Photographic Memory

In through the slamming door

Phil Simmons looks back at the tightest Test win of them all

11-Feb-2008


Phil Simmons: For me it was a moment of disbelief. Twenty runs earlier I had gone for a catch off Tim May, but I wasn't sure if it was taken cleanly. That would have been the last wicket. I got anxious with every run and every ball after that. It had been a hard day, and both Curtly Ambrose and Courtney Walsh had bowled their hearts out. Finally Craig McDermott edged a ball as he tried to leave it. When Junior Murray caught him, there wasn't a West Indian there who was not at least two feet above the ground because of the intensity and emotion of the situation. It was a relief for me, and there was joy as well, because if we had lost, we would've lost the Frank Worrell Trophy. Photograph by Getty Images