Golf arrangements permitting, Brian Lara will leave Manchester and head for London today to captain the West Indies in a Test match for the 39th and probably last time.
He will be back for the ICC Champions Trophy next month and says he hopes to make another tour of England in four years' time. But his job will be on the line when the West Indian board meets to review this series. Word is that the 14 members are split but that another defeat at The Oval should tip the balance.
Lara attempted last night to put a gloss on the West Indies losing a third successive series to England for the first time in their history, insisting defeat at The Oval, starting on Thursday, was not a formality.
"We have been in this position before - against Australia and against England in the Caribbean - and the guys realise the situation and are looking forward to the match," he said without conviction.
"England played good cricket but I thought we were very competitive in this match. England are on top, but I saw great improvement in our team effort."
However, losing sides find many different ways to embrace defeat. Last week Lara pleaded with his men not to throw this Test away on the first day as they had done at Lord's and Edgbaston. He had some success. With the help of a day lost to rain the wheels did not come off until the fourth day.
Indeed, when England were 40 for three the West Indies bossed the game and had the vice-captain Ramnaresh Sarwan clung on to the chance given at gully when Graham Thorpe was on 57 England would have been in trouble.
Instead Thorpe became the glue that held the England innings together - even though Sarwan did give him another life when he was on 100 - and the West Indies' first-innings lead was reduced to 65. Thorpe rightly was named man of the match for his efforts.
None the less, at 88 for one on Sunday there was a chance that the damage could be repaired until Chris Gayle clumped Ashley Giles to Matthew Hoggard on the long-on boundary, leading the way for a monumental collapse that left England to chase 231 at 2.28 an over.
"We needed to get in excess of 250 with wickets in hand," said Lara, "but we were struggling all the way. The rest of us didn't pitch up when it was really needed."
But Lara still felt he could defend that lead. And right up to the point when Andrew Flintoff began peppering the stands the Trinidadian was still hopefully juggling his bowlers as he had all day in what was a lost cause from the moment Michael Vaughan and Robert Key arrested the rot at 27 for two.
Corey Collymore was brilliant. At one time he had bowled 11 overs, seven of them maidens, and conceded only 13 runs. He troubled all the batsmen with late movement, and the ball that shattered Marcus Trescothick's stumps was probably the equal of the one that dismissed Robert Key in the first innings - only this time it was to a left-hander and instead of flashing past the outside edge it slid between the England opener's bat and pad.
However, the major battle should have been between the England batsmen and the left-arm wrist spinner Dave Mohammed, who caused problems for all the left-handers in the first innings.
This time Mohammed was confronted by two right-handers who had obviously studied videos of his bowling. Key and Vaughan both appeared able to pick the googly and, after six overs costing 25 runs, Lara retired Mohammed from the action.