June 11: Rain had the last say as the 3d and last Test between England and the West Indies ended in a draw at Edgbaston here on Monday.
In a match where 3 days out of a possible 5 were washed out, it was no surprise neither side had got in a position to force win.
And, after yet more rain, the umpires lastly called the game off shortly before 3.15pm local time (1415GMT) following no play at all on the last day. The draw gave England, who'd already retained the Wisden Trophy, a 2-0 win in this 3-match series after 5-wicket and 9-wicket wins at Lord's and Trent Bridge respectively.
Overnight, England was 221 for 5 in reply to West Indies' 1st innings 426, a deficit of 205 runs and needing a further 56 to avoid the follow-on. Ian Bell, attempt to become the 1st Warwickshire batsman to score a Test hundred on his Edgbaston home ground, was left on 76 not out and night watchman Steven Finn nought not out.
West Indies' total owed much to Tino Best's whirlwind 95, the highest score ever by a Test match No 11th batsman. Best faced just 112 balls with 1 six and 14 fours on Sunday's 4th day. Together with wicket-keeper Denesh Ramdin, who made 107 not out, Best shared a partnership of 143 - the 3rd highest 10th wicket stand in Test history and a West Indies record.
And, before Sunday's close, fast bowler Best removed both England skipper Andrew Strauss and Jonathan Bairstow. England, with the series already win, controversially chose to rest 1st-choice new-ball pairing Anderson and Stuart Broad from this match. In their places came fellow seamers Graham Onions and Finn.
Durham fast Onions, who 2 years ago suffered a career-threatening back injury, took 4 wickets for 88 runs in 29.3 overs, with Finn managing 3 for 109 in 32.After this match, England and the West Indies play 3 ODI and a standalone Twenty20, starting with Saturday's 50-over clash at Southampton.
The West Indies will warm-up for the limited overs fixtures with an ODI game against Middlesex at Lord's on Wednesday.
Brief scores
West Indies 1st Innings 426 (D Ramdin 107 no, T Best 95, M Samuels 76; G Onions 4-88, S Finn 3-109, T Bresnan 3-111)
England 1st Innings 221-5 (K Pietersen 78, I Bell 76 no)
Result: Match drawn
Series: England win three-match series 2-0
Man of the match: Tino Best
Man of the series: Marlon Samuels Andrew Strauss
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