 1990, 1994 and two here.quot; Just over a week ago, they lost another dramatic, see-saw contest. Carl Hooper8217;s unbeaten 94 secured a three-wicket win for the WestIndies in the second Test.

quot;I8217;ve been involved in three of those matches, Stewie Alec Stewart has been involved in all four as has Nasser Hussain. So this win is a sweet moment,quot; Atherton said. quot;That loss in the second Test made us more determined to nail the victory this time.quot;

Starting yesterday8217;s final day on 187 for four, still 38 away from their target of 225, England lost three wickets for twelve runs to Curtly Ambrose as they slipped to 213 for seven.

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But Mark Butcher and Dean Headley delighted a small crowd, dominated by hundreds of English fans, by nudging their side home.

West Indies captain Brian Lara applauded the performance of Ambrose and fellow pace legend Courtney Walsh, who bowled all 19 overs on the final day.

quot;Special praises for Curtly and Courtney, who took the ball up since yesterday Monday and haven8217;t put it down yet,quot; Lara said.

He was less happy with the batting, which yielded totals of 159 and 210 in the match. quot;The batsmen have to understand that the bowlers aredoing a tremendous job at the momentquot; Lara said. quot;Sometimes they are not going to come through for us. We8217;ve got to come through as batters and make sure we put the match in a winning position.quot;

SCOREBOARD

WEST INDIES 1st Innings: 159

ENGLAND Ist Innings: 145

WEST INDIES 2nd Innings: 210

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ENGLAND 2nd Innings: M Atherton c D Williams b Walsh 49, A Stewart c D Williams b Walsh 83, J Crawley run out 5, N Hussain lbw b Hooper 5, G Thorpe c D Williams b Ambrose 19, M Butcher not out 24, R Russell c Hooper b Ambrose 4, A Caddick c D Williams b Ambrose 0, D Headley not out 7, Extras b 2, lb 15, nb 12: 29. Total for 7 wickets, 108 overs: 225

Fall of wickets: 1-129, 2-145, 3-152, 4-168, 5-201, 6-213, 7-213.

Bowling: Walsh 38-11-69-2, Ambrose 33-6-62-3, Benjamin 11-3-24-0, McLean 4-0-17-0, Adams 6-3-5-0, Hooper 16-3-31-1.