Giles spins England to victory

But there was no doubt about the key wicket.

Lara was almost bowled off his body by Steve Harmison when 39, only surviving by desperately kicking the ball away and landing in a heap on the ground.

But the West Indies captain had no answer when he went down the pitch to a ball from Giles that turned sharply out of the footholds and found a big gap between bat and pad to clatter into middle stump.

What a victim for your 100th wicket in Test cricket!

Giles, who won the man of the match award, has had to endure more than his fair share of jibes during a six-year international career.

But while he seldom spins the ball a great deal, England's left-armer has the trust of his captain and the support of his team-mates.

He's also on a bit of a roll. At Trent Bridge in June, Giles helped to finish off the Kiwis with four for 46. But his performance at the start of this series has been even better - and his dismissal of Lara, as well as being one for the scrapbook, left West Indies well and truly in the lurch.

From looking reasonably secure on 172 for three, West Indies had lost their lynchpin just before noon. By lunch they were down and almost out at 195 for six. Dwayne Bravo, who batted attractively in the first innings, was soon bamboozled by Giles this time, driving a simple return catch after scoring 10.

Then, within a couple of minutes, Ridley Jacobs (1) nibbled at a delivery just outside off stump from Matthew Hoggard to snick a routine chance to Graham Thorpe at third slip. Perhaps it was the dark sky in the distance that lifted England's urgency level another notch. In any event, they were soon into their work after lunch.

Banks (0) was almost run-out by the quick-thinking Harmison, who threw down the stumps after gathering the ball in his follow through.

But West Indies' No 8 had no escape clause when Harmison flattened his off stick with a delivery that nipped back sharply.

And as for Tino Best (3), the end could not have been more embarrassing for the West Indies fast bowler.

With Chanderpaul grafting hard at the other end, Best decided to give Giles the charge, missed completely and was nearly run out, never mind stumped.

Chanderpaul had started blunting Vaughan's attack last night. And, despite being let down by some of his team-mates, he continued to do so long after Lara's dismissal had ended a fourth-wicket stand of 70. Pedro Collins (2) kept him company for almost an hour until being lured forward by Giles.

Drizzle had delayed England for 10 minutes this morning and dark clouds threatened the possibility of further interruptions.

But it was the presence of Lara, inevitably, that caused Vaughan and Co most concern.

Having suffered a bad umpiring decision on Friday evening, Lara looked even more determined than usual when he started this innings.

It took him 18 balls to get off the mark yesterday and, by last night, he had batted 71 minutes for 11 runs.

A similar level of care and consideration was evident this morning until a determination to attack Giles proved to be his downfall.

Lara should have lost Chanderpaul for company last night.

He gloved his first ball, from Giles, to short leg but umpire Rudi Koertzen cut short England's celebrations.

Apart from being left-handed, Chanderpaul does not have much in common with his captain.

But the little fellow from Guyana is one heck of a scrapper, and this was underlined by his unbeaten first innings century here, and today he dug in again.

But most of the stars of this Lord's show, from Thursday morning right through to this afternoon, were from the England team.