ST. JOHNS, Antigua, 16 April 2004 — Consistent batting from the top order led by captain Michael Vaughan helped England escape with a draw in the fourth and final Test against West Indies on Wednesday.
Vaughan drove Pedro Collins through wide mid-off for four to reach the landmark and led England, trailing West Indies on first innings by 466, to 422 for five in their second innings before West Indies captain Brian Lara recognized it was pointless to continue.
There were also half-centuries from Marcus Trescothick, Mark Butcher and Nasser Hussain as England wrapped up a memorable 3-0 Test series victory, their first on Caribbean soil for 36 years.
The had already retained the Wisden Trophy, symbol of supremacy between the two teams, after crushing wins at Kingston, Port of Spain and Bridgetown.
With West Indies hunting a consolation win to end a forgettable series in which they were completely outplayed, Vaughan batted circumspectly for nearly six hours to smash 20 boundaries from 247 balls and gained essential support from the rest of the top order.
“It was a tough game for us to draw after the start they got to the match by scoring 751 for five declared,” said Vaughan.
“I was a little surprised they called it off so early, but their bowlers were clearly tired. They had 2-1 2 days in the field and we played in a good game of cricket.
