Third Test, Old Trafford: England 330 & 231-3 beat West Indies 395-9 dec & 161-9 by seven wickets Becoming the fastest batsman to reach 10,000 Test runs was no consolation for Brian Lara as West Indies conceded a Test series defeat to England. "It's good to achieve but at the end of the day we would have loved to have won this Test match," said captain Lara. "We played really well in the first innings and for the tailend to get us to 395 was a tremendous effort. "There were a couple of dropped chances and we missed Pedro Collins swinging the ball away from the left-handers." England wrapped up the series victory over West Indies with a seven-wicket win in the third Test, chasing an Old Trafford record 231 on the final day. Graham Thorpe, who won the man-of-the-match award for his 114, shared a vital 177-run partnership with Andrew Strauss to lift England from 40-3. But Collins missed much of the third day after being hit on the chin by a short ball from Andrew Flintoff while batting. "Two left-handers had a big partnership in the middle for England and that was very important for them," Lara added. England captain Michael Vaughan praised the West Indies fighting spirit during the test: "We have to give the West Indies credit for how they played in this test. They put us under a lot of pressure, and to be honest, we didn't play that well." When his team's spirit was applauded, the under-fire skipper said: "I wish I could get that from some ex-West Indians as well." Lara's captaincy has been harshly criticised by a number of West Indies cricket icons Sir Viv Richards and Lance Gibbs. SOURCE; BBCCARIBBEAN.COM