West Indies' bid for a victory over England in the fourth Test yesterday that would have given them an unbeatable series lead ended in a draw, following solid batting from the visitors led by Alastair Cook. England, trailing by 149 runs on first innings, finished on 279 for two in their second innings when 'time' was called on play about an hour and 10 minutes before the scheduled close on the last day at Kensington Oval. In the three previous innings in the series, West Indies had been able to knock Cook over between 50 and 100, but this time the England vice-captain batted determinedly and broke his drought of Test centuries with his eighth, an undefeated 139. The result means that West Indies still lead the five-Test series 1-0, following an innings and 23-run victory in the opening Test at Sabina Park in Jamaica, the aborted second Test at the Vivian Richards Cricket Ground in Antigua, and a draw in the third Test at the Antigua Recreation Ground. The fifth and final Test starts on Friday at Queen's Park Oval in Trinidad. It was always going to be a difficult task for West Indies to bowl England out in their second innings to win the Test and once Kevin Pietersen joined Cook about 20 minutes after lunch and knuckled down, the pair added 150 unbroken for the third wicket to formalise the result. Before lunch, West Indies made little progress, as England reached 115 for one. West Indies captain Chris Gayle provided his side with their only breakthrough about half-hour before the interval, after England resumed from their overnight total of six without loss. Gayle bowled England captain Andrew Strauss for 38 when he chopped a drifter back into his stumps, following an opening stand of 88 with Cook. Prior to this, the morning unfolded with little incident, except for a dropped catch that gave Cook a reprieve. Brendan Nash put down a difficult chance from the England vice-captain, on 36, running back from mid-wicket off left-arm spinner Sulieman Benn. The miss had already started to cost West Indies, with Cook reaching his fourth straight 50 for the series from 86 balls, just before lunch, when he square drove Benn through backward point for his eighth boundary. But West Indies' bid fizzled out before tea after Cook posted his hundred to lead England to 233 for two at the break. Cook overcame 14 months of self-doubt when he drove his 193rd ball from Ryan Hinds through mid-on for three. West Indies felt they had him earlier though, when he was 58 and appeared to offer a bat-pad catch to short-leg fielder Hinds. The home team asked for the decision to be referred to the video umpires and the video evidence could neither confirm nor deny the bat-pad catch. Breakthrough West Indies made one breakthrough before tea, when Sulieman Benn trapped Owais Shah lbw for 21. But the homesters were unable to make further inroads when Pietersen joined Cook and they batted with aplomb for the rest of the afternoon. In the final over before the break, Hinds was swept to deep fine leg for a single to carry Pietersen to his 50 from 74 balls. The England talisman finished unbeaten on 72. SCOREBOARD ENGLAND 1st Innings 600 for six declared (A. Strauss 142, R. Bopara 104) WEST INDIES 1st Innings 749 for nine declared (R. Sarwan 291, D. Ramdin 166; G. Swann 5-165) ENGLAND 2nd Innings (overnight six without loss) A. Strauss bGayle 38 A. Cook not out 139 O. Shah lbw b Benn 21 K. Pietersen not out 72 Extras (b6, nb3) 9 TOTAL (2 wkts, 81 overs) 279 Fall of wickets: 1-88 (Strauss), 2-129 (Shah). Bowling: Edwards 10-1-41-0 (nb3); Powell 12-0-35-0; Benn 21-1-64-1; Taylor 4-0-15-0;Gayle 17-5-46-1; Hinds 14-1-56-0; Sarwan 3-0-16-0. Result: Match drawn Series: West Indies lead five-Test series 1-0 Umpires: Aleem Dar, R. Tiffin, TV Replays: D. Harper, Reserve: C. Duncan Match Referee: A. Hurst Man-of-the-Match: Ramnaresh Sarwan (West Indies) Reprinted from jamaica-gleaner.com