Rest of the World (485 and 150 for 3 dec) beat England (150 and 430) by 55 runs, and lead the series 2-1
scorecard series home

The Rest of the World XI took a 2-1 lead in the CMJ Wisden Test series with a 55-run victory at Newlands. When the World XI claimed a huge first-innings lead England seemed to be out of the hunt, but an attacking declaration from Garry Sobers and a memorable opening partnership by Len Hutton and Graham Gooch took England close to a famous victory.

The World XI made all the early running. Sunil Gavaskar, who never played official Tests in South Africa, took the chance to compile a watchful century. In all he lasted 333 balls, and managed only ten fours. There was a delightful double vision when Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar, the two little Indian masters, put on 87 before Tendulkar fell to Derek Underwood for 39.

Fred Trueman eventually had Gavaskar caught at mid-off for 145, but by then Brian Lara was established. He lashed nine fours in his 75, after which Adam Gilchrist spanked a quick 66. At the other end in this left-handers' parade Sobers looked on. He was set for a century, but Ian Botham and Brian Statham blew away the tail, finishing with three wickets apiece. Sobers was stranded on 89, with ten dreamy fours.

The total of 485 looked larger still as Malcolm Marshall tore in. England slumped to 32 for 3 as Gooch, Ted Dexter and Peter May all fell to Marshall, and the score was only 68 when Marshall added a fourth – Colin Cowdrey padding up once too often. Hutton, with a patient 48, and Botham (39) steadied the ship, but then Shane Warne got to work. Hutton feathered a catch behind, and the fall of Botham to the flipper triggered the type of collapse that has haunted England in this series. The last five wickets crumbled for just nine runs, and with a lead of 335 it was World domination.

Sobers decided not to enforce the follow-on and, when Barry Richards fell cheaply to Trueman for the second time, pushed Gilchrist up the order. He responded with a brisk 42. Gavaskar had made 57 when the declaration came, setting England 486 to win in two days.

England's openers gave them a great start. It was quite a sight: Hutton slight and diffident, wielding his undersize bat like a wand; Gooch chunky and confident, brandishing what seemed to Hutton like a railway sleeper. But the combination worked. For once the opening spell was weathered, and as the fourth day unfolded so did English hopes of a surprise comeback from behind. For his part Sobers tried not to think of that Test at Port-of-Spain in 1968, when his declaration led to a series-winning victory for England.

Hutton and Gooch batted on, past the tea interval, before Sobers took the second new ball. Lillee responded by trimming Gooch's bails for 104. He faced 246 balls, hit eight fours and a huge six off Muralitharan, and had added 205 with Hutton.

There was a blow for England in the last over of the fourth day, when Warne trapped Dexter in front for 19. And there was more bad news in the third over of the final day, when Lillee finally disposed of Hutton. He faced 305 balls and hit nine fours, and his 113 was his third hundred of the series.

Lillee had Cowdrey caught behind too, but then May and Botham joined forces. Botham was in subdued mode – his eventual 49 contained only four fours – and gradually the score inched towards 400. But with less than 100 needed Botham was run out, and shortly afterwards Muralitharan had May caught at slip for 64.

Once again England's tail was unequal to the task. Murali whipped out Laker, Underwood and Trueman for ducks, and finished things off with a return catch from Statham – a Lancashire hero of an earlier generation. Murali had atoned for a quiet series with a five-wicket haul, and the World XI had got out of jail. Gavaskar's two fine innings earned him the Man of the Match award.

The teams moved to Australia for the fourth Test at Sydney (report tomorrow).

This series was played using a computer simulation devised for Wisden.com by Y Ananth Narayanan of Hallmark Software in Bangalore, India.

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