Live Test Match Blog: West Indies v England, 3rd Test, day four

20.37 WI 114-3
About 8 overs left tonight. England will want one more and then they can relax a little. Sarwan will be the key wicket, as he was yesterday. Andrew Flintoff has bowled only three overs so he has a definite hip problem. England reckon they can get by without him at the moment, though and they are right.

20.24 WI 111-3
I am not sure of the legitimacy of fatty fatty scorer lady friend and her thin pal. Throughout the Test they have been asking DQs (dippy questions). Just now the larger one went "psst! psst! Who bowlin'?" You're a scorer surely you should know, especially as it was the chap who took 5 wickets in the first innings? When Strauss came out to bat last night the question was inevitable "who dat?" It's Strauss. In five minutes, when Swann is at his mark, I guarantee I will be asked again "who bowlin'?"

20.14 WI 100-3
It's the best time of the day here at Antigua Recreation Ground. The shadows are beginning to lengthen across the ground and underneath the stands, the narrow alleys and dead ends darken as the sun begins to dip. Clogged with empty beer cups and discarded bottles, the smoke from the fragrant jerk chicken barbecues that you have been able to smell all day is for the first time visible through the shards of sunlight. There is something oddly tranquil about it all, the calm after the storm if you will.

20.01 WICKET WI 98-3
Ryan Hinds. Injudicous stroke my friend, injudicious. He just drove tamely into the hands of Shah at midwicket off a Broad full ball. The Windies press man in front shouted something I couldn't quite make out with his hands on his head. He held the pose for about a minute. England well in charge. Indeed, with three wickets from 29 overs they have their three four overs ahead of schedule.

19.44 WI 82-2
Gayle did not like that decision. He stayed crouched in the sweep position for a good couple of seconds, looking where he was hit. It would have knocked over middle, however so I don't see why we needed the histrionics. Nor from umpire Rudi, either. Getting slightly sick of his 'look at me' slow death finger. Just get on with it. No-one's come to see you. Pathetic.

19.40 WICKET WI 81-2
Chris Gayle leg before to Swann, trying to repeat the shot which brought him four earlier in the over.

19.38 WI 81-1
Andrew Flintoff has just bolwed his first over of the innings.Sarwan hit him for two consecutive fours, Flintoff responded by hitting him in the box. Swann continues,and promptly gets swept for four by Gayle.

19.19 WICKET WI 58-1
Steve Harmison strikes. Devon Smith trapped in front and that good start by the Windies that we were talking about is over.Out they go to [36] after getting as short as [24]. England are in to [1.49] and the draw out to [3.05]. Those two will flip flop like nobody's business.

19.09 WI 47-0
The scorer and her much thinner friend have just collapsed in hysterics with Alastair Cook being stuck on the bottom by a Gayle drive. Genuine hilarity.

19.00 WI 32-0
Back in the wind tunnel. I notice Andrew Flintoff has not bowled yet. That has to begin to worry England backers. England have drifted to [1.76] and the draw is now [2.42]. If that gets close to even money tonight we might have to lay. West Indies are [38.00] and they are coming in slowly but surely.We did speak about this earlier. Alas as soon as I finished typing that previous thread, they jumped out to [45.00] so don't fret, they are defo on the move.

18.40 WI 32-0
Jak has been in touch. He says: "You're making out as though you`re in a war zone, why don`t you cuddle up with your scorer fiend, you will be insulated from the elements and she will be a friend for life... and don`t forget to ask her to get some cake for tea...we can`t have you be blown back straight to blighty yet.
After all the series will be level...and who else will volunteer to go to windies from betfair, to do your arduous job...eh?" I think Jak, if I cuddled up with my scoerer friend it would remind me of the playground ditty 'fatty and skinny were in the bed, fatty rolled over and skinny was dead'. That's tea, folks.

18.31 WI 31-0
As I said earlier, Alan Smith, the former Palace manager, is staying in the same hotel. Interesting chap, who has loads of amusing anecdotes. None more so than the reason why Palace played in yellow and black in the 1990 FA Cup final replay, an obscure choice which baffled both fans and players. "Ron came to see me," said Smith. "He told me 'my wife wears yellow and black suspenders and it would give me a massive buzz if the team walked out at Wembley in the same colours'. I couldn't believe it".

