Steve Cooper dismissed fears about losing his job as pressure mounts on the Nottingham Forest boss.
Forest were hammered 5-0 at Fulham on Wednesday – a fourth straight Premier League defeat – which left them six points above the drop zone.
The former Swansea manager accepts his position will be under scrutiny – with former Wolves boss Julen Lopetegui thought to be a serious contender if he leaves – but ahead of Saturday’s trip to Molineux Cooper insisted he cannot consider the sack.
He said: “I don’t think like that. That is not a good way to think, it is like saying to a player ‘you have to play well or you will not play again’ – it is not a thought process I believe in using.
“We are disappointed with results and last night’s performance. More than ever you have to show belief and character and what you stand for.
“There are going to be questions and stories, I respect that as it is the life of a football manager.
“At the same time you have to stay honed in on your day’s work and if I let anything else creep in I am not giving 100 per cent to the job and that is what I want to do.”
Cooper, who took Forest back to the Premier League for the first time in 23 years in 2022, said after the hammering at Craven Cottage that he did not deserve the backing from the fans he received as he left the pitch.
He he also refused to blame his players for their showing on Wednesday after doubles from Alex Iwobi, Raul Jimenez and a Tom Cairney strike sunk the visitors.
Cooper told a press conference: “I would never split myself from the players. We are a collective, it’s not about me getting let down, it’s the supporters who were let down by all of us – and that starts with me.”
Burnley’s survival hopes have suffered a significant blow with winger Luca Koleosho facing several months out with a knee injury.
The 19-year-old summer signing from Espanyol has been one of Burnley’s brightest lights so far this term and scored his first goal for the club in Saturday’s 5-0 win over Sheffield United.
But the Italy under-21 international was hurt in the first half of Tuesday’s 1-0 defeat at Wolves and, after initially trying to carry on, was forced off with 36 minutes gone.
“It’s bad news for us,” manager Vincent Kompany said. “He’s going to be out for a while apparently…I’d like to think he’ll still play this season but it might be towards the end of the season.”
Kompany would not disclose the precise nature of Koleosho’s injury but the loss of the pacy and incisive young forward is a major setback for a team who, Saturday’s big win aside, have struggled to score goals all season.
“We’ll do everything we can to make sure that he’ll get back healthy and ready to go again,” Kompany added. “I think now the key concern for us is to make sure he doesn’t sustain any long-term damage because he’s still young, we’ll do everything right by him…
“Past the fact that it’s a blow for a young player, I still think it’s for someone else now to step up and wear the shirt in a way that Luca has done.
“In these moments if you keep your head calm you can really get better, get stronger from these moments. I’ve no doubt he’ll come back stronger but for us short-term wise it’s an undeniable blow.”
But when asked if Koleosho’s injury could force Burnley into the January transfer market, Kompany said it was unlikely a club that signed 15 players in the summer would be busy next month.
“The squad is still fairly large and we don’t have unlimited resources,” Kompany said. “If we can find a way to improve the squad drastically we’ll do that but if it’s just to add numbers that’s not what we’re out for…
“I don’t see how we could drastically go out there and drastically spend our way into staying in this division. It would have to be one or two really smart deals if we can find them.
“You’re not necessarily in the strongest position when you’re at the bottom of the league to make a case to a player to commit his future to you, but there might be an opportunity.
“The key thing for us is also making sure the players we have now and the clear improvements you see, that they keep that progress level up.
“The likes of Zeki (Amdouni) or Sander Berge, these guys, their performance has improved that much from two months ago and they’ve got that much left to go, that could be the key factor for us in turning performances into results.”
Returning to the Cheltenham Festival winner’s enclosure is the aim for Henrietta Knight as she prepares to rejoin the training ranks in the new year.
The 76-year-old is best known for the magnificent Cheltenham Gold Cup hat-trick of Best Mate between 2002-2004 and also the exploits of Champion Chase hero Edredon Bleu.
But she retired from training in 2012 and has since been involved in the pre-training of horses as well as being an active figure at the sales.
