Fast bowler Simon Jones grabbed his first five-wicket haul to power England to the brink of a comfortable victory against the West Indies on the fourth day of the second cricket test on Monday.
Jones took five for 57 to help bowl out the West Indies for 209 in the second innings, and leave England with 99 to win.
At stumps, England had sped to 71-2 in just 10 overs before fading light ended play. Mark Butcher led the way with an unbeaten 32 off 27 balls.
An expected England victory on Tuesday's fifth and final day would give them a 2-0 lead in the four-match series and ensure they retain the Wisden Trophy they won in England in 2000.
The West Indies began the day positively as England only added 19 runs to their overnight 300 for six.
Graham Thorpe, resuming on 81, fell 10 runs short of a century as the last four wickets tumbled for four runs in 44 balls.
Thorpe and Ashley Giles stretched their seventh-wicket stand to 85 before Pedro Collins and off-spinner Chris Gayle hastened the end of the innings. The pair took two wickets apiece to limit the England first-innings lead to 111.
Collins first claimed Giles for an obdurate 37 as the tall right-hander edged to second slip. Three runs later, Thorpe's push for a century was ended by a catch for first slip.
Gayle blew threw the tail-end as Simon Jones and Steve Harmison were both bowled cheaply.
Jones returned with the ball to put the skids under the West Indies with the wickets of both openers as the home team lunched at 52 for two.
Gayle and Devon Smith added 34 for the first wicket, but both fell in quick succession just as the home crowd were beginning to get behind their team.
Gayle could do nothing about his dismissal, bowled by one that kept low.
But Smith's airy drive that found mid-off was a gift of a wicket for the Glamorgan man.
Jones returned after the interval to trap Ramnaresh Sarwan leg before for 13 and an early end seemed in prospect at 56-3, with the West Indies still 55 in arrears.
But Jacobs and fellow left-hander Shivnarine Chanderpaul mounted a rearguard attack with a 102-run stand for the fourth wicket.
Jacobs did the bulk of the scoring in smacking 11 boundaries for his highest score against England.
Chanderpaul laid down the anchor to provide solid support.
Jones returned to make the crucial breakthrough, as Jacobs fended a short ball off the shoulder of the bat to cover. The 36-year-old Jacobs batted 157 minutes.
Once he went, the West Indies innings faded quickly as their last six wickets realized only 61 runs.
Jones' three fast bowling mates made their mark.
Steve Harmison claimed Brian Lara's key wicket, the 16th of the series for the tall Durham pacer. The West Indies captain was trapped plumb in front by an inswinger to be leg before for eight. It was Lara's fourth straight failure of the series.
Dwayne Smith again flirted dangerously for 14 before slashing Andrew Flintoff to point, where Paul Collingwood grabbed a fine diving effort.
Flintoff ended Chanderpaul's 202-minute vigil one run later as the left-hander top-edged a hook. Nasser Hussain ran 15 yards to scoop up another good catch lunging forward.
Chanderpaul hit two fours in 42 off 147 balls.
The end came swiftly, with Matthew Hoggard claiming Tino Best and Adam Sanford before Jones wrapped up things by claiming Pedro Collins as his fifth victim.
Best was leg before, Sanford edged to first slip, while Collins was bowled.
With only 45 minutes of batting, England set off after the modest target like a runaway train.
The team lost out-of-form Marcus Trescothick, bowled by Best for four at eight for one.
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