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'Please don't worry about a thing Because everything's gonna be alright'

Brian Lara must have constantly reminded Curtly Ambrose of those eternal lines sung by reggae legend Bob Marley as they neared the stiff 308-run target in the final hours of the phenomenal third Test at Bridgetown last Tuesday.

And when the 'Prince of Trinidad' drove a visibly weary Jason Gillespie through the covers off the first ball of over number 120 to send the crowd into raptures, even Marley would have had a smile on his face. With that winning stroke, West Indies reached victory and Lara marked his 12th Test century with a superlative unbeaten 153.

To say the match was just another match would be a gross understatement. Only the fortunate few witnessed two combative teams, both of whom deserved not to lose, contest a bloodless war over five days.

The Australians, regarded by many as unofficial world champions, were still coming to terms with their crushing ten-wicket defeat at the hands of the Lara brigade in the second Test at Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica.

Then the diminutive Trinidadian had slammed 213 in a record fifth-wicket stand with Jimmy Adams (94), which realised 322 runs after the West Indies were tottering at 34 for four in their first innings in reply to Australia's 256. The hosts eventually piled up 431 and the rest, as they say, was history.

The victory not only ended a seven-Test losing streak but also restored the West Indian skipper's shattered image.

In the third Test, it was the Australian captain Steve Waugh, who again carried the attack to the West Indian bowlers by carving a majestic 199 in the first innings as his side posted a huge 490. In the previous match he hit exactly hundred, when the team was in thick soup.

After the Aussies won the toss they lost early wickets. Irrepressible Walsh, who is rapidly closing in on Kapil Dev's 434-wicket haul, gave the initial breakthrough by inducing an edge from Matthew Elliott's bat with the total on 31. Elliott had recently slammed a century in a tour match.

The Jamaican workaholic finished with seven wickets in the match to take his career total to 418 from 109 Tests.

Walsh's partner-in-crime, Ambrose, got rid of the danger-pair of Michael Slater and Mark Waugh with the addition of five runs on the board.

Two periods of consolidation followed.

The first was between Justin Langer and the other Waugh. Langer, fresh from hammering a ton in the match against West Indies 'A', put on a hundred valuable runs for the fourth wicket with the captain. The gritty South Australian was out for 51 trying to cut Carl Hooper's first ball. This was Hooper's first contribution after missing the earlier Tests.

Recalled Ricky Ponting, coming in place of injured Greg Blewett, figured in a mammoth 281 fifth-wicket partnership with Steve, going great guns at the other end. The Tasmanian justified the call-up with his 104.

Off-spinner Nehemiah Perry broke the stand by sending the skipper back lbw, one run short of what would have been his second double century.

The latter pair, together with 48 extras, pushed the total ten runs short of 500.

The West Indian reply began horribly wrong. The first wicket fell on one, when debutante Adrian Griffith was run out without the Barbadian opening his personal account.

Even Lara's presence could not halt the floodgates as McGrath and Gillespie took turns in dismantling the top order.

At one stage the home side slid to 98 for six and even its most die-hard followers could not anticipate the team avoiding following-on, let alone winning from such a position.

With the Windies' world in turmoil, opener Sherwin Campbell, all the time growing in confidence, was not about to go down without a fight, especially in front of a partisan crowd.

He and wicketkeeper Ridley Jacobs proceeded to launch a counterattack on the rampaging Australians by taking the score to 251. Campbell was rewarded with only his third Test century and Jacobs, the bright star on the disastrous South Africa tour, grabbed another half-century.

The teamwork inspired a turnaround as the tail wagged furiously. Not even the much-vaunted twin-spin theory of Warne and MacGill could check the flow of runs as the hosts marched, first past safety and then the all-important 300-barrier.

The Australians, with 161 runs in the bank, were aiming to shut their opponents out of the match as they began the second innings. However, none of their main batsmen could stay around long enough to push the advantage. Once again it was that man Walsh that dealt telling blows.

Only some lusty thumps by Warne, who has become more of a batsman of late, gave any substance to the final score.

The stage was set for an exciting finish. The hosts required 308 for victory to go 2-1 up in the four-match series. The Australians needed to capture ten wickets with 45 overs of the penultimate day and the full fifth day still left to play.

The West Indian openers got off to a solid start, putting on 72 runs, before first-innings centurion Campbell was trapped leg-before by McGrath. Five runs later, Dave Joseph departed for one. Unlucky night watchman Pedro Collins, who only had time to pad up, was sent packing thereafter.

Alarm bells started to ring as Brian Lara came to the crease. But no more casualties were reported. The West Indies finished at 85 for three.

The final day's morning session belonged to the Australians as they picked up two wickets. Lara and Adams, heroes of Sabina, staged another resurrection. They added a vital 133 runs in the sixth-wicket before Adams was beaten by a superb McGrath delivery.

McGrath, bowling virtually unchanged, got a spring in his steps as he accounted for the scalps of Jacobs and Perry with two contentious leg-before decisions.

At tea, West Indies were 54 runs away from victory. Lara had only Ambrose and Walsh to help him. It was a delight to watch Lara playing the role of a captain by leading his side from the depths of a quagmire to the glory of a memorable win.

Despite McGrath and Gillespie's best efforts, they failed to dislodge the lanky Ambrose, who provided the much-needed support at Lara's other end. Each time the last ball was bowled the Antigun snuffed out the yorkers. Soon the match turned from the notoriety of Test cricket's boredom to the excitement of a one-day match.

Deservedly Lara scored the winning runs. Who says Test cricket was dead?