If there is a snake in the garden, it is the realisation that the West Indian force, though not what it was, is not by any means spent. Carl Hooper hit a hundred, off 135 balls, as England cleverly allowed him less than half the strike. In particular, though the fast bowling of Courtney Walsh, Franklyn Rose and Mervyn Dillon, spurred by a pitch with some 'bone' in it, possessed a thrust which England still cannot match.
Rose could not be classified as fast-medium on last night's reckoning: the best that can be said is that he would do you slightly less damage than some of his predecessors. Dillon has something of the mean demeanour of Colin Croft and the run-up of Curtly Ambrose. The saving grace is that he does not land anything like six balls an over in the right place - at present.
In the face of the West Indian opening bursts, England wilted and found they had lost three wickets and were one run behind what West Indies had been after 15 overs. Alec Stewart alone was up with the pace, until Graham Thorpe settled in with Graeme Hick, and the ball grew softer, and the bowling was changed. By the end, which came with 4.1 overs left, David Lloyd had less need of the calming solace of his pipe. ``I think we always had it under control,'' said Adam Hollioake, ``but we kept giving them a sniff.''
Dougie Brown took two wickets with his first three balls and passed Brian Lara's outside edge in between. It was a contribution by the Warwickshire all-rounder which eliminated any possibility of West Indies reaching the total of 275 they had scored against Pakistan the day before.
And how wasteful England's old administration was in refusing every previous invitation, bar one, to participate at Sharjah, thus depriving worthy county players of their day in the mid-winter sun. Asif Iqbal, who has organised all 22 tournaments since 1983, reckons England have been invited ``at least 10 times''.
Without Lord MacLaurin's arrival, this invitation would probably have been rejected too, and Brown might never had his magic moment against Philo Wallace and Lara, or when he saw England home with the impressively calm Mark Ealham. Brown's day ranked with that of Matthew Fleming when he restrained India's batsmen on Thursday.
The state of batting in Barbados must be parlous if they can produce two opening batsmen, both selected for the West Indian Test team in the last year, who are both tall and strong and more like tailenders in technique. Wallace rates as the right-handed equivalent of Adrian Griffith, who was tried in Australia last winter. Aided by some seam movement, slight by English standards, enormous by Sharjah's, and Wallace's, Brown nipped between his bat and pad first ball.
When Lara was given lbw, like Chanderpaul later, the ball might have landed on leg-stump, or outside. On Friday, Lara had batted well enough to suggest that reports of his demise in Pakistan, like those of West Indies, may have been slightly exaggerated. He felt for the ball at first, and his bottom hand came away in the drive, but the wrists were soon flashing again. He needs time at the wicket; the question is whether he is hungry enough to make that time.
Having lost two wickets immediately, West Indies had to bat quietly at precisely the time that run-scoring has been easiest, in the first 15 overs. Not only has the field been restricted then, but the ball has been at its hardest and most visible against the background of an off-white pitch in the clear natural light of an afternoon beside the Gulf.
At the end of their 15 overs, West Indies were 57 for three, and Stuart Williams was out as well, after flicking to midwicket, and Chanderpaul was in, the only West Indian concession to caution, and he not for long. The match lulled as Hooper and Phil Simmons could not take any risks, lest their tail be exposed, and Croft and Ealham were allowed to bowl straight through.
When dusk descended Hooper was left with as little batting for company as he was daylight. Yet the Man of the Match did all he could, which has not always been the case, and when he drove straight or pulled he hinted at Viv Richards, albeit the modern master at his most languid. Off the final ball of the West Indian innings, however, Richards might not have settled for a single, quietly worked to leg, to post a personal landmark.
The moon rose all but full, like England's cup after containing West Indies - who despite their recent failures have still won two-thirds of their internationals - to fewer than 200 runs. There were no more than 14 boundaries over the soft, heavy outfield. England's fielding had held up again; Stewart had stood up, too, deterring the West Indian batsmen from using their feet to the medium-pacers; and the bowlers had bowled wicket to wicket, without any width.
Then came the West Indians' opening thrust, which England were sorely tried to parry. Alistair Brown and Nick Knight were not sufficiently up with the pace to pull. It had to be Stewart, who was so dismissive that Walsh and Rose cut out the short stuff.
Rawl Lewis was hampered by dew when he tried his leg-breaks, and worked around for singles by Hick and Thorpe. England were back on course by the time they posted 100 in the 24th over, only for Hick to cut to cover and, when sent back, to be beaten by a direct hit from Chanderpaul.
Dillon was brought back to take on Hollioake and England's new one-day captain looked at home, having Thorpe for company, perhaps too confidently so. When he went after Dillon's shoulder-height bouncer - Hollioake hooked it to deep square Thorpe was at his excellent best to take England to the edge of victory.
``I should have hit it along the ground for a single,'' said Hollioake. ``We lost three wickets to short balls but we are a new team and we're learning from our mistakes.'' And so they are.