†WEST INDIES v ENGLAND 1985-86

At Port-of-Spain, Trinidad, March 4. England won by five wickets. A leg-bye off the final ball brought England victory in a match reduced by rain to 37 overs a side. Described by many as the best one-day international played in the West Indies, it was made for the crowd of 16,000 by two great innings: 82 off 39 balls by Richards (four 6s, six 4s), and 129 not out by Gooch (126 balls, one 6, seventeen 4s) which, though hit at a slower pace, was comparable in the controlled power of Gooch's strokeplay. That it earned him the match award in competition with Richards's spectacular innings was proof of its quality. It was further enhanced by the facts that Gooch was on the field throughout the match; was under continuous pressure to maintain an asking-rate of 6.2 an over; and gave no semblance of a chance. Slack, who shared a second-wicket stand of 89 in seventeen overs, was the only other England batsman to score more than 20 as the target contracted to 100 off twelve overs, 59 off six, 27 off three, and nine off the last, which was bowled by Patterson following some heavy punishment of Garner. In West Indies' innings, Richards was in the form that makes him impossible to bowl to. The length of the ball, and especially its line, were immaterial as he scored his runs out of 117 in nine overs, overtaking Richardson who had a start of 38. The biggest of his 6s was a straight drive off Botham out of the ground, a hit of more than 100 yards.

Man of the Match: G. A. Gooch.