However, Knight announced in November she had reapplied for her trainer’s licence after joining forces with Brendan Powell for a shock comeback.
That process is well under way and she is eager to get the show on the road in her new venture, hoping to saddle her first runners early in 2024.
“It’s coming along well and I’ve applied for the licence so I’m just waiting for that coming through,” said Knight.
“They say it will take two months, but I’m hoping it will come through sooner. We’re hoping to have runners the first week of January.
“I’m very excited and Brendan is my assistant. Between us we have had over 1,500 (winners) as trainers so we’re quite excited.”
Knight is anticipating a maximum of 35 horses in training and dreams of unearthing a rare gem among her small but select string of young stock which will take her back into the spotlight at the racecourse she holds most dear.
“I’d like to get some older horses in, but it just depends what owners we attract,” continued Knight.
“We’ve got some lovely young ones waiting in the wings, but it might take a year or so to have them at their best as some are only three-year-olds. They would all be unheard of to you, but hopefully they become household names.
“We’ve got to get some Grade Ones and my ambition is to be back in the unsaddling enclosure with a winner at the Cheltenham Festival. I don’t mind which race, I’m not fussy, as long as it’s a winner.
“It might be a bit optimistic this year, but hopefully it will be in 2025. I like to have a goal in life, you have got to have an aim.”
Knight was assisted by her late husband and former champion jump jockey Terry Biddlecombe during the halcyon days of Best Mate and Edredon Bleu, with the duo’s joyous celebrations after various Cheltenham Festival victories a popular sight with the racing public.
Knight remembers fondly the adoration she received during those great days and hopes that support will be rekindled on the resumption of her training career as she seeks to attract new owners to her bespoke West Lockinge operation.
She added: “Hopefully the appeal to people is we’re only going to be a small yard with a maximum of 35 horses and a lot of owners like the idea of sending their horses to a small yard as they get more involved and a bit more of a personal touch.
“I think some of the horses benefit by being in a smaller yard as they don’t get so stressed.
“Terry was always a great man with the public, he loved his public and they were fantastic when we trained those great horses.
“We hope they will come back to support us because we have some fantastic people out there, and Brendan has too – we’re really looking forward to getting into the spirit of it.”
Constitution Hill, Shishkin and Jonbon headline a star-studded card at Sandown on Saturday.
The rearranged Fighting Fifth Hurdle will see Nicky Henderson saddle both Constitution Hill (Nico de Boinville) and Shishkin (James Bowen).
Taking on the Seven Barrows duo are Goshen, Not So Sleepy and top-notch mares Love Envoi and You Wear It Well.
On an important afternoon for Henderson, Jonbon is odds-on for the Betfair Tingle Creek Chase in which he will face four rivals – Boothill, Edwardstone, Haddex Des Obeaux and Nube Negra.
Willmount is another leading contender for the team as the impressive Newbury winner moves up to Listed level in the Betfair Claremont Novices’ Hurdle.
Also on the Esher menu is the Betfair-sponsored Henry VIII Novices’ Chase, where the Joe Tizzard-trained JPR One bids to atone for an unfortunate mishap at Cheltenham last month.
Unai Emery was trying to keep a lid on the excitement levels after his Aston Villa side outclassed stuttering Manchester City in Wednesday’s 1-0 win to move above the defending champions and into third place.
Leon Bailey’s deflected strike in the 74th minute was enough to seal a 14th straight home win for Villa and add to the growing sense of belief that something special is brewing in the west Midlands.
Pep Guardiola declared that Emery’s side should “definitely” be considered among the title contenders after watching his depleted side struggle to contain a Villa team who had 22 shots at goal to City’s two.
But Emery played down any title talk and insisted there is still much work to do in developing his side, who face leaders Arsenal at home on Saturday.
“We created lots of chances and we controlled the attack in the high press,” Emery said. “We were believing. In my career, hopefully more in the next weeks, months and years I can continue improving as a coach and with the team I am trying to build.
“(The performance) was fantastic but we must keep a balance. The dressing room is happy, but the next challenge is on Saturday. (On Thursday) we are focusing again on Saturday.”
