CRICKET FIFTH TEST – WEST INDIES v ENGLAND: ANDREW STRAUSS' England turned to desperate measures in their attempt to win the final Test and square the series against West Indies yesterday.

Having finally dismissed West Indies deep into the final session of the penultimate day of a Test campaign they appear destined to lose, the tourists closed on 80 for three at Queen’s Park Oval after trying to force the pace against the clock.

Hamstrung by half-a-dozen missed chances in the field, and some stiff umpiring decisions against them, Strauss’ team spent five hours toiling before the hosts were bowled out for 544. That meant England gained just a two-run advantage on first innings and were left to manufacture a position from which they might have a sniff of victory.

Their hopes became slimmer by the over, however, as overnight pair Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Brendan Nash both hit hundreds after being given lives. Chanderpaul, who finished unbeaten on 147, was also the beneficiary of a controversial decision by Australian umpire Daryl Harper to overturn his original judgment of a caught behind appeal off Graeme Swann, eight runs short of three figures.

Strauss also survived before the close when West Indies were convinced he had nicked behind off Lionel Baker in the fourth over and were left enraged when he remained. He did not do so for long, however, as he chipped back to opposite number Chris Gayle, on to bowl as early as the fifth over despite a grade one tear to his right hamstring.

Owais Shah then perished in the next over, caught behind flashing at a wide delivery from Baker, as England wobbled. The stage was set for Kevin Pietersen’s improvisations and he raced to an unbeaten 34 with typical wanders outside off-stump to flick through the leg-side.

Alastair Cook lost a challenge against a caught behind off Ryan Hinds 15 minutes before the close but West Indies used up their final review later in the same over as Paul Collingwood survived a leg before shout.

West Indies’ fifth-wicket duo Nash and Chanderpaul ensured the tourists suffered a fruitless first session on the fourth day to severely reduce their victory hopes. Three successes in each of the final two sessions, including that of Nash for 109, provided England with one-and-a-half hours to bat this evening. But for general shoddiness, however, they would have earned a longer period.

To add to the frustration, they thought they had Chanderpaul out to an edge behind. So did Harper, only for Chanderpaul to challenge with the home team’s final referral and third official Aleem Dar to cast doubt in the mind of the on-field umpire.