Strauss proud, England-Windies draw

England captain Andrew Strauss insisted he was proud of his side's efforts after rain had the final say in the drawn third Test against the West Indies at Edgbaston here on Monday. The final day washout -- the third without a ball bowled in this five-day game -- left England, the world's top-ranked Test side, with a 2-0 win in this three-match series after five-wicket and nine-wicket wins at Lord's and Trent Bridge respectively. England were left on their overnight score of 221 for five in reply to West Indies' first innings 426. Ian Bell, attempting to become the first Warwickshire batsman to score a Test hundred on his Edgbaston home ground, was left on 76 not out and nightwatchman Steven Finn nought not out. The series was a personal triumph for opener Strauss, who answered concerns about his batting form with two hundreds and a series tally of 326 runs at an average of more than 65. But England, with the series already won, controversially chose to rest first-choice new-ball pairing James Anderson and Stuart Broad from this Test. In their places came fellow seamers Graham Onions and Finn. "We played some good cricket in the first two games," said Strauss. "This game never really got going but I didn't think it had anything to do with the players that were missing. "We want to play very near to our best in every game, we weren't at our best here though. "I was delighted to see both Finn and Onions back, they both acquitted themselves really well, it shows we have good depth." Durham quick Onions, who two years ago suffered a career-threatening back injury, took four wickets for 88 runs in 29.3 overs, with Finn managing three for 109 in 32. West Indies' total owed much to man-of-the-match Tino Best's whirlwind 95, the highest score ever by a Test match No 11 batsman. Best faced just 112 balls with a six and 14 fours on Sunday's fourth day. Together with wicket-keeper Denesh Ramdin, who made 107 not out, Best shared a partnership of 143 -- the third highest 10th wicket stand in Test history and a West Indies record. "The joy of getting 95 is joyful and humbling," said Best, playing his first Test in nearly three years. "You have to enjoy the moment. I'm grateful and honoured. I still feel quick and strong and felt good yesterday (Sunday)." However, Ramdin was fined 20 percent of his match fee by match referee Roshan Mahanama after celebrating his hundred by waving a piece of paper containing criticism of West Indies great Viv Richards, who'd questioned his performance after the second Test. England and the West Indies play three one-day internationals and a stand alone Twenty20, starting with Saturday's 50-over clash at Southampton. "It was a good end to this series," said West Indies captain Darren Sammy. "There's work to do but three times we scored above 300. "We're very excited about the ODI series," added Sammy, whose side will welcome back several senior players for the one-dayers including former captain and dynamic opening batsman Chris Gayle, who has been in international exile for over a year after a dispute with the West Indies Cricket Board. "Over the years we've had a good dressing rapport so for the guys that are coming in, I don't see any problems," said Sammy. The West Indies warm-up for the limited overs fixtures with a one-day game against Middlesex at Lord's on Wednesday.