West Indies Cricket Team Vs England Cricket Team: West Indies pulled off a sensational run-chase of 219 to earn their first series win in a thrilling fourth T20 in St Lucia.
West Indies captain Rovman Powell: “The guys were a little bit more committed today, and the toss fell in our hands. It’s been a series where you seem to win the game once you win the toss, but the guys played well.”
England captain Jos Buttler: “It was an excellent wicket, and we got off to a great start with our openers putting them under plenty of pressure.
“We thought we needed at least 220, and then their openers played exceptionally well too.”
Ex-England opener Jason Roy on TNT Sports: “From start to finish, that is as good as you’re going to see in a run-chase – from any side.”
England 218-5 (20 overs): Bethell 62* (32), Salt 55 (35); Motie 2-40
West Indies 221-5 (19 overs): Lewis 68 (31); Ahmed 3-43
West Indies won by five wickets; England lead series 3-1
Scorecard of West Indies Cricket Team Vs England Cricket Team
Openers Evin Lewis and Shai Hope blasted 136 from the first nine overs before they lost three wickets in as many balls to allow England back into contention.
Rehan Ahmed had Lewis caught for 68, Hope was run out for 54, and Nicholas Pooran was bowled for a duck, but captain Rovman Powell’s 38 from 23 balls again shifted the momentum in the hosts’ favor.
Powell’s dismissal in the 17th over helped England regain some control, only for Sherfane Rutherford to hit back-to-back sixes in the penultimate over to seal a five-wicket win.
England’s 218-5 was set up by Phil Salt’s 55 – his sixth T20 score of 50 or more against West Indies – in explosive partnerships of 54 with fellow opener Will Jacks and 48 with Jos Buttler, who made 38.
Windies respond to series defeat in style
With the series scoreline reading 3-0 and their bowlers conceding 218, few would forgive West Indies for feeling somewhat drained when beginning their mammoth chase.
Instead, they responded with fearless, breathtaking batting – starting with a six-over powerplay of 69-0, which lit up the stunning St Lucian skies.
Hope even faced a maiden over from Saqib Mahmood in the powerplay, who was the only England bowler to concede less than ten runs per over with his 1-24.
But Powell’s mature knock ensured England could not settle as he bravely continued to target Ahmed, doing the bulk of the damage in recovery from 136-3 to 172-4 with Shimron Hetmyer, who only scored seven.
The equation was 23 from 21 balls by the time Powell fell lbw to Turner, which achieve with relative ease by Rutherford and Roston Chase to complete a perfectly executed chase.
Exciting Bethell shines again
Despite the eventual defeat, Bethell’s second T20 half-century added more weight to his ever-growing reputation as one of England’s most exciting talents.
He followed the platform laid by the experienced Salt and Buttler with exceptional maturity, ensuring the tourists did not waste such a dominant start to the innings, including reaching 100 in the first nine overs.
He started cautiously with the best view of Buttler’s cameo, settling in to watch the captain go through his full repertoire of tricks, such as ramps over the keeper and back-foot punches through the covers.
When Buttler hit a reverse-sweep straight to short third in the 13th over for 38, England were in a commanding position at 129-3 – but with Sam Curran at six and then a relatively long tail, West Indies still had a chance to restrict the damage further.
But Bethell took ownership of the situation, significantly when Livingstone fell for four, batting with astonishing confidence for a man playing in his sixth international T20.
It was another statement knock from Bethell, who has given England’s batting a welcome boost with the likes of Harry Brook, Jamie Smith, and Ben Stokes to come back into the middle order potentially.