What they said after the match: Vaughan, Harmison and Lara
Freddie Auld in Kingston14-Mar-2004They hadn’t been expecting to fulfil the after-match formalities quite so soon, but Michael Vaughan and Steve Harmison were still delighted to be facing the press:
Vaughan: “For three days it was bloody hard work”© Getty Images
Michael Vaughan
On Harmison’s bowling
Steve has produced one of the greatest spells of bowling by an England player. I think he showed today what a true bowler he is. He has put the practice in, and today he got his just deserts. It was a superb spell of bowling.On the sudden end to the match
I fully expected two more hard days of cricket, but I said before the matchthat it needed a couple of magical performances, and thankfully for us, Steve produced one today. I must also give special credit to Matthew Hoggard when he went into bat. I thought he showed tremendous application, and frustrated the West Indies bowlers to really give us a psychological edge.What happens now?
Now we are 1-0 up, which is the position we badly wanted to be in, but weknow the West Indies are a dangerous side and we have to focus on taking the same form into the next Test.On the match overall
For three days I thought it was bloody hard work. Today was a little bitsurreal. The session when Butch and Nasser battled was probably the toughest session of Test cricket I’ve ever been involved in. The way they applied themselves, on a fast pitch, was crucial and helped us get a lead, which, no matter how small, always gives you a psychological edge.And today’s play in particular
Today was a little like in 2000 when Andy Caddick bowled them out [at Headingley]. Full credit to Steve. I think today he showed what a true bowler he is. He’s a huge asset to the team. It was a superb spell of bowling. I always ask myself if I would like to bat out there when Harmison was bowling, and the answer was no. I expected us to have to chase a total of 200 which would have been hard. The key to this is that we don’t get carried away. I think we’ve been up for it since the moment we arrived in the Caribbean.Steve Harmison
On how he bowled today
It’s unbelievable really. I feel a bit numb at the minute. I learnt from the way I bowled in the first innings. I bowled too short and I probably tried to bowl too fast. Today I just tried to put the ball in the right areas and hope for a bit of luck, and everything fell into place.On the overall effort, and bowling against so many left-handers
Hoggy bowled well at the other end, and I think it was a big team effort. Ihaven’t had a drink in about a fortnight so I think I might have one now. Ican’t get carried away though – the next Test is a different day, and it could be a flat pitch and I could get none for 80 or something. I think against left-handers, I can open up my action a little, and if anything I probably bowl better to left-handers than right-handers."Brian Lara
On West Indies’ stunning collapse
I don’t think the collapse really needs explaining. What we have to do is get that edge that we had before the series started. There are three matches to play and that’s good for us, we have to look forward to thenext Test. I think in the first innings when we were 281 for 5, we couldhave got a better total, but then again we were 101 for 4 so it was OK. Allin all I think it was a good three days. Then it came down to who battedbetter in the second innings. Harmison and Hoggard bowled really well.On the match overall
It’s disappointing. We definitely faltered today. We have to realise that and move on. To be harbouring too much what happened today is the wrong way to go. Harmison bowled well, put the ball in the right areas. The main thing is that a lot of the inexperienced players played really well – Devon Smith and Ryan Hinds with the bat, and Tino Best and Fidel Edwards with the ball. The senior players have to realise that we went wrong in this game and we have to rectify that. There was no devil in the pitch. I don’t think it was anything special from the English today. We have a chance to come back and win this series. I hope the people continue to support us, and we can be sitting here at the end of the series having won.