JOIN US Rain had the final say as the third and final Test between England and the West Indies ended in a draw at Edgbaston here on Monday.
In a match where three days out of a possible five were washed out, it was no surprise neither side had got in a position to force victory.
And, after yet more rain, the umpires finally called the game off shortly before 3.15pm local time (1415GMT) following no play at all on the final day.
The draw gave England, who’d already retained the Wisden Trophy, a 2-0 win in this three-match series after five-wicket and nine-wicket wins at Lord’s and Trent Bridge respectively.
Overnight, England were 221 for five in reply to West Indies’ first innings total of 426, a deficit of 205 runs and needing a further 56 to avoid the follow-on.
Ian Bell, attempting to become the first Warwickshire batsman to score a Test hundred on his Edgbaston home ground, was left on 76 not out and nightwatchman Steven Finn nought not out.
Ramdin apologises
West Indies’ wicketkeeper-batsman Denesh Ramdin has apologised to Sir Vivian Richards after taunting the legendary batsman while celebrating his century on Sunday.
On reaching his landmark at Edgbaston, Ramdin waved a piece of paper with the words “Yeah Viv Talk Nah” scribbled, and pointing it in the direction of the media centre.
Viv, now a pundit with BBC’s Test Match Special, had earlier criticised Ramdin following the Trent Bridge Test defeat a fortnight ago.
Ramdin admitted Sunday he had been hurt by Viv’s comments and his celebration had been ‘emotional’. “Sir Viv had said something (about me) in the press and I think I got a bit emotional and it came out in the way it did,” an apologetic Ramdin said.
“Having said that, he’s a legend of the Caribbean and I still look up to him.”
He added: “His statement was a bit hurtful to me, but I worked hard and I proved the critics (wrong). When I was not getting runs, I kept reminding myself that I needed to score runs and do well for myself and my teammates.”