09 May,2009 09:06 AM IST | | AFP
Australia-born Brendan Nash's 81 couldn't prevent England beating the West Indies by 10 wickets to win the first Test at Lord's yesterday with more than two days to spare.
Nash, together with Denesh Ramdin (61), did help prevent an innings defeat. The duo put on 143 for the sixth wicket the only century partnership of the match after the West Indies had been made to follow-on.
But by the time Nash was last man out, in a total of 256, England needed just 32 to win and so go 1-0 up in the series ahead of next week's second and final Test at Durham's Riverside ground.
England captain Andrew Strauss (14 not out), who ended the match with a boundary, and fellow left-handed opener Alastair Cook (also 14 not out) knocked the runs off in 41 balls in what was the first Test win by any side at Lord's after a run of six successive draws.
"We were pretty clinical in everything we did. Guys stood up when we needed them to," said Strauss, and admitted that "I don't think we're going to get carried away."
