Cricket: Win beats everything, says Lara

ST JOHN'S - West Indies captain Brian Lara says that nothing in his cricketing career has given him more satisfaction than yesterday's three-wicket victory over Australia.

"It's the greatest cricketing experience I've had, and there have been a lot - the 375 here in Antigua [the highest individual test score], the win in Barbados against Australia [in 1999]," a jubilant Lara said of his side's world-record fourth innings run chase.

"I've played test cricket for 12 years and nothing surpasses this."

The West Indies, down 3-0 in the four-test series and staring at their first whitewash in the Caribbean, were set a target of 418.

Lara said the previous highest run chase, India's 406 for four against the West Indies in Port of Spain in 1976, had guided him in setting his side's tactics after he studied the scoreboard from that match.

"I thought there would be a first-wicket stand of 300 or a huge innings, but it [the scoreboard] wasn't that impressive," he said.

"I just realised that we needed to put a few partnerships together. It was about partnerships, and that's what we worked on in this match."

Lara, the third West Indies captain in four years, was confident his team would now emerge from a difficult period of home series defeats to South Africa, New Zealand and Australia in successive years.

Skipper Steve Waugh said there was little more Australia could have done to prevent the West Indies from creating history.



"We really gave it everything we had and the West Indies were really just too good."

The Windies began the final day needing 47 runs, with four wickets in hand, and they looked in trouble when Brett Lee dismissed Shivnarine Chanderpaul for 104 in the third over of the morning.

But Omari Banks (47 not out) and Vasbert Drakes (27 not out) shared an unbeaten stand of 46 to take the home side to victory.

Waugh admitted Australia struggled after openers Matthew Hayden and Justin Langer had combined for a 242-run stand in the second innings.

"We would have liked to get 500 from there," Waugh said. "But to win three test matches on such flat wickets was a tremendous effort by our bowlers."

Waugh heads home this week while the Australian one-day squad begin a seven-match series against the Windies in Jamaica on Saturday.

- REUTERS

Best of the best:
Highest successful run chases in tests:
* 418-7: West Indies beat Australia by 3 wickets, Antigua, 2002-03.
* 406-4: India beat West Indies by 6 wickets, Port of Spain, 1975-76.
* 404-3: Australia beat England by 7 wickets, Headingley, 1948.
* 369-6: Australia beat Pakistan by 4 wickets, Hobart, 1999-2000.
* 362-7: Australia beat West Indies by 3 wickets, Georgetown, 1977-78.
* 348-5: West Indies beat New Zealand by 5 wickets, Auckland, 1968-69.
* 344-1: West Indies beat England by 9 wickets, Lord's, 1984.
* 342-8: Australia beat India by 2 wickets, Perth, 1977-78.
* 340-5: South Africa beat Australia by 5 wickets, Durban, 2001-02.
* 336-5: Australia beat South Africa by 5 wickets, Durban, 1949-50.