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Edgebaston
15 - 19 Jun 2000
West Indies won the toss and sent the English in to face a quartet of fast bowlers lead by veteran's Ambrose and Walsh. Adam's faith in his bowlers paid dividend as England staggered to be 4 for 51 and the West Indies in command at the end of the crucial first session of the series. By tea, England had moved to 7 for 129 but was eventually dismissed with slightly under an hour before stumps for 179 after the tail wagged somewhat. Knight top scored for England with 26 in an innings where no batsman really got going. The reason for this was Walsh, who with 5 for 36 off 21 overs moved past the 450 test dismissal mark. West Indies batted out the remaining time initially losing 2 for 24 before steadying to be 2 for 50 at stumps.
On the second morning England managed to claim two more wickets, but the West Indies moved to 4 for 149 at lunch and a large first innings lead loomed. West Indies batted slowly through the afternoon session to be 231 for the loss of one more wicket at tea. After tea, England claimed two more batsmen, but the West Indies ended the day in a match winning lead of 157 to be 7 for 336 and their Captain, Adams (66*) still at the crease.
England finally dismissed West Indies just before lunch on the third day with Adams top scoring with 98 out of a total of 397. Gough was the most successful bowler for England with 5 for 109 off 36.5 overs. However, England had a first innings deficit of 218 and in the afternoon session they lost 5 wickets for 71 runs and any chance they may have had. The final five wickets fell in the evening session when the score was 125 to lose by an innings and 93 runs. England's top scorer was Knight with 34 runs while man of the match Walsh (3 for 22 off 19) and King (3 for 28 off 9) shared the bowling honours.
Second Test
Lord's
29 Jun - 1 Jul 2000
Acting captain Stewart won the toss and sent the West Indies in to bat to face England's five man pace battery. The West Indies batsmen reached 51 without loss by lunch after England had earlier missed a difficult slip catch. England found success straight after lunch to claim a wicket and another shortly before tea to have the West Indies 2 for 170 at the break. The evening session belonged to England as they claimed another seven wickets to have the West Indies 9 for 267 at stumps. The final wicket fell on the first ball of the second morning without further addition to the score. Top scorer was Campbell with 82 while Gough (4 for 72 off 21 overs) and Cork (4 for 39 off 24 overs) shared the bowling honours. In doing so, Cork secured his 100th test wicket.
England then slumped to be 3 for 9 before staggering 5 for 58 at lunch. By the time an early tea was taken for bad light, they had brought up the 100 for the loss of three more wickets. They were all out after tea for 134 with a first innings deficit of 133 runs. Stewart top scored with 28 while it was Walsh (4 for 43 off 17 overs) and Ambrose's (4 for 30 off 14.2 overs) turn to share the bowling honours.
This left the task for the West Indies of setting a final innings target with over three days of play remaining. Unfortunately, someone must have forgotten to mention this as they were dismissed before stumps for 54 runs. Top scorer, if such a concept is relevant for such a total was keeper Jacobs, the only man to reach double figures, with 12. Caddick was the destroyer with 5 for 16 off 13 overs. This left a final innings victory target for England of 187 runs in three days. At stumps, they were 0 for 0.
Play on the third morning was delayed due to rain about an hour. Eventually, England went to an early lunch due to more rain at 1 for 13. After lunch they moved to 95 before losing their second wicket - only 92 runs from victory. They safely made it to tea without further loss to be 2 for 109. Fifty-one runs later England had lost six more wickets and still required 27 runs with Cork and Gough at the crease. Man of the match Cork (33) made the majority of these final runs and England secured a victory by two wickets. Walsh was the most successful bowler with 6 for 74 off 23.5 overs while Atherton top scored with 45 runs.
Third Test
Old Trafford
3 - 7 Aug 2000
West Indies won the toss and elected to bat after rain delayed play for almost an hour. A poor start saw both openers back in the dressing room at 2 for 12. Frequent rain interruptions saw only 42 overs before play was called off with the score 4 for 87.
The second morning saw a slow start by the batsmen. When England finally broke through, the wickets tumbled in a rush - West Indies lost their last six for 39 runs to be all out 157 just after lunch. Adams top scored with 22 while Caddick took 3 for 45 off 24 overs. England then found themselves at 3 for 17 before Stewart (105) in his 100th test and debutant Trescothick (66) recovered the innings. England reached 3 for 196 with a 39 run lead at stumps and the makings of a match winning first innings lead.
England lost both of the overnight not out batsmen with only two more runs on the board and then were quickly 6 for 210. However, Vaughan and the tail batted well and they were eventually dismissed for 303 and a lead of 146. Ambrose (4 for 50 off 27 overs) and Walsh (4 for 50 off 27 overs) shared the bowling honours. The West Indies started to erase the deficit and moved to 96 before Campbell (55) was dismissed. At stumps, the West Indies were back in the game at 1 for 131 having whittled away the deficit to 15 runs.
