Live Commentary: England vs. West Indies - Third Test, Day Five - as it happened

Published: June 11 2012 | 10:31

Last updated: June 11 2012 | 22:26

Live commentary of day five of the third Test between England and the West Indies at Edgbaston.

Welcome everyone to Sports Mole's live commentary of the final day of the third Test between England and the West Indies at Edgbaston.

Andrew Strauss' men ended yesterday on 221/5 after half centuries from Kevin Pietersen and Ian Bell helped the hosts recover from 49/3.

We were treated to a world record innings from Tino Best in the morning as the charismatic bowler reached 95 before falling just short of a famous century.

Denesh Ramdin did make a century yesterday as the West Indies had their best day of the tour and decided to take a shot at Windies legend Sir Vivian Richards when he reached the milestone.

More rain is expected at Edgbaston today and it remains unclear how much cricket will be played.

Play is due to start 11am.

15:25We're going to wrap up this commentary after that announcement. Another frustrating day from this Test but plenty of cricket to be played this summer. Thanks for joining us.

15:22Not too many surprises from those squads and the ODI series will be a very important one for Eoin Morgan, Ravi Bopara and Jonny Bairstow. A chance to impress for all three players.

15:21England have also announced the squad for the Twenty20 match that follows the ODI series and here it is: Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire) (Captain)
Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire)
Ravi Bopara (Essex)
Tim Bresnan (Yorkshire)
Danny Briggs (Hampshire)
Jos Buttler (Somerset
Jade Dernbach (Surrey)
Steven Finn (Middlesex)
Alex Hales (Nottinghamshire)
Craig Kieswetter (Somerset)
Eoin Morgan (Middlesex)
Samit Patel (Nottinghamshire)
Graeme Swann (Nottinghamshire)

15:20Here is the full England squad for the ODI series against the West Indies: Alastair Cook (Essex) (Captain)
James Anderson (Lancashire)
Jonny Bairstow (Yorkshire)
Ian Bell (Warwickshire)
Ravi Bopara (Essex)
Tim Bresnan (Yorkshire)
Stuart Broad (Nottinghamshire)
Jade Dernbach (Surrey)
Steven Finn (Middlesex)
Craig Kieswetter (Somerset)
Eoin Morgan (Middlesex)
Samit Patel (Nottinghamshire)
Graeme Swann (Nottinghamshire)
Jonathan Trott (Warwickshire)

15:18Early reports suggest that Ian Bell has returned to England's one-day squad and his role will be vital after Kevin Pietersen's retirement.

15:16Make sure you follow Sports Mole for any news regarding the ODI series. It looks set to be a great contest with the return of Chris gayle making the headlines. Fingers crossed weather does not play as biga part in that series as it has in Birmingham in the past five days.

15:15A frustrating end to the series but England will take plenty of positives with them to the vital contest against South Africa.

15:13Match Abandoned Common sense has finally prevailed and that's it for the Test series. England win 2-0.

15:11Both umpires are back inside now, they spoke with the groundtaff for a number of minutes but no decision announced.

15:01The umpires are now on the field and surely the decision is coming soon. Even if the rain does stop it will take the groundstaff some time to get the field of play ready.

14:58We were informed of the decision to abandon the day's play earlier than this on the first two days. This is very puzzling from the umpires considering the match situation.

14:51The West Indies will have learned a lot from this series. There's plenty of room for improvement and they must quickly realise their best team. Consistency is still the big problem for Darren Sammy's side.

14:40It looks set to be the first time since 1987 that a home Test match for England will have three days lost to rain. A miserable fact but there's not much else to take from this match.

14:35No sign of the umpires and this is as bad as taking the players off for bad light twice yesterday. Talk to us guys!

14:27The first match of the ODI series will be held at The Ageas Bowl in Southampton and expect to see a much different West Indies side.

14:21It seems a bit strange of the umpires to wait this long to announce the abandonment of today's play. The weather forecast isn't promising much better.

14:16England will announce their ODI squad when this game is officially completed.

14:09Can't help but think that the West indies could have had a chance against England here. They've looked much better even without Shivnarine Chanderpaul.

