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The Doubting Thomases who feel Brian Lara is the sole key to a West Indies victory would not have whispered a word last night.

Two players who hold no reputations or records in the shortened version of the game and another who has massively underachieved for more than a decade, skilfully and stylishly set up a crucial five-wicket win in the third Cable & Wireless One-Day International against Australia.

Jimmy Adams and Sherwin Campbell, major architects in the first two matches, designed yet another significant partnership, adding 109 for the second wicket with the type of measured aggression rarely shown by them at this level.

It was an ideal foundation toward a chase of 243 from the full quota of 50 overs, and after their association ended, Carl Hooper, for long a failure in pressure situations, provided the final flurry needed to formalise the West Indies' second win of the series.

With half-centuries from the trio it meant that Lara, troubled by a wrist injury, did not have to come to the middle until the 40th over.

By then, West Indies had the seemingly straightforward task of getting another 50 runs from the final 10 overs and the target was attained with an over to spare.

Lara had the pleasure of finishing the match with a boundary to the mid-wicket fence that prompted the customary end-of-match invasion from a small portion of the capacity Queen's Park crowd that generated another electrifying atmosphere.

That atmosphere was enhanced by the continuous sounds of percussion instruments, deejay music from the Trini Posse and the regular ``Mexican wave'' around the ground.

The manner in which Adams and Campbell are approaching their batting in the series has been quite revealing, especially their positive approach and their slick running between the wickets.

Adams, filling Lara's void at No. 3 after Stuart Williams was lbw playing across to the fifth ball of Damien Fleming's second over, hit a career-best 82 off 102 balls with eight fours in all directions, while Campbell made 64 from 83 balls, his second half-century of the series.

Campbell, first out of the blocks, was quick to hoist anything off his legs over mid-wicket and reached his 50 with a delicate late cut off the previously tidy Warne. This time the leg-spinner was conquered and went for 59 runs from nine overs.

Adams, fluent and forceful, started with a confident extra-cover drive off Tom Moody, who was pressed into service in the third over after Glenn McGrath sprained his ankle in trying to field a ball at long-leg.

The dangerous speedster limped off the field a few minutes later with a swollen ankle that seems likely to rule him out for the remainder of the series.

Adams and Campbell moved along encouragingly so that the first 50 was raised in the 13th over and by the time the innings reached 25 overs, nearly half the target had been achieved.

In one over, Adams savagely pulled Fleming to the square-leg fence and, if that wasn't enough, his square-drive a few balls later was too fast for the third-man fielder.

His partnership with Campbell ended when the Barbadian opener missed a drive, lost his bat and was bowled with the last ball of Darren Lehmann's first over.

Lehmann should have also had Adams in his next over, but he dropped a simple return chance when the batsman was 53. Adams was eventually yorked by Fleming, but Hooper, with five authentic fours, including two in succession off Warne, made things look easy for the West Indies before he was bowled by Fleming for 56 off 61 balls.

Australia seemed headed for a much bigger total when Mark Waugh and Adam Gilchrist were confidently adding 108 against an attack that featured just two genuine fast bowlers. One of them was the mean Curtly Ambrose, whose first seven overs cost 13 runs and included two successive maidens. Once he was out of the way, Waugh and Gilchrist were at ease against Hendy Bryan, Carl Hooper and Keith Arthurton.

Waugh's 74 off 100 balls was an innings of high quality and included his trademark wristy leg-side flicks, a couple of cuts and a few improvised touches such as a dab off Nehemiah Perry's off-spin down to third-man for one of his five fours. His most memorable shot, though, was a six lifted over long-on off Hooper, who should have caught him at cover off Perry had he not lost a skier. Waugh, 43 at the time, took advantage of the miss, one of a handful of chances the West Indies put down.

Gilchrist, his aggression more pronounced as his innings went on, took a liking to Bryan, who could only watch in disbelief when the left-hander lifted him over his head for four and carted him over the mid-wicket fence for six. The introduction of Perry stemmed the flow of runs. The Jamaican off-spinner, a late inclusion after influenza eliminated Shivnarine Chanderpaul, took the first two wickets and also featured in two run-outs, one of which got rid of the dangerous Waugh.

Perry broke the opening stand at the half-way stage when Gilchrist (43 off 65 balls), attempting his second six, was smartly caught by Ambrose moving around on the long-off boundary. Shane Lee, sent in at No. 3 as a designated slogger, missed more balls than he hit before Perry won a lbw verdict when the batsman missed a pull. Just when Waugh reached high gear, Perry and Adams combined to feature in the most crucial dismissal at a vital stage.

Waugh, within distance of his 12th century in limited-overs internationals, set off for a tight single to backward point. Adams swooped on the ball and quickly despatched his return to Perry who hit the stumps from a yard away. Lehmann, an impressive century-maker in Grenada, and Damien Martyn needed a couple of overs before they could raise the tempo.

The pair added 66 in 12.1 overs and were preparing for a final assault when the West Indies removed both to regain control. The scalp of Steve Waugh in between further contributed to the Australians' being restricted to 122 runs over the last 20 overs. Phil Simmons' medium-pace had a big part to play, his slow stuff at the death accounting for Lehmann, caught at extra-cover trying to force the pace, and Waugh, bowled making a cross-batted slog.

More ... Campbell, Adams Set Up WI Win

PORT-OF-SPAIN - A century partnership between Sherwin Campbell and Jimmy Adams set up West Indies for a five-wicket win over Australia yesterday to give them a 2-1 lead in the seven-match limited overs series.

Australia also suffered another blow when they lost their main fast bowler Glenn McGrath with an ankle injury.

The visitors won the toss and scored 242 for seven from their 50 overs. West Indies reached 244 for five with six balls to spare.

Adams (82 from 102 balls) and opener Campbell (64 from 83 balls) set West Indies on the road to victory with a 109-run partnership.

Enigmatic all-rounder Carl Hooper then scored a crucial 56 from just 61 balls to take West Indies to within sight of a victory which was clinched when captain Brian Lara, batting down the order at No. 5, lashed Tom Moody to the boundary.