With the second test being ignominiously abandoned, a new test, now named the Third Test was rearranged at the Antigua Recreation Ground where England had been training. It is a compact ground hemmed in by the nearby cathedral and the island's prison, with a pitch that had seen Brian Lara's record-breaking test scores. It promised a lot of runs. The game started on a Sunday, but with our flight due out on Wednesday, we will only see the first three days and be back in England to see the fifth day on Sky TV.

First day, Third Test, England expects	Taylor to Strauss 1st ball 3rd Test
Cook pushes through the leg side	The spectators watch intently
Shah in action	Strauss happy with his ton
200 up	David Cleary, Phil, Barry (part hidden) and Avril watch intently. It was a good day.
David relaxing before the second day's play	Strauss out 169
Viv Richards and Andy Roberts walk around the field (front right)	566 for 9 declared on the second day with Collingwood last out for 113
Fruit and drink on sale behind the stand	England apply pressure
WIndies 285 all out on the third day	Instead of enforcing the follow on (because Flintoff is injured and Harmison is ill!) England bat again
The gang at the table cannot believe the stupidity of not enforcing the follow on.	Chris argues his case forcefully with Michael
Wilf, Chris and Phil cannot believe it	David, Michael and Tessa cogitate intensely
David, Wilf, and the others are non-plussed. It is only the third day and we have to leave tomorrow to fly back home.	I see the end of the test back home on Sky TV. England are on top throughout but the match ends in a draw with West Indies last wicket pair unbroken...
The trip seems on the face of it a failure: England lost the first test by the third lowest England score in history, the second test was abandoned after only ten balls, and the re-organised third test did not finish until after we had flown back home. But wait a minute. We did see history made with the third lowest score in over a century of cricket and it was good to see the happiness of the West Indian crowd celebrating joyfully and sharing their joy with the English supporters. Had we been in Australia, the Aussies would have been insufferable in similar circumstances.   Then we saw the shortest test match in history: a match in which England scored all the runs and West Indies took no wickets. Then we saw a third test even though we had only booked for two. OK the last two were incomplete, but the Antiguan government kindly offered to forgo the US$20 fee on leaving from the airport for anyone with a ticket stub for the abandoned test. As we stood in line to claim our free exit we found that the offer was only valid for those leaving on Thursday or Friday. Anyone leaving on Friday could have seen the whole test. We who left on Wednesday missed two days and the special offer. Two months later we were still waiting for the rebate for the two days we didn’t see. Everyone should go and see test cricket in the West Indies. At least once.... <— Antigua Day Out Massachusetts April 2009 —> PERSONAL HOME PAGE | Family | Life | Photos | Music | Whisky | Links | ACADEMIC HOME PAGE