18.17 WI 20-0
We're going to need a flurry of runs 25 minutes before tea if I am going to win the competition for guessing the correct score at the break. No biggy, though. The prize is an autographed bat. Devon Smith hit a couple of nice cover drives off Stuart Broad, which led to one local shouting 'nice and spicy, that's how I like it mon'. I had to grab 10 minutes in the eun just then because of the cold. I've now returned to the hut to an even stronger wind. Throughly unpleasant.

18.02 WI 6-0
There are a possible 133 overs left in the match. That means England need to average a wicket every 13 overs. I'm sure you could have worked that out for yourself but let's make it Janet and John for everyone. I shall take great delight in informing you all whether England are on course or behind the rate with regard to that stat.

17.54 WI 4-0
It is actually unpleasant here now. I'm freezing. I'm getting knocked this way and that by this wind. I said to my rather large lady scorer friend that it was chilly. She agreed. But she can''t be as cold as me. She's got way more insulation. The wind is blowing down the ground from the Pavilion End. Stuart Broad, who has the new ball, is running into it. That explains party why Andrew Flintoff has not taken the cherry. If his hip is causing him jip, he doesn't want to be battling a gale.

17.46 WI 0-0
Let'shave a look at the prices.England are [1.48] with the draw [3.5] and West Indies [35.00].I fancy Chris Gayle and Devon Smith will do okay first up here. Have a nibble on West Indies here because if they put on 50 odd there will be a huge overreaction and thewir price will come in sharply out of proportion to their chances of winning. I've seen it happen so many times in such situations. Do bear in mind that it requires decent batting, however.

17.37 Eng 221-8d
6-1-6 from a combination of shots from Prior and then Harmison takes England to a lead of 503 and the declaration. Good work.They made a bit of a mess of it towards the end but they should have ample time to bowl out West Indies. We are an hour and five minutes away from tea. Every day here there is a competition to guess the score at tea. I went for WI 50-0. I'm in with a shout aren't I?

17.31 WICKET Eng 206-7
Not entirely sure what England'sgame is here. Flintoff out to a tame stroke, clipping to midwicket. They'll be bowled out at this rate, never mind declaring.

17.28 Eng 202-7
A little bit of a hip niggle for Flintoff. He doesn't seem to be moving too well, but then again he is quite a large chap. If it is an impediment to him bowling, they will just stick a needle in him and pump him full of painkillers so it is a bit soon to be reckoning that England are a bowler down.

17.24 WICKET Eng 201-7This is all a bit farcical. Broad run out following a mix up with Prior. Panic over re Flintoff. Here he comes. I am now almost certain they will declare with a lead of 500. That is 18 runs away.

17.17 WICKET Eng 195-6
A mass of black this blog at the mo. Collingwood the next man out. He aimed a mighty heave off Hinda and missed it. He did score an entertaining 34 off 31 balls, however. Still no Flintoff at the crease. Mmmm. Injury? I'll do some digging. The lead is 476.

17.13 WICKET 189-5
Kevin Pietersen's switch hit has cost him his wicket. He got a thin edge to keeper Ramdin and had to go. Matt Prior has been sent out ahead of Andrew Flintoff. Presumably that is a move for quick runs but Flintoff is more than capable of putting bat to ball.

17.08 Eng 180-4
I wonder if this wind is going to blow in some rain. So blustery that the screen bit of the laptop is moving back and forth. England still adding to this lead. It'll be 450 or 500 that they will set in my opinion. They may even be concerned that the pitch seems to have behaved much better in this innings. Nothing has really kept low and leapt from a length. Paul Collingwood is batting nicely and he has just whacked a four off Ryan Hinds. England's run rate over the last 10 is above 5.

16.52 Eng 153-4
It's a little bit windy here in the Windies. I'm beginning to wish I had brought a jumper with me today. I have been slightly sun deprived over the last few days actually. We don't get any sun in our little hut and by the time I get back to the hotel in the evning it is dark. Interestingly, one of the guests staying there is Alan Smith, he of former Crystal Palace manager fame. He now works in sports management, looking after England players Ian Bell, Paul Collingwood and Matt Prior. If anyone wants me to pose a few questions to the man, email me at hawkeyeview@hotmail.co.uk

16.44 WICKET Eng 145-4
Good. Cook is out almost immediately after lunch. England lead by a whopping 426. West Indies will have to chase down the highest Test score. But that is not really the issue. It is whether England leave themselves enough time to bowl them out.

