MIDDLESEX S Andrew Strauss stressed the importance of England s unity in their one-day series win over the West Indies in the Caribbean on Friday, writes Simon Jackson. The England captain led his men to a 3-2 series win over the hosts in St Lucia s Beaus

MIDDLESEX'S Andrew Strauss stressed the importance of England's unity in their one-day series win over the West Indies in the Caribbean on Friday, writes Simon Jackson.

The England captain led his men to a 3-2 series win over the hosts in St Lucia's Beausejour Stadium after trailing the West Indies 2-1 following back-to- back losses in Guyana and Barbados.

England kept their nerve in the decider to reach 172-5, in a match reduced to 29 overs, before defeating West Indies (146) by 26 runs in 28 overs.

"It has been a long, hard tour and to come out at the end with something is pretty special," said Strauss.

"I'm delighted. We played really well and handled the pressure well. Given that we lost the Test series, the one-day series is very important to us.

"The guys kept close as a unit and we kept helping each other through those tough times."

l Strauss was this week left out of the provisional squad for the ICC World Twenty20 tournament. See page 28.

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