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Griffith powers Windies to 10-wicket win

Adrian Griffith left his best batting of the series for the last innings and blasted the West Indies to a 10-wicket win over Zimbabwe in the second and final cricket Test at Sabina Park on Tuesday.

Berated for his monotonous batting in his three previous innings in the series, Griffith produced an array of extravagant strokes in the 45 minutes of cricket on the final day to speed the West Indies to the magic number of 75 and clinch a 2-0 series win.

From the first ball he received from fast bowler Henry Olonga - which he top-edged over the slips to third man - the beanpole left-hander made his intentions quite clear. He was not about to make a mountain out of an anthill. All but 10 of his 54 runs in just under an hour came from boundaries, four of them alone from left-arm medium-paced bowler Bryan Strang's only over to carry the West Indies to within four of their target.

It was a thrilling end to what had been a competitive series between the two sides. Both started out looking to enhance their reputations in the international game - which had taken a hit in the months leading up to the two Tests.

The West Indies may now feel that not all is lost after the odds appeared stacked against them before the series opened. They were fresh from a hiding in both Tests and limited-overs international in New Zealand. Brian Lara, their best batsman and captain, decided to take a break from the game for reasons best known only to him, and the public cry was for heads to roll. The players might have been quick to remind everyone, though, that the home series against Australia five years ago remains the only time the West Indies have lost in the Caribbean in more than a quarter of a century.

They would also admit that there is still much to put right. The batting struggled against an ordinary Zimbabwe attack, but there were signs, however, that with the right kind of support the road to recovery may not be that long. Easily the most satisfying feature for the Maroon Caps was the progress of the two young fast bowlers, Franklyn Rose, who was named Man-of-the-Series, and Reon King, both of whom appeared to have grown in confidence and maturity. Someday, though maybe not quite just yet, Rose and King can take over the mantle from the aging warriors Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh, who achieved during the match the personal distinction of becoming the worlds leading Test wicket-taker.

Pakistan, set to tour in the upcoming weeks, will present a clear danger to the spirit which the West Indies have built over the last two weeks under new skipper Jimmy Adamas - and to their proud record at home.

"It was a good team performance," said Adams, who led by example with a dogged 498-minute first-innings century.

"I'm very happy with the way it worked out. It had been a while since I got a Test hundred, and I hope the team can go from strength to strength now.

"We're looking forward to playing very good and exciting cricket in the future."

After the first Test in Port-of-Spain, Zimbabwe's captain Andy Flower did not want to describe his sides 35-run defeat as devastating. In the final analysis, there may be no other way to sum up the series for his side. Nonetheless, in both the major departments of the game, batting and bowling, Zimbabwe seem to have the potential to get better. With the likes of Andy Flower and Murray Goodwin, the batting appears in safe hands, while their top bowler Heath Streak will need to get some effective back-ups.

The two teams now turn their attention to the Caribbean's first triangular limited-overs series - which also involves Pakistan. It opens at Sabina Park on Saturday with the first of back-to-back matches between the West Indies and Zimbabwe.