My hand in a famous victory

MONDAY: The last day of the Second Test at Lord's. With just one wicket down and Brian Lara at the crease, the West Indies require 228 runs to win.

I PREPARED as normal. After loosening up, Hicky just hit me a few sharp catches. There were no dramatic speeches before we went out. Athers thought we were ahead, but had to keep fighting, while Illy simply told us we had a great chance to square the series. Mind you, nobody thought it was going to be easy. The pitch wasn't that bad. It was very dry and looked like a four-day-old pitch on the second day, but it didn't get any worse. We knew we had to take early wickets and get rid of Lara.

He definitely showed us his intentions the night before by coming at us aggressively, though he seemed a bit more cagey the next morning. He's the danger man because he scores at such a quick rate, but he does give you a chance. Bobby Simpson, the Australian coach, told us how well Paul Reiffel had bowled at him in the West Indies by pitching the ball on middle and leg and running it across him. We'd talked about this before Headingley but it backfired horribly as nobody could bowl it in the right place.

Lara loves width to cut and drive. The line is crucial and you can't afford to give him room, as he showed after blazing Goughie for two fours through cover, to bring up his fifty. All I remember of the next ball is that it was full and much straighter. Lara looked like he was going to drive it, but then changed his mind, checking his shot as if to block it. Thankfully, he edged it instead.

The snick came low and went pretty quickly, so it was all reaction, though something must have triggered the fact that it wasn't going to carry to Athers at first slip. I just dived, shot out my left flipper and the ball stayed in. I was really pleased.

Lara c Stewart b Gough 54

West Indies 99 for 2 (Campbell 29 not out)

THAT dismissal really set us up. It gave everyone a big surge of confidence. That's not to say we didn't think Jimmy Adams, Sherwin Campbell or Keith Arthurton could still win the game for the tourists. After Lara, the only other player we thought might hit his way to the target, rather than battle their way there, was Richie Richardson.

Jimmy Adams went next, which started off Dominic Cork's amazing haul. It was a wide ball, probably the worst he bowled all day, trumped only by the poor shot which Hicky safely pouched at second slip. I've never played against Corky in a four-day game. I'd kept to him in one-day internationals and liked the way he tries to hit the pitch hard with the ball, as well as swing it. In the first innings he didn't get the end he wanted, but in the second he was given the Nursery End with the breeze over his right shoulder which was perfect for his outswing.

Adams c Hick b Cork 13

West Indies 124 for 3 (Campbell 41 not out)

OUR initial plan to Richie Richardson, particularly as Corky was moving the ball away, was to bowl straight, as he has a tendency to play across his front pad and get out lbw. He's a boundary hitter but like a lot of strokemakers he's vulnerable early on and the ball from Cork, which started on middle stump and then went away, was perfect for that stage of his innings.

Richardson lbw Cork 0

West Indies 130 for 4 (Campbell 47 not out)

WE then had a spell either side of lunch where we bowled seven maidens. Gus Fraser and Dominic were amazing. Corky in particular made everything much easier for Athers and I in the command post. Keith Arthurton had batted really well in the first innings, but to feel at home, he needs to drive off the front foot.

The bowlers gave him nothing, and their tight line forced him to leave a lot of balls just outside off-stump. He spent so long on nought [49 minutes] that he got frustrated and was out, caught by our sub, Paul Weekes, at short leg, getting his bat and front foot in a tangle, to one Corky swung back into him.

Arthurton c sub b Cork 0

West Indies 138 for 5 (Campbell 55 not out)

IT was at that point that I thought the game was definitely ours. At lunch, I thought that if they batted the day out, they could still win it, though with Campbell and Arthurton both becoming becalmed, they'd made it much harder for themselves.

Junior Murray was on nought for a while and got anxious. Annoyingly, I dropped him down the leg-side off Goughie - a little blemish on a perfect day - but fortunately it didn't come back to haunt me. He too was taken at short leg, this time a brilliant diving catch by Weekes, after The Dazzler [Gough] jagged one back down the slope.

Murray c sub b Gough

West Indies 177 for 6 (Campbell 85 not out)

ALTHOUGH Ottis Gibson can give the ball a thrash, and Campbell was still there, it was now just a question of when we were going to win. Both batsmen decided that if the match could still be won, it was going to happen quickly or not at all. Corky had other ideas and he dismissed both just before tea. Gibson was lbw, whipping across the line.

Gibson lbw Cork 14

West Indies 198 for 7 (Campbell 90 not out)

CAMPBELL, who played ever so well as the anchor man, inside-edged a tired drive that hardly deviated as it came to me. He'd seen the magical three figures looming for so long that in the end he tried to get there in boundaries and paid a harsh price. Hicky and I often have a guess at how many wickets we think will be down at lunch and tea. I think we settled on four at lunch and seven at tea. To have them eight down went one better; I really enjoyed my cuppa.

Campbell c Stewart b Cork 93

West Indies 201 for 8 (Bishop 0 not out)

LIKE the Aussies, our bowlers have decided they are going to bounce their tail-enders. We know we're going to "cop it", so they might as well to "cop it" as well. It unsettles them. So we bounced Curtly a few times, which made him have a few wafts before chipping the ball to Richard Illingworth at cover.

Ambrose c Illingworth b Cork

West Indies 223 for 9 (Bishop 10 not out)

THERE was similar treatment for Courtney Walsh, their batting equivalent of Devon Malcolm. Corky bounced him first ball before he knicked the second, almost guiding it into my gloves.

Walsh c Stewart b Cork 0

West Indies 223 all out

England win by 72 runs

I KNOW we won, but it was one of the great Test matches and a great win for England. What made it so special was that after we'd played so poorly at Headingley and everyone had written us off again, we came back and battled as a team to outcompete a side I still consider to be the best in world cricket.

The two outstanding performances were Judgie's [Robin Smith's] second- innings 90 and Corky's 7 for 43. It was the best knock I've seen Robin play. The pressure on him was enormous, and the Windies bowled well at him. You wouldn't have thought Dominic was making his debut out there. He really is my type of cricketer and one who deeply believes in his own ability.

It was a victory worthy of proper celebration but unfortunately we all had to disappear all round the country to play in the next day's round of Natwest games. Within an hour and a half of the end of the match, everyone had gone. That really took the gloss off it for me. I only had to go home, but the next day I was tired and mentally drained, but it was a small price to pay for such a big win.