Denesh Ramdin

Calcutta/Birmingham: Rain had the final say as the third and final Test between England and the West Indies ended in a draw at Edgbaston, on Monday.

In a match where three days out of a possible five were washed out, it was no surprise neither side had got in a position to force victory.

The draw gave England a 2-0 win in this three-match series after five-wicket and nine-wicket victories at Lord’s and Trent Bridge respectively.

But though rain robbed much of the play in the Test, there was enough drama in whatever action was possible. Denesh Ramdin and Tino Best stole the spotlight for different reasons. While Best hit the highest ever Test score by a No.11 batsman, Ramdin, who scored a century, celebrated his landmark by waving a piece of paper in the direction of the media centre that bore a message, chiding West Indies legend Vivian Richards.

The wicketkeeper-batsman, however, has said that his emotions had boiled over, leading to the way he celebrated his second Test hundred.

The action was in response to earlier criticism levelled at Ramdin by Viv, who is now an expert analyst for a British media house, following the West Indies’ defeat in the second Test at Trent Bridge.

Ramdin said he and all the current West Indies players have tremendous respect for Viv and other West Indies legends, and no disrespect was meant.

“Sir Viv had said something [about me] in the press and I think I got a bit emotional and it came out in the way it did,” said Ramdin.

“Having said that, he’s a legend of the Caribbean and I still look up to him.”

Interestingly, Ramdin has been fined 20 percent of his match fee for his weird celebration.

Match Referee Roshan Mahanama announced he’d taken disciplinary action under the International Cricket Council code of conduct after charges were laid by on-field field umpires Tony Hill and Kumar Dharmasena and third umpire Aleem Dar, as well as fourth official David Millns.

“It is important that we do not allow a precedent to be set with such a premeditated celebration by Mr Ramdin,” Mahanama said in an ICC statement.

But Ramdin said he had been under pressure, particularly to score runs, and the comments by Viv both hurt and motivated him.

“His statement was a bit hurtful to me, but I worked hard and I proved the critics wrong,” he said.

“When I was not getting runs, I kept reminding myself that I needed to score runs and do well for myself and my teammates.”

“Being out of international cricket for a long time and knowing there are players coming through all the time, I felt pressured... This is something that I love and I want to perform,” Ramdin said.

“I have not been getting runs since my return and we are playing against the No.1 Test side in the world and I wanted to do well,” he added.

Ramdin said his point had been made with the bat and there was no need for the paper, and he was willing to meet Viv to further defuse the situation.

Ramdin also hailed the batting of West Indies fast bowler Tino Best, who made 95 to collect the highest score by a No.11 batsman in the history of Tests. “It was amazing, Tino went out there and played some unbelievable shots,” he said.