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Thorpe came on with the English commentators covering the match trying their best to hide their sudden optimism. A couple of overs later, and the West Indian commentators wince as Tino Best finishes a bowl in some ankle trouble. The physio comes onto the pitch, looks over the ankle, then leads Best off.
Not a good test for bowlers after Hoggard's upset stomach and now Best's injured ankle.
The first ball of the 30th over saw Butcher's wicket taken by Collins, with Thorpe caught out by Collins immediately on the next over. And as quick as that, England was 98 for 5. Flintoff and G. Jones, making his test cricket debut, are the partnership England are now counting upon to clean up the mess they've made of this first innings. A debut when you're side is down by 650 plus runs; how's that for unenviable?
More inconsistency leads to 112 for 5 at one of the many Drinks break of the day due to the extended session; the upside to this being Flintoff and G. Jones staying on.
With minutes left to go in Day 3, Brian Lara juggles a ball hit by Flintoff, but loses control of it while trying to throw it. Lara covers his face with his hands in disgust. Mixed reactions abound: was it a catch or wasn't it?. Flintoff just barely saved from the guillotine by the umpire.
Light readings taken almost after every over past the 6 o'clock hour. And the last ball of the last over of the day sees Flintoff batting a four. Stumps of Day 3 sees Brian Lara bat a record 400, West Indies declare at 751 for 5 and England reach 171 for 5. When play resumes tomorrow morning, Flintoff and G. Jones will continue their partnership, which is currently on 69 runs, to try and save the follow-on, which is 552 runs away.
England started the first over of their first innings slowly, picking up a run on a Collins' no-ball. The first over did not prove to set the pace for the rest of the session, however. In the fourth over, Fidel Edwards bowling a ball which Michael Vaughan hit straight down the ground for three, more indicative of what England was capable of.
But just four balls later, Vaughan was caught out, even though replays suggested Vaughan's bat was nowhere near the ball. Butcher came on the pitch still hearing the boos from the clearly disappointed fans in the stands. They were still upset at the obviously botched call.
Drinks came and went. The pair of Butcher and Trescothick playing the role of Sisyphus, rolling their massive boulders up the hill of 751/5d.
Things looked to have calmed back down for England, when in the 15th over, a off-stump shot from Trescothick was caught by Jacobs, giving England 45 for 2.
Hussain came on, salvaging the final over from an enchanting maiden by hitting the sixth ball to deep fine-leg for two.
The Windies made a terrific start to the final session on this third day, when Tino Best picked up the prized wicket of Nasser Hussain. Best clean bowled him just moments after the players arrived from the tea break. The loss of Hussain leaves 17 wickets for the Windies to take, if they have the ambition of winning this test against England.
Brian Lara has reclaimed the title of being the Test world record for scoring the most runs in one innings.
After surpassing Hayden's 380, made against Zimbabwe later last year, Lara went on to score the first 400 in Test match cricket as he and Ridley Jacobs went about annihilating the England attack. Lara finally declared with his side at 751/5, Lara on 400* and Jacobs 107*.
Lara's incredible innings included 42 fours and four sixes, facing 546 balls and enduring a massive 12 hours at the crease under the Antiguan sun.
The West Indian captain went to lunch on 390*, then decided to come out after lunch and push the team's total towards 750 whilst achieving a personal milestone of becoming the first Test player to reach the 400 mark. However now after Lara's historic score, some are criticising the captain for batting too long and not declaring sooner. Is a Test win against England in this final match, especially considering the two teams will match up in another Test series in England later this year, more important than reaching a personal milestone? The issue has already sparked some fiery debate within international cricket ranks, while Lara's decision will become even more interesting as this match wears on.
The mammoth score was the highest ever conceded by an England Test side, the previous record being back in the days of 'The Don'.
England now have 8 sessions to bat needing more than 751 runs to make the home side bat again.
Stumps, Day 2
Brian Lara has played one of the classiest innings of his already-illustrious career, compiling an incredible 313 not out as the West Indian captain helped put his team in charge at stumps on the second day.
Lara become only the second player (after the great Don Bradman) to reach the 300 milestone twice in Tests. The sparkling left-hander was the stand out of the day, blazing balls to all areas of the ground and belting the English attack around without the slightest bit of respect. The outstanding display from Lara was quite a contrast to what we've seen in the previous three Tests this series, as at long last the West Indian batsman were finally able to get on top of the pace-pronged English bowling attack which has dominated proceedings so far this series.
As Lara went about his business, scoring at rapid pace and in superb style, his counterparts provided him with good, solid support. While no other batsman reached triple figures, Sarwan came close, falling just 10 runs short before he was caught by Trescothick off the bowling of Harmison for 90. The middle order batsmen chipped it for reasonable scores also, allowing Lara at the other end to unleash. Unleash he did, blasting an incredible 313* by stumps which included 34 boundaries and 3 giant sixes.
At the close of play the West Indies had put themselves in an extremely strong position at 595/5 with Lara and Jacobs (47*) at the crease. The massive score has faded England's hopes of whitewashing the series 4-0, which looked to be a very possible outcome after the tourists dominated the three previous Tests.
Day three should be another fascinating day of cricket as Lara pushes for another Test world record, needing just over 60 runs to reclaim the title back from Matthew Hayden. The West Indies will look to push on past 700 to completely bury England, as the hosts are desperate to regain much lost pride after this already lack-lustre series.
