Bruce Laird who did not. Laird scored 69 in the second innings of the second test however the Australians were thrashed by ten wickets. Another fifty followed in the third and final test however the West Indians won convincingly again by 408 runs. Alvin Kallicharran, their only non-WSC player, scored a match winning century. This test series was run in the same format as Packer's Supertests with matches played between three sides, England also featuring. In the two tests Laird played against England his top score was 74 in the third test. Australia beat England in all three matches. Alongside the test
Australian cricket team in England in 2005 and mutual respect between the teams which characterised the series. England's two run victory is the narrowest result in Ashes cricket history (there have been two Tests won by a margin of only three runs). It is also the second-narrowest-run victory in all Test cricket history. (other narrow victories given here) With the series square after England's close win in the second match at Edgbaston in Birmingham, the stakes of the third Test at Old Trafford in Manchester had risen significantly. The day began with England winning the toss, and choosing to bat first, thus giving Shane Warne a chance