Wednesday night was Emery’s 50th game in charge. When the Spaniard arrived a little more than a year ago, Villa were near the foot of the table and fearing a relegation battle but he took them into the Europa Conference League and now the Champions League looks a genuine possibility.
Asked to reflect on his first 50 games, Emery pointed to last February, when back-to-back 4-2 home defeats at the hands of Leicester and Arsenal offered a learning moment.
“I can come back in my mind and think how we were when we started this process,” he said. “We lost against Leicester and Arsenal at home, 4-2. We couldn’t concede eight goals in two matches at home like we did.
“It was a key moment when we reacted in a meeting with the players, focusing more our idea and our style, building and being very demanding in it. I think the players, they reacted very well and the way we did, we started doing in that moment, I think we are still being very demanding and keeping it.”
City boss Pep Guardiola was full of praise for Villa’s performance but admitted he needed to change the dynamic of his own side, now winless in four league outings as they lose ground in their title defence.
The absence of Rodri and Jack Grealish through suspension, plus the loss of Jeremy Doku to injury, limited Guardiola’s options and they lost the midfield battle.
“In the first half, we struggled to follow what we spoke (about),” Guardiola said. “We adjusted something at half-time and it was much better and the team had a better dynamic but we didn’t find the players to make the assist or cross or pass.”
“We didn’t have the feeling that we are going to do something and we missed it…We have to accept it when a team is better and recognise it.
“We have to change the dynamic on Sunday at Luton.”
Springwell Bay could take a shot at the Dornan Engineering Relkeel Hurdle at Cheltenham on New Year’s Day following his taking victory at the track last month.
Jonjo O’Neill’s six-year-old was a progressive performer over timber last term, winning on three occasions before finishing his campaign in Grade One company at Aintree.
He made his first outing in the handicap ranks on his return to action at the November Meeting, but having obliged favourite backers with a good deal up his sleeve, could be set for an immediate return to a higher calibre of contest.
“He might go to the Relkeel,” said O’Neill.
“He’s in good form at home and ran a nice race there at Cheltenham last time, so hopefully he can improve on that.
“He has had plenty of problems, so you are always just biting your lip a little bit with him. But he has the ability if everything goes according to plan for him, so fingers crossed.”
The Jackdaws Castle handler has always held the Gay Smith-owned gelding in high regard and believes the Prestbury Park Grade Two would give a good indication as to Springwell Bay’s credentials in deeper waters.
When asked about him developing into a Graded-level operator, O’Neill added: “That’s what you would hope for and the Relkeel would probably tell you a lot, so that would be one of his options, anyway.”
Chiedozie Ogbene has not just adapted to the pace of the Premier League – he is setting it.
The Luton winger is the fastest player in the top-flight this season having studied Jamaican sprint legend Usain Bolt to perfect his style.
He clocked 36.93kph – 23mph – against Fulham in September and sits ahead of Wolves’ Pedro Neto and Liverpool’s Dominik Szoboszlai.
On Sunday he faces last season’s top speedster Kyle Walker, who hit 37.31kph, as Luton host Manchester City, although Ogbene’s rise has not always been rapid.
“I kid you not, when I was younger I wouldn’t win all the races, there were kids a lot faster than me,” the Ireland international tells the PA news agency.
“Maybe I was the fastest in the school but I wasn’t the fastest in County Cork. Not being the fastest led me to think, why? What are the fastest doing?
“I used running to work on technique when I went back to Gaelic football or soccer but as I got older I developed a more powerful hunger for running.
“I’d go to training to learn the mechanics but (athletics) competition wasn’t something for me, unlike my brothers. I don’t actually know what my official 100 metre time was.
“I was more light on my feet because I weighed less and was naturally skinny. It’s when I got older, when I moved to Brentford, I started putting more muscle on and became quicker, more powerful.
“I really like track and field and every now and then I like to put on the old Olympics, the 4x100m relays. I can’t count how many times I’ve watched the London 2012 relay final.
“Bolt is obviously someone I loved, the way he runs, his mechanics, but obviously I’m not six foot five so I don’t try to hyperextend the way he can. I just love the way he is. He’s like a piston.
