With each wicket, the West Indies celebrations grew ever more elaborate and frenzied. Their extended slip cordon looked almost an ironic nod to the heady days of the 1980s when Caribbean cricket ruled the world.
This team may not be fit to carry that great side's drinks, but they have at least finished a wretched tour on a high note by giving England a proper pasting and their long-suffering followers a glimpse of the potential.
At the end, the victors clung to each other in a manically excited huddle in the middle of the pitch. They were united in joy and relief. At least they had something to shout about.
Before the tour it was announced that West Indies would have a team curfew imposed on them. Chris Gayle was less than impressed with the idea at the time. Yesterday he said with glee: "I think the curfew might be off tonight."
Few people embody the anarchic state of West Indies cricket better than Runako Morton, a talented but troubled soul from the tiny island of Nevis. Yesterday was one of his good days. His impish, unbeaten 82 drove his side beyond the suburbs of respectability into the land of the red-hot favourite, not a territory this motley Caribbean crew have been familiar these past few months.
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But Morton has had more bad days than good. He was expelled from the West Indies academy in Grenada six years ago for what was officially described as "continued breaches of discipline", including not turning up when he was supposed to and going Awol to visit his wife back in Nevis.
He got a second chance when he was picked for the 2002 Champions Trophy in Sri Lanka but pulled out of the tournament, citing the death of his grandmother. Sympathy turned to opprobrium when it emerged that Morton had been telling some serious porkies: one of his grandmothers had been dead 16 years and the other was alive and well.
But the most troubling brush with authority came in January 2004 when he was arrested following a stabbing incident involving his cousin. So it was a touch ironic that it should have been fresh-faced James Anderson, once the pin-up of English cricket, who was relieved of half his match fee from the second one-dayer at Edgbas-ton for a shoulder-to-shoulder confrontation with Morton that was a bit too close for comfort in the eyes of match referee Mike Procter.
Morton's cricket is a reflection of his personality. His shot selection is skittish to say the least and his running between the wickets is like a child playing chicken in the traffic. Danger brings an adrenaline rush.
Perhaps that is why West Indies are customary nought-to-sixty style.
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Gayle has always been his own so bad at Test cricket: patience is for sissies in the world of Chris Gayle, man and captaincy of the one-day side has not turned him into an establishment figure. His attacks on the West Indies administration before this series were public, justified and will have had the support of his players. and Morton held it together long enough for West Indies to be able launch a vicious attack in the final 10 overs on England's wide-eyed, greenhorned bowling attack. display. He was dropped twice but had worked his way to within sight of a century when he offered the easiest of return catches to Liam Plunkett off a ball that looked like a slower one but in fact just "stopped" on the ton's number. Dimitri Mascarenhas was tying him down. England only had three men on the leg-side - two on the boundary - inviting the frisky Morton to heave across the line into the open spaces. He was dropped by Matt Prior behind the stumps off a thin edge. You could see the frustration. In the next over he hit Monty Panesar over mid-on. Gayle, his captain, came down to have a word.
Gayle may be coolness personified but his bat gives off the heat of a nuclear reactor. Yesterday, though, he played the sort of captain's anchor role that was entirely appropriate for the situation if not a reflection of his watching Gordon Greenidge or Richie Richardson.
There has never been much dispute that this West Indies side, despite their wretched results, contains some talented players. But in general they are so ill-disciplined, inexperienced and ill-equipped that they get ruthlessly and consistently exposed by teams of any quality.
To score 289 for five, with only a meagre contribution from their rock Shivnarine Chanderpaul, is testament to the ability that lies within this group of players. The likes of Bravo and Morton have the capacity for unorthodoxy which many of England's coached batsmen tend not to have.
Bravo's best shot only actually yielded two runs. It came in the final over of the innings and was an extraordinary inside-out lofted drive off the back foot that sailed high over extra cover only to plop disappointingly on to the previously sodden Trent Bridge outfield.
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This one-day series has shown the gulf between the Test and one-day forms of the game. In the longer format, West Indies are an embarrassment, in the short game they are competitive. And when they bat with the sort of extravagance and effectiveness they showed yesterday, then follow it up with such energy in the field, it is possible to imagine that one day the good days will return.
oJohn Stern is editor of the Wisden Cricketer