Chanderpaul sets up decider

Cricket : Shivnarine Chanderpaul engineered West Indies' victory over England at Edgbaston to set up a series decider this weekend…

Cricket: Shivnarine Chanderpaul engineered West Indies' victory over England at Edgbaston to set up a series decider this weekend.

Guyanese batsman Chanderpaul made the most of his promotion to number three in the order to hit an undefeated 116, his seventh one-day international hundred, the cornerstone of the tourists' perfectly-paced 278 for five.

On a slow surface spruced up by the occasional shower England were always behind the rate and now head to Trent Bridge on Saturday with the series locked at 1-1.

They eventually succumbed to a 61-run defeat with only Matt Prior and Owais Shah hinting at pushing their side closer.

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Chanderpaul extended his extraordinary run of success against England this summer in stunning fashion: this was his seventh visit to the crease in Test and one-day international cricket on the tour and he has passed 50 every time.

England have seldom had such a problem prising one individual out, Chanderpaul following an 18-hour spell without being dismissed in the Test series with a second unbeaten limited-overs effort.

Twice he tickled the fingertips of England fielders after a mid-innings delay for rain, the first on 43, in the second over after the resumption, when Ian Bell dived full-length at point in an attempt to intercept a fierce cut, and then a miscued aerial blow which evaded Paul Collingwood's sprawling attempt running back from extra-cover.

That second close call came during a spell of acceleration which saw Chanderpaul double his 85-ball half-century in just 29 deliveries. Despite batting with the more explosive Marlon Samuels, Chanderpaul matched him blow for blow during a final 10 overs which yielded 102 runs.