The defeat inflicted upon the West Indies on Sunday brings the team to crisis point.
 |  It is a shame that we cannot pit England against Australia right away |
It is very rare for a touring captain to throw in the towel, but with the criticism now deafening, no one could blame Brian Lara if he decides that he is unable to carry on.
He indicated immediately after the match that he had no wish to resign, but he may yet reconsider.
Sir Viv Richards was the latest senior figure to raise his head above the parapet, and question whether or not Lara was the right man to get the best out of this team.
He is certainly not the first and, I suspect after this defeat, there will be many more over the next few days.
It would be asking a lot for a new captain to make any difference straight away, but the West Indies' problem is that without a change, things will merely continue to slide inexorably into total and chaotic decline.
Something needs to be done urgently to shake some enthusiasm and focus into a group of talented, but inexperienced players who are becoming far too accustomed to losing for their own good.
England, meanwhile, go from strength to strength. It is a shame, in a way, that we cannot pit them against Australia right away.
Everyone is fit and in form - precisely the conditions England will need if they are to have a chance of regaining the Ashes next year.
 Jermaine Lawson is bowled and England win the Test |
Theirs is a genuine team effort at present, and while I still have concerns about the depth of seam-bowling - Simon Jones and James Anderson are both too inconsistent at present - there is enough depth in the squad to cover.
Although a few optimists might have dreamed of England wrapping up the game today, the most likely scenario was that they would win sometime on the final day.
That West Indies collapsed so dramatically was helped by a second poor umpiring decision against Brian Lara in this series - he was given out by Simon Taufel caught at slip off Ashley Giles when the ball merely brushed his pad.
There was also a brave decision by the other umpire, Darrell Hair, to despatch Shivnarine Chanderpaul lbw.
Hair has a reputation for losing his patience when left-handed batsmen hide their bats behind their pads, and having tried his best at Taufel's end, Giles switched to try his luck with Hair.
Immediately, Chanderpaul thrust his pad well down the pitch, with his bat hidden, and Hair raised the finger.
West Indies' resistance had been broken, and when Chris Gayle was well taken by Andrew Strauss at silly point, defeat was only a matter of time.
MMIX
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