Try as they might, the West Indies couldn't quite extract enough from the easy-paced pitch at the Antigua Recreation Ground to secure a consolation win. England lost five wickets during the day, but Brian Lara ultimately reckoned there was no chance of taking the remaining five in the last half hour.
The probability of a draw never diminished from the start of the day, which was a positive one for the tourists. Trescothick moved from 74 to 80 in the first over from Edwards, with drives straight and through cover, where Vaughan resumed service with a flowing boundary off Collymore in the second. A plethora of no balls made life harder for the hosts, and Collymore received a second warning for running on the pitch in his follow-through.
It was Edwards who struck after 40 minutes when Trescothick, who had looked at ease, bizarrely mistimed a slower ball to Sarwan at extra cover. Although the Somerset left-hander had fallen 12 short of his century, it was his best score of the series by a distance, and will have boosted his confidence ahead of the one-day tournament that follows.
Vaughan and Butcher progressed towards lunch, with Vaughan in particular impressing on the off side. It was such a stroke that saw him to his first century of the series. Lara tried almost every possible bowling permutation to conjure another breakthrough, but could not do so. Cramp prevented the West Indies captain from reappearing immediately after the interval, as the West Indies delayed taking the new ball, persisting with the spin of Gayle and Hinds.

Sarwan, leading the side until Lara's return, finally did the trick himself after coming on to bowl his leg-spin. Vaughan, after a fierce cut which took him to 140, pushed at a gently turning delivery that brushed his glove on the way through to Jacobs. Hussain, playing his last Test innings in the Caribbean, got off the mark with a flourish as Sarwan dropped short, and when the new ball was eventually taken he immediately dispatched it backward of square leg.

Although Collins was forced to leave the field after just one over, Edwards, Collymore and Best strove tirelessly in search of another breakthrough. To their frustration and England's relief it would not come, as Butcher completed his second half century of the match, and fourth of the series. Hussain's third followed shortly after tea, with a sweep pushed deftly fine, before Butcher was held at slip having a swipe at Hinds.

Graham Thorpe had the chance to overtake Denis Compton in England's list of highest run-scorers, moving up to number ten on the list, before Hussain was bowled round his legs, sweeping at Hinds. Flintoff swung fatally at Sarwan, but Jones kept Thorpe company until Lara decided that realistically there was no longer enough time to take the five wickets he needed.