14:07Still awaiting a statement from the umpires and what a disappointment the weather has been during this Test.

13:59Marlon Samuels and Andrew Strauss will surely battle it out for the honour of man of the series. My player of the series? Strauss, mainly due to England winning the series. Might be a few votes for Tino Best though!

13:50Starting to feel like Michael Fish but thankfully not looking like him just yet! The rain has reportedly started to get heavier again so an announcement is surely imminent.

13:43If you haven't seen it yet, Tino Best's innings from yesterday is now being replayed and it really is a great knock to watch.

13:35Sky Sports have reportedly started to begin constructing their presentation stage so they look to be preparing for the inevitable.

13:33Good effort from the small number of fans still at Edgbaston but the chances of them seeing cricket today are slowly fading.

13:29The rain is not as heavy as it has been but it's still coming down so we're still being made to wait.

13:27Bell and Pietersen do look good but England will need all their big guns firing against the Proteas.

13:24What have we learned from this series? Probably not too much but the big positive for England will be the form of Andrew Strauss. Two centuries should definitely give him a boost for the South Africa series.

13:17The match officials are currently holding discussions about the possibility of play today. Expect an announcement soon.

13:16Top quality batsman though and England's lineup would look solid with him in it.

13:16In 108 ODI's Bell has only scored one century and a statistic like that could be held against him.

13:14Ian Bell will be considered, his game does suit ODI cricket but it's not where we have seen the best of him.

13:11Who will open for England in the ODI seires? Alastair Cook has no partner after Kevin Pietersen's retirement so will Craig Kieswetter get a chance at the top of the order?

13:06Let's not forget that we will also be seeing Chris Gayle during that series. The powerful batsman will come out of the international wilderness and usually delivers some exciting performances.

13:03Remember, that ODI squad will be announced later today. Expect a young group to be named by the ECB, alongside the usual names.

12:59Jos Butler is another player with England aspirations, the ODI series against the West Indies could be an audition for a number of these players.

12:52Quick word on Nick Compton who I mentioned a few minutes ago. He's scored over 1000 runs already for Somerset this season but doesn't seem to be getting mentioned much in terms of an England call up. Born in South Africa but does qualify to play for England, top player who really does have all the shots.

12:46Still no word on play so presumably an early lunch will be taken by the umpires.

12:40Very few supporters at the ground today and you can't blame them, the weather looks miserable.

12:36Eoin Morgan may have a case for a recall if he can score some runs in the County Championship for Middlesex in the coming weeks. Morgan has been in the team already and does seem to handle pressure well.

12:34James Taylor or Somerset's Nick Compton could be an option but will the selectors want to give a batsman their debut in such a big series?

12:33If Bairstow does make way, who replaces him? Many will feel that Ravi Bopara has had one too many chances at Test level despite his recent good form.

12:30If Bairstow is left out, I don't think that will be the last we see of him at Test level. He has too much quality not to be considered again.

12:29Only three matches so far for him and he has great talent but it remains to be seen if England have enough confidence in him to face Dale Steyn and Morne Morkel later this summer.

12:28Can't help but feel that Jonny Bairstow will be put under pressure for his place in the side after this series.

12:24Due to the state of the current match, don't be surprised to hear news of an early handshake between the two captains. Rain still falling and more to come.

12:18More from Gibbs: "These young players have never had that. In English conditions, anybody could pick up a ball and make something happen with it and our playes need to learn how to deal with that."

12:15Gibbs told BBC Sport: "All of our great players have had exposure in English cricket, whether it is league or county, where the ball swings and swerves."

12:14Former West Indies spinner Lance Gibbs has claimed that the current team should be playing county cricket in England before beginning future tours.

12:08Let's keep our fingers crossed that we do see some play today beause yesterday we saw some very high quality cricket.

12:03Rain still around the Birmingham area, not great prospects of too much play today despite sun being expected later this afternoon.

11:58Every stroke of Lara's was a joy to watch, players like that don't come around every day.

11:55We're being treated to higlights of Brian Lara's 400* against England in 2004. What an astonishing achievement that was, he looked unbeatable that day.