“Sprinters advise to run at 90 to 95 per cent, they don’t try to run at 100 per cent. If you get to 100 per cent you stress yourself.
“The 90 per cent rule it’s called. At 90 per cent you’re telling your brain, ‘I’m relaxed, I’m only looking for 90’ and you end up running quicker because your brain is not chasing a goal.”
Pace runs in the family as brother Kaodi, a pharmaceutical engineer, has a 100m personal best of 10.8 seconds while other brother Uche, a nurse, is also a sprinter.
The boys and sisters Nneoma and Chibuzo grew up in Cork after dad Emmanuel chose Ireland over Florida, when he and wife Christina took the family over when Ogbene was eight in 2005, for a job as a nurse.
His parents had been working in Kuwait but Ogbene was soon playing Gaelic football for Nemo Rangers, before playing for Cork and Limerick and eventually moving to Brentford in 2018.
View this post on Instagram
“Dad liked it in Ireland. It was a peaceful country,” he adds. “He wanted a good education system for us, which Ireland was very good for, and he liked his job in Ireland. America would have been a big journey.”
It means the 26-year-old is the first Nigerian-born player to feature for Ireland, making his debut against Hungary in 2021.
“Nigeria was if, buts and maybes. It was difficult because my parents are proud Nigerians and I wanted to make them proud but they are as proud of me playing for Ireland,” says Ogbene, now with four goals in 19 games.
“I went through the system in Ireland, it is my adopted home, and the opportunity was massive.
“If you want me, I want to be with you. If you give me an opportunity I will never say no. I was also given the opportunity to come to the Premier League and I didn’t want to turn it down.”
View this post on Instagram
Ogbene had options in the summer with most of the Championship chasing his signature but opted to sign for the Hatters after four years with Rotherham.
He has featured in every Premier League game for Rob Edwards this term, scoring in the 2-2 draw at Nottingham Forest, and after just 15 top-flight appearances, has rivals running scared.
“International football has helped me massively because it would have been a such a big jump,” he said, with Luton two points above the drop zone after Tuesday’s heartbreaking late 4-3 defeat to Arsenal.
“When I came to the Premier League, I told myself: ‘I’ve competed well against some of the top full backs in international football, I have to be confident’.
“Being quick is a good trait to have because defenders tend to respect you a bit more, they’re scared you’re going to go in behind.
“Can I go faster? I hope I will.”
Oisin Murphy’s hurdles debut has been delayed after Thursday’s meeting at Wincanton was abandoned.
The three-times champion Flat jockey was due to have his first spin over obstacles aboard the Cian Collins-trained Lets Do This in the Danny McNab Bookmakers “National Hunt” Novices’ Handicap Hurdle at the Somerset track.
However, the fixture has been called off due to significant rain, with clerk of the course Daniel Cooper able to make a decision well ahead of the planned 8am inspection.
Cooper is also clerk at Exeter, where a 7.30am precautionary inspection on raceday will determine the prospects for Friday’s planned card.
Market Rasen hosts Thursday’s National Hunt action, with the ground reported to be soft, with heavy places on the chase track.
Sunday’s card at Huntingdon, which is scheduled to feature the Grade Two Peterborough Chase, is subject to a 2pm inspection on Thursday.
What the papers say
Real Madrid are reportedly ready to offer Kylian Mbappe a contract, but it comes with a deadline. The Daily Mail, citing AS, says the Spanish giants are committed to offering the Paris St Germain forward a deal before the expiration of his current deal next summer. However, Real are expecting a firm answer to their offer by January 15 at the latest.
The Mail, this time via Tuttosport, also says Juventus are prepared to withdraw from talks to sign Manchester United forward Jadon Sancho. According to the paper, bosses at the Italian club are concerned by the 23-year-old’s potential price tag. Sancho was signed from Borussia Dortmund for £73million, and United would be determined to receive as much as possible in any transfer.
And The Sun reports 19-year-old United States and Hajduk Split attacking midfielder Rokas Pukstas has emerged on Arsenal’s radar.
