Cricket: England delivered an exhibition of swing bowling to complete a series whitewash over West Indies and maintain their momentum leading into the Ashes series later this summer.
Led by Lancashire seamer James Anderson, who finished with match figures of nine for 125, England secured an innings and 83 runs victory in the second npower Test to regain the Wisden Trophy just three overs after lunch at Chester-le-Street.
Man-of-the-match Anderson, partnered by Yorkshire all-rounder Tim Bresnan, exploited swing-friendly conditions helped by two interruptions for rain in the morning session to induce a rapid West Indies collapse either side of lunch of seven wickets for 35 runs in just 88 balls.
Resuming 144 runs adrift on 115 for three, the tourists slumped to 176 all out with Shivnarine Chanderpaul the only batsman to offer any resistance on the final day with a determined 47 spread over two hours at the crease.
It was an impressive performance by England on their final day of Test cricket before the start of the Ashes series in July and will give them hope that, given the right conditions, they will be a match for Australia's batting line-up.
England will be aware players like Ricky Ponting, Mike Hussey and Michael Clarke are unlikely to bat with the same ill-discipline as West Indies demonstrated today, but as a warm-up for the big event this series could not have gone better.
Fearing the weather may play a key factor in deciding the match on the final day, it was perhaps ironic England benefited from the two showers during the morning session which both spiced up the wicket and prompted the ball to swing more extravagantly.
For all the skill Anderson and Bresnan displayed with the swinging ball, however, West Indies were also partly culpable for their own downfall and gifted England their first two wickets of the day.
England had begun without wicketkeeper Matt Prior, who was resting his bruised right ring finger, forcing Paul Collingwood to don the gloves again, while Ravi Bopara was also nursing a sore right knee and were grateful for the two substitute fielders from Durham's Academy.
Lendl Simmons began the collapse just two overs after the final weather interruption with a tame prod to substitute Scott Borthwick at point to earn Anderson the first of four wickets in the day.
His demise was the first of three wickets to fall for five runs in 15 balls with 24-year-old Bresnan, wicketless on his Test debut at Lord's and in the first innings of this match, finally breaking his duck by removing new batsman Brendan Nash in the next over when he clipped to Borthwick at square leg.
Bresnan followed that success, which was enthusiastically celebrated by the rest of the England team, by striking again in his next over with Denesh Ramdin edging to Anderson at third slip.
Impressive as Bresnan was in what could be his final Test of the summer if fellow all-rounder Andrew Flintoff returns successfully from knee surgery for the Ashes, it was Anderson who showed his complete mastery in the art of swing bowling.
Jerome Taylor was completely worked over just three overs later, playing and missing to three deliveries in succession before Anderson pitched the ball up and removed his off-stump with an outswinger.
Sulieman Benn fell to a similar delivery to the final ball before lunch to leave Chanderpaul needing to skilfully marshal the strike and help from the weather if the tourists were to avoid a comprehensive defeat.
Chanderpaul successfully managed to starve Fidel Edwards of most of the strike for the first over, but fell to the fifth ball of the second after lunch, earning Collingwood his first ever catch as stand-in wicketkeeper when he edged Anderson behind.
Edwards, perhaps mindful of the working over he was likely to get from Anderson in the next over following their running battle during this series, took it upon himself to prevent another confrontation.
Fearing another bouncer barrage from Anderson, Edwards offered a succession of high catches in the deep with the first one falling narrowly short of the diving Stuart Broad before substitute Karl Turner claimed the second to secure victory for England.