16.04 Eng 135-3 LUNCH
There is a 30% chance of rain today and a 50% chance tomorrow. Something to mull over for England as they eat their lunch. They lead by 416 now, remember that 418 is the highest fourth innings chase in history and it came on this ground. West Indies have not bothered to slow things down. Their overs per hour rate of 14.5 was pretty good considering the match situation

15.55 Eng 133-3
50 for Cook. One of the most boring I've seen. He really is unplesanat to watch, all jerky, crabby movements. In such a situation when the pressure is off, I refuse to recognise it as an innings of meaning.

15.45 Eng 117-3
In answer to Portuguese Pirate, it was a slightly negative move by England to send in the nightwatchman although the move was compounded by the way Anderson batted this morning. It became a bigger issue than it should have been because he crawled along with a strike rate of 37, wasting 53 balls. What should have happened was Anderson coming out and just trying to flay everything. When he didn't, England wre guilty of negativity, as one chap shouted from the stands 'come on England, we're not playing fo a draw!

15.37 Eng 106-3
Portuguese Pirate asks: "Wasn't it a bit negative for England to bring in a nightwatchman in the first place? They were in such a commanding position that there was no need for it and surely you're going to score quicker with your best batsmen at the crease early doors, not a number 9 or 10. England should have assessed the situation and decided against it rather than just sticking to convention and bringing in a nightwatchman just because that's what you generally do when you lose a wicket just before the close of play." We do love a good nightwatchman debate on this blog.

15.28 WICKET ENG 97-3
Owais Shah's middle stump is out of the ground. Not that it bothers England a great deal.T hat one kept a little low as he attempted a pull. We should see added impetus now with Kevin Pietersen making his way to the crease in typically bullish fashion. He's having a chat with Cook. Probably telling him to stop being so boring.

15.26 Eng 97-2
England willalso be thinking of run rates. They will not be interested in dangling a carrot to the Windies, much preferring to make sure that they have been batted out of the game. Anything above three-and-a-half an over would be too big an ask one would have thought. By the way, the draw price willcontinue to shorten so long as England bat. Worth a lay and then a back once it explodes on declaration.

15.16 Eng 83-2
Some positive intent at last. Owais Shah is doing the business. A hefty six over midwicket off Taylor. England's run rate in the last 10 has now crept above 4. They need to keep that up.

15.03 WICKET Eng 72-2
The demise of James Anderson is a blessing. Despite the fact that 110 overs should be enough, England do not want to be slow coaches here. They really should pushing on to give themselves as much time as possible. Remember, that forecast for tomorrow is not too good and it is risky to rely on the skies. If they were to score at four an over for the next 20 they could set the Windies 433. Negative stuff.

14.55 Eng 65-1 My high-brow maths is complete.I say high-brow, it'sprobably very basic for someone with a GCSE in the subject. Anyhow, I've worked out that England will need a minimum of 110 overs to bowl West Inides out. That figure is based on the average number of overs it takes to claim a wicket in the fourth innings on this ground. Remember we have 90 overs in a day so ENgland could afford to bat for ages if they so wish. They fly in the ointment is the rain which is forecast for today and tomorrow.

14.32 Eng 47-1
Subdued stuff here. Everyone is just playing the waiting game. West Indies appear to have given up the ghost. Chris Gayle has only two slipsin place for nightwatchman James Anderson. he is proving hard to remove having batted for 34 balls.In fact, Anderson has just been dropped by Gale at first slip from Edwards. It is the second time Anderson has been missed.

14.22 Eng 44-1
I shall be attempting some complex mathematics in a minute. I'm going try to work out how many overs on average a team needs here to bowl a side out in the fouth innings. I wonder if Andrew Strauss works out such things?

14.10 Eng 31-1
So how long will England bat on today? Well, bearing in mind that there is always a safety first approach from captains, I think they would set West Indies 450, taking England beyond lunch. Here are a list of the highest fourth innings totals to win a game. Pay particular interest to the one which is top.
418-7 West Indies v Australia Antigua Recreation Ground, St John's 2002/03
414-4 South Africa v Australia Western Australia Cricket Association Ground, Perth 2008/09
406-4 India v West Indies Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain 1975/76
404-3 Australia v England Headingley, Leeds 1948
387-4 India v England MA Chidambaram Stadium, Chepauk, Chennai 2008/09

14.00 Eng 31-1
Good morning all and welcome to a sparsely-populated Antigua Recreation Ground. The English hordes who have packed the stands for the previous three days have had to return home, or to Barbados, venue for the next Test, as their itineraries demand. A shame because they are going to miss an England win. That will probably come tomorrow as England look to build their lead of 312 this morning.