Mark Ramprakash inspired England's fourth Test fightback in Georgetown yesterday and said: ''We are back in with a chance.'' Middlesex captain Ramprakash, who hit an unbeaten 64 and then took a maiden Test wicket at a crucial time as the West Indies collapsed to 127 for nine in their second innings, admitted that chasing more than 300 on a crumbling pitch would be ''a very tall order''.

But Ramprakash confirmed that England's spirits had been lifted after a day which ended with the West Indies not totally out of sight with a lead of 309.

''The pitch has deteriorated very quickly and batting is difficult out there,'' said Ramprakash.

''But having said that we bounced back well and the mood in the dressing room is now an upbeat one.

''The players showed a lot of pride and we have given ourselves a chance of winning the game.

''I thought it was a very good all-round team performance, but, of course, I was very happy with the way I played.

''I felt relaxed at the crease and your confidence grows when you make a contribution.

''I am trying to build a run of scores at Test level because that obviously leads to a run of games at this level. If you get an opportunity you have to grab it.

''I feel very happy within the team environment at the moment, although, of course, I was very disappointed to be left out at the start of this series despite doing well in my comeback Test at the Oval at the end of last summer.

''I'm very happy, too, to have opened my account as a Test bowler. Phil Tufnell must take a lot of the credit for his brilliant catch, and he also did his bit with the bat earlier because it was very important for us to save the follow-on.''

West Indies v England.

At Georgetown.

Overnight: West Indies 352 (S Chanderpaul 118, B C Lara 93). England 87-6.

England. First Innings continued

M R Ramprakash not out...............................64

R D B Croft c Lara b Hooper........................26

D W Headley c D Williams b Hooper.............0

A R C Fraser c Lara b Ramnarine...................0

P C R Tufnell c Bishop b Ambrose.................2

Extras.........................................................26

Total (87.1 overs)..........................................170

Fall - 1-1, 2-37, 3-41, 4-65, 5-73, 6-75, 7-139, 8-139, 9-140.

West Indies. Second Innings

S L Campbell c Ramprakash b Fraser...........17

S C Williams c Stewart b Headley...................0

B C Lara c Butcher b Tufnell.........................30

S Chanderpaul run out......................................0

C L Hooper lbw b Headley.............................34

J C Adams lbw b Croft...................................18

D Williams c Tufnell b Ramprakash..............15

I R Bishop not out.............................................2

C E L Ambrose lbw b Croft..............................2

C A Walshc Russell b Croft...............................0

Extras............................................................9

Total (for nine, 46.2 overs)...........................127

Fall - 1-4, 2-32, 3-32, 4-75, 5-93, 6-123, 7-123, 8-127, 9-127.

qPakistani leg-spinner Mushtaq Ahmed took four wickets between lunch and tea as South Africa struggled in their pursuit of a victory target of 255 on the fourth day of the second Test against the tourists in Durban yesterday.

At tea South Africa were 91 for five, with Mushtaq having taken four for 26 in an unchanged spell of 20 overs.

After South Africa had reached 42 for one soon after lunch, Mushtaq started the slide when he had Gary Kirsten caught off pad and bat at silly mid-off for 25. It was Somerset spinner Mushtaq's 150th Test wicket.

Four overs later Mushtaq had Jacques Kallis superbly caught down the leg side by wicketkeeper Moin Khan, as the ex-Middlesex all-rounder played a glance off the full face of the bat.

HD Ackerman struggled for 73 minutes to make 11 before Mushtaq, who had been bowling around the wicket, switched to over the wicket and trapped him lbw with a googly.

Andrew Hudson also found it difficult to score runs before driving a flighted delivery to mid-off after scoring eight in 67 minutes.

As in the first innings, the combination of Mushtaq and medium-pacer Azhar Mahmood proved highly economical, putting pressure on the batsmen.

Earlier Pakistan added just four runs to their overnight 222 for eight. Mushtaq hit a boundary off Fanie de Villiers in the first over of the day but was run out by a direct hit from twelfth man Pat Symcox at mid-on off the last ball of the over. Shaun Pollock had Fazal caught at mid-on with his third ball of the morning to finish with figures of six for 50.

Adam Bacher then played half-forward to Fazal-e-Akbar's fourth delivery in the second over of the South African innings to be out lbw.

The Kingsmead floodlights have been on throughout the day, and the start was delayed for 15 minutes because of bad light, with a further 25-minute stoppage during the afternoon.

Meanwhile, former captain Wasim Akram will join the Paki-stan team in South Africa ahead of the third test, Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Khalid Mahmood said yesterday.

He said the all-rounder, now training with his English county Lancashire, would join the team two days before the third test which starts at Port Elizabeth on March 6.

He said Akram had confirmed his fitness to the board.

''I received Akram's fax on Saturday. That was followed by another letter from Lancashire confirming that he has regained complete fitness,'' Mahmood said.

Akram was left out of the original squad after allegations of betting and match-fixing.

Tour officials also claimed Wasim was injured although the exact nature of his injury was clouded in mystery.

qQueensland recovered from a disastrous top-order collapse to beat New South Wales by two wickets in Australia's domestic limited-overs competition final yesterday.

All-rounder Scott Prestwidge steered the visitors to victory with an unbeaten 42 at the Sydney Cricket Ground to add to his earlier haul of three wickets. In reply to New South Wales' 166 all out in 49.3 overs, Queensland scored 167 for eight with 13 balls to spare.

Prestwidge added 55 runs for the eighth wicket with pace bowler Andy Bichel, who scored 30 and also claimed three wickets. It was the biggest partnership of the match and helped the visitors to recover their poise after slumping to 40 for five at one stage.

While the recognised batsmen on both runs struggled on a lively pitch, Bichel scored freely, hitting one six and two fours in an innings lasting 41 balls. It was Queensland's second domestic limited overs title in three years and their sixth in total.

Both sides were weakened by the absence of several senior players because of international duty, including New South Wales batsmen Mark Taylor and Steve Waugh and Queensland wicketkeeper Ian Healy.