The assignment for England was to limit the final innings target on the fourth morning. England struck early and, with one run needed to erase the deficit, Brian Lara strode to the crease with the West Indies 2 for 145. Lara (112) was the star of the second innings with Adams (53) solid at the other end as the total moved to 6 for 381 and a lead of 235 runs at stumps.
West Indies batted for an hour and took the score to 7 for 438 before declaring and setting a target of 293 runs from 71 overs. White with 2 for 67 off 27 overs was the most successful bowler. England made a solid start to reach 43 without loss by lunch. However, intermittent rain in the afternoon session destroyed any chance of any other result than a draw. When play ended due to bad light England had reached 1 for 80 and the draw was declared and Stewart man of the match.
Fourth Test
Headingly
17 - 18 Aug 2000
West Indies won the toss and elected to bat. They would have been regretting the decision a short time later when they found themselves at 5 for 60 before moving to 83 without further loss at lunch. Sarwan (59*) held the innings together as they limped to a total of 172 in the afternoon session before being dismissed shortly before tea. White was the destroyer for England with 5 for 57 off 14.4 overs after earlier dismissing Hinds, Lara and Adams in 3 successive overs. England started their first innings after tea and immediately lost both openers to be 2 for 10 and in doing so providing Ambrose with wicket numbers 399 and 400 in his second last test. England recovered before losing three quick wickets just before stumps to be 5 for 105.
On the second morning England lost only their night watchman before passing the West Indian total. They went to lunch at 6 for 200 and a first innings lead of 28 runs. After lunch, the West Indies wrapped up the innings for a total of 272 giving their batsmen a 100 run handicap before they could begin to set a final innings target. Vaughan top scored for England with 76 while Ambrose (4 for 42 off 18 overs) and Walsh (4 for 51 off 24.5 overs) shared the bowling honours.
Gough struck four times for England before tea to see the West Indies crash to 4 for 23 runs at the break. After the break West Indies had struggled to 5 for 52 before it was Caddick's turn to strike four times - this time in the same over - dismissing Jacobs, McLean, Ambrose and King to leave the West Indies reeling at 9 for 53. The end came not long after with the innings total of 61 - still needing 39 runs to force England to bat again. Adams was the top scorer with 19 while Caddick finished the innings with 5 for 14 off 11 overs. Vaughan was named man of the match
Fifth Test
The Oval
31 Aug - 4 Sept 2000
The West Indies won the toss and, needing a win to save the series in Ambrose's final test, sent England in to bat against their pace attack. England survived the crucial first session to be 66 without loss at lunch. They continued to bat through the afternoon session, losing one wicket just before tea when the score was 159. The West Indies struck back in the evening session taking four more wickets before stumps when the score was 5 for 221.
Rain affected play during the morning session on the second day. England slowly moved to 255 for the loss of 8 wickets at the lunch break. In the afternoon session England batted around the rain interruptions before being dismissed at tea for 281. Top scorer for England was Atherton with 83 while Walsh (3 for 68 off 34.4 overs) and McLean (3 for 80 off 29 overs) shared the bowling honours. West Indies managed to score 13 runs without loss when rain washed out the rest of the day - increasing the pressure on the West Indies batsmen hoping to win this test to draw the series.
The West Indies moved the score to 32 on the third morning without loss before a catestrophic collapse saw five wickets fall for seven runs leaving them at 5 for 39. They struggled through the rest of the morning session and were dismissed in the afternoon session for 125 runs - leaving a first innings deficit of 156 runs. McLean top scored with 29 while Jacobs was not out on 26. For England, White took 5 for 32 off 11.5 overs. England batted through an evening session interupted by rain and bad light to be 2 for 56 and an overall lead of 212 runs.
On the fourth morning, England's batting reflected the fact that they only needed to avoid losing the test to win the series. Scoring at barely two runs an over, they went about batting the West Indies out of the game. The West Indies made steady progress in removing wickets, however, the victory target climbed to 374 when England were eventually dismissed for 217 with an hour of play remaining. Top scorer was Atherton with 108, his first century at The Oval and his 15th overall. For the West Indies, Walsh managed 4 for 73 from 38 overs. Ambrose, bowling for the last time in a test, could only manage 1 for 36 off 22 overs. This left the West Indian batsmen the less than appealing target of 374 in around 104 overs or 3.6 runs per over to draw the series. The openers saw out the rest of the day to be 32 without loss at stumps.
The West Indians lasted less than five overs on the final morning before both openers had been dismissed with the score on 50. Shortly, they were 3 for 58 before Adams and Lara took them to lunch at 3 for 89. England removed these key batsmen and three others by the tea interval to see the West Indies at 8 for 205. Shortly after tea, Ambrose and Walsh were the last men out when the score was 215 - 158 runs short of the victory target. Lara top scored with 47 and Caddick was the most successful bowler with 4 for 54 off 21 overs. Atherton was named man of the match.
