England head into the final day of the third Test against West Indies seven wickets away from a victory that would tie the five-game series at 1-1. England captain Andrew Strauss set West Indies a mammoth target of 503 to win after declaring at 221 for eight at the Antigua Recreation Ground on Wednesday and then picked up three wickets as the hosts reached 143-3 at the close. West Indies need a further 360 to win with Ramnaresh Sarwan 47 not out and Shivnarine Chanderpaul undefeated on 18. Although the pitch in the hastily rearranged match has endured well, West Indies do not have a good record of batting for survival in recent years and England will be bitterly disappointed if it cannot turn its dominance throughout this Test into victory. Opener Devon Smith was trapped lbw on the back foot by Steve Harmison to break a promising first wicket stance of 59. West Indies skipper Chris Gayle looked in good form as he moved to 35. But, as in the first innings, a loose stroke cost him dear and he was rapped on the pads attempted to sweep Graeme Swann's off-spin. At 81 for two, any thought of a record run chase, that would have to surpass its own world record fourth innings total of 418 at this ground six years ago against Australia, had surely been discarded by West Indies who was now in a simple survival battle. Ryan Hinds' disappointing return to the West Indies side continued as he opted to try and drive Stuart Broad in the first over for the England seamer and managed only to give Owais Shah for a simple catch. Sarwan was then joined by fellow Guyana batsman Chanderpaul and their solidity against some focused English bowling saw them through to the close. A half-century from Alastair Cook provided the backbone of England's innings with Kevin Pietersen (32), utilising his controversial switch-hitting, and Paul Collingwood (34) chipping in with useful scores as the tourists stepped up the run-rate. We're not dependent on Stanford cash – WICB boss West Indies Cricket Board president Julian Hunte insisted on Wednesday that the organisation will be fine without Sir Allen Stanford's cash. The WICB President said the controversial Texan businessman's implication in an alleged billion-dollar investment fraud scheme will not effect the operations of the game in the Caribbean.