11:50More bad news on the weather front. Although the rain is only falling lightly now, it is expected to get heavier at 1pm.

11:46Expect Bresnan to start the series against South Africa though, it's doubtful that Strauss and Flower will drop a player in such good form.

11:43Finn is a threat in England though and I do wonder if in the future Bresnan may be used increasingly on tour. Especially during matches in the sub-continent as he looks superior at keeping one end very economical.

11:38Bresnan's batting is also a big weapon he brings to the team adn Flower has always been keen to have a long batting lineup.

11:36Tim Bresnan could be the only bowler at threat but it's hard to question his performances in the Test arena so far.

11:35It does seem unlikely for Finn or Onions to get many Test chances though, Broad and Anderson will surely always be picked providing they are fit.

11:31England's strength in depth is worrying for other nations, you would expect Steven Finn and Graham Onions to get into most other teams around the world.

11:30The second string bowling attack have played well though and it was only for a brief period yesterday that they struggled.

11:28It looked as if the length was slightly off in the morning, the pitch wasn't offering much and Andy Flower would have wanted the lengths to be full to Best.

11:27I wonder how much of an effect yesterday's play will have had on Andrew Strauss' team. Despite the magic of Best, they will be concerned that they couldn't wrap up the innings.

11:20The domestice Twenty20 competition starts tomorrow, it's usually a good stage to witness breakthrough performances. There will be a lot of England youngsters hoping to impress the ECB selectors.

11:14The Test has been played in good spirit though, the West Indies team always like a bit of chat and players like Pietersen relish personal battles.

11:14I think Best broke the record for the amount of sledges in an hour yesterday, Jonny Bairstow would have had his voice ringing in his ears as he tried to sleep last night.

11:11I'm guessing Best is probably a pain during a rain delay like this. Some of the West Indies players did give him some dubious looks yesterday.

11:08Rain still coming down at Edgbaston, not heavy but this could be the trend for the remainder of the day.

11:03A lot of interesting discussions regarding Kevin Pietersen's decision to retire from limited overs cricket on Sky Sports this morning. If you have a view on Pietersen, then feel free to tweet us. Our account is @sports_mole.

10:59Amazing taht I've been here for nearly 30 minutes and not mentioned Tino Best. What a day for him yesterday, he's a great character but he does have a lot of passion which looked to be rubbing off on other players yesterday.

10:53More from Ramdin: "Having said that, he's a legend of the Caribbean - and I still look up to him. If I see him anywhere, I'll still call him out and have a drink with him."

10:53Ramdin: "Sir Viv had said something in the press, and I think I got a bit emotional - and it came out the way it did.

10:51Ramdin has spoken about his message and it seems as though he may be retreating from the argument.

10:49Eoin Morgan and Ravi Bopara have both scored centuries recently so they will both expect to be named in that squad. Nottinghamshire James Taylor will also have a very good chance of being included in the team for the series after some brilliant form recently.

10:46Back to England and it is worth noting that the ECB will name the squad for the one-day series against the West Indies later today.

10:44Interesting comments from Richards and although many have praised Ramdin for yesterday's performance, it did seem a strange time to respond to a critic.

10:43More from Richards: ""I wouldn't be happy with that. I set my standards a bit higher."

10:42Richards said: "It's like in a football match. If you are losing 5-0 and score in the 90th minute you should not be running around jumping for joy."

10:41If you did manage to catch Denesh Ramdin's message to Sir Vivian Richards yesterday during his celebrations, then you may be interested to know that the legendary batsman has responded.

10:39Pietersen had all eyes on him after his retirement from one-day cricket but he's certainly used to that. His innings of 78 from 81 balls was vintage Pietersen.

10:37Bell reached 76 at the close of play yesterday and his partnership with Kevin Pietersen was very easy on the eye.

10:35Staying hopeful, if play can get underway at some point today then Ian Bell will be hoping to score the first century every by a Warwickshire player at Edgbaston.

10:32Good morning, there's bad news to start the day. The covers have been on at Edgbaston for the last hour and although the rain is only falling lightly, today's play will not start on time.