Victorious Lara praises Zimbabwe

West Indies 481 & 128 Zimbabwe 377 & 104 West Indies won by 128 runs

Brian Lara secured his first away victory as West Indies captain seven overs and 35 minutes into the last day of the second and final Test against Zimbabwe here yesterday but he acknowledged that the brief series had been tougher than anticipated.

"A lot of people will say Zimbabwe are one of the minnows of Test cricket but I thought the 11 guys we played over the 10 days were very determined," he said. After hanging on for a draw in the first Test, the West Indies retained the Clive Lloyd Trophy for series between the teams.

The win, by 128 runs, was sealed when Merv Dillon claimed Zimbabwe's only remaining wicket by bowling the last man, Blessing Mahwire.

After conceding a first-innings lead of 104, Zimbabwe put themselves back into the match by routing the West Indies for 128 on the fourth day only for their own batting to collapse. They went into the day at 90 for 9 and, after seeing a ball roll back off Mahwire's body into the stumps without dislodging the bails, Dillon finally finished the job.