BRIDGETOWN, Barbados – Another inexplicable batting collapse triggered by Matthew Hoggard’s hat trick combined to send West Indies sliding to an eight-wicket defeat in the third cricket Test to end England’s 36-year wait for a Test series victory in the Caribbean. To the deafening cheers and chants from several thousand British fans, Michael Vaughan’s side formalised the result when left-hander Mark Butcher turned a no-ball from Pedro Collins through backward square leg to give England two runs that took them to their target of 93 runs. Hoggard with four wickets for 35 runs from 14 overs, including the hat trick of Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ryan Hinds, paved the way for England’s sensational victory, after they had dismissed West Indies for 94 in their second innings on a rain-affected third day at Kensington Oval. The victory gave England an unbeatable 3-0 lead in the four-Test series and eroded almost four decades of West Indian invincibility against their oldest cricket rivals on home soil. “It is very hard to put into words how the team feels because it’s been a pretty long time since England won a Test series in the Caribbean,” West Indies captain Brian Lara told reporters at the post-play news conference. “It’s a matter of picking ourselves up. It hurts a lot. We have another Test starting very soon. We have to regroup and get our emotions in place and get ready to do battle again.” Vaughan said the elation on the faces of the members of his team meant the hard work that they had put into preparing for this series was all worth the effort. "This means a lot to the guys in our dressing room because everyone has put in so much hard work,” he said. “It could have gone either way and was closer than the previous two Tests. We always thought the first session would have been crucial and, if we got on top, who knows what could happen." “Once we got one wicket, we could sense something special was going to happen. But we never felt it was going to be 90-odd and we will be chasing a target by the end of the day. It was fantastic cricket really.” Once again, West Indies’ batting failed to stand up to mean, purposeful bowling from the England attack that scarcely delivered a bad ball after West Indies continued from their bedtime position of 21 for one. Television replays revealed that opening batsman Daren Ganga got the benefit of the doubt in umpire Rudi Koertzen’s mind when he gloved a short, rising ball from Steve Harmison to the ‘keeper. But there was no doubt when he edged Hoggard and was caught at third slip for 11. Lara and Sarwan were given nothing loose by the England bowlers and the pressure that built up finally paid dividends, when the West Indies vice-captain essayed a drive and was caught at gully for five off Hoggard. It was the beginning of a Kodak moment for Hoggard. With his next delivery, he trapped Chanderpaul on the crease with a deep in-swinger to gain a palpable lbw verdict, then completed the hat trick when Hinds edged his tentative forward defensive shot and was caught at first slip. A day that had started with so brightly and promised so much for West Indies literally and figuratively turned gloomy with the 33rd hat trick in Test cricket as West Indies slumped to 45 for five. This is the kind of stuff that sets off Ridley Jacobs, but Flintoff softened him with a short ball which he fended and was caught third slip as West Indies reached the lunch interval on 58 for six. After lunch, Tino Best tried to stay with Lara, who was peppered by the bowlers with a succession of short deliveries. Best helped his captain take the score to 80 before he was caught at first slip off Flintoff and when Pedro Collins was run out to leave West Indies 81 for eight, Lara decided to take the attack to the England bowlers. In making his attempt that equalled swimming across the English Channel, Lara perished when he was caught at mid-wicket for the top score of 33, mistiming a pull at a short delivery from Harmison. A couple of rain delays along the way added some intrigue and with some ominous dark clouds building around the ground, England’s batsmen took no chances and batted with enterprise and reeled off a succession of boundaries to gallop to their target. Vaughan and opening partner Marcus Trescothick shared 57 for the first wicket, but their dismissals, both caught behind off Corey Collymore for 32 and 42 respectively, were merely consolatory for West Indies. The final Test starts at the Antigua Recreation Ground on April 10 and England will be looking to become the first team to complete a Test series whitewash against West Indies in the Caribbean. SOURCE: WINDIESCRICKET.COM