Social media round-upPlayers to watch
Richarlison: The Tottenham forward is attracting plenty of interest from the Saudi Pro League, according to the website 90 Min.
Hakan Calhanoglu: Calciomercato says West Ham would need to stump up more than £40m for the Inter Milan midfielder.
Zach Hyman scored two of his three goals in the Oilers’ four-goal first period and surging Edmonton cruised to a 6-1 rout of the Carolina Hurricanes on Wednesday.
Connor McDavid and Mattias Janmark each had three assists and Ryan McLeod and Mattias Ekholm also scored to help the Oilers win their fifth straight game.
McLeod scored 28 seconds into the game and Ekholm extended the lead just 13 seconds later. Hyman netted his first of the game at 5:46 and Pyotr Kochetkov was replaced by Antti Raanta after allowing three goals on six shots.
Jordan Staal spoiled Stuart Skinner’s shutout bid midway through the third period as Carolina dropped its second in a row following a 3-0-1 stretch.
Skinner finished with 38 saves and has been in net for all five wins during the streak, posting a 1.58 goals-against average.
Kucherov extends streak in Lightning’s win
Nikita Kucherov had a goal and an assist to extend his point streak to 11 games and the Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Pittsburgh Penguins, 3-1.
Anthony Cirelli and Tanner Jeannot also scored for the Lightning, and Andrei Vasilevskiy made 23 saves as Tampa Bay won its second in a row following a four-game skid.
Kucherov, the NHL scoring leader with 44 points, has six goals and 15 assists during his streak.
Jake Guentzel had the lone goal for Pittsburgh, which had a five-game point streak snapped (2-1-3).
Marchessault, Eichel lead Knights over Blues
Jonathan Marchessault scored the 200th goal of his career and JacK Eichel had a goal and an assist as the Vegas Golden Knights defeated the St. Louis Blues, 6-3.
The Golden Knights had six different goal scorers with Eichel, Marchesault, Keegan Kolesar and Michael Amadio tallying in the second period, when Vegas turned a 3-1 deficit into a 5-3 lead.
Vegas is 3-0-3 in its last six games and leads the NHL with 39 points.
Jordan Binnington made a season-high 43 saves for the Blues, who have alternated wins and losses in their last eight games.
Glenn Hoddle was appointed manager of Wolves on this day in 2004 .
The former England boss had been out of a job since leaving Tottenham in September 2003 and had previous managerial experience with Swindon, Chelsea and Southampton.
Hoddle took charge, succeeding manager Dave Jones for a second time having previously replaced him at Southampton.
Jones was sacked at the start of November following the club’s relegation to the Championship and a miserable start to the new season saw them languishing in 17th when Hoddle took over.
“I’m delighted to be here. I saw the massive potential Wolverhampton have got; their ambition paralleled my thoughts,” Hoddle said.
“Wolves are a Premiership outfit with the fan base and ambition – they’ve already had a taste, and it’s very clear to me that is where they want to be put back again.
“It’s a very big challenge. We’re not sitting on top of the league – there’s a lot of work to be done.
“That (the Premier League) is where everybody at this club wants to go. I picked that up very quickly, and that’s where I want to go. I’m delighted to be back in football as well.”
Hoddle steered the club to a ninth-placed finish in the 2004-05 season, but Wolves missed out on the play-offs by eight points the following season with a seventh-placed finish.
He resigned as manager in July 2006 and it remains his last job in management, excluding a short spell as coach at QPR under Harry Redknapp in 2014-15.
Luka Dončić notched a triple-double by halftime and finished with 40 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists in three quarters in the Dallas Mavericks’ 147-97 rout of the Utah Jazz on Wednesday.
Doncic grabbed a rebound with 71 seconds left in the first half and assisted on Dereck Lively II’s dunk 12 seconds later to complete the 60th triple-double of his career. That moved him past Larry Bird into sole possession of ninth on the career list.
The Dallas superstar had the first 25-point first-half triple-double in NBA history. Doncic shot 14 of 25 from the field and was 6 of 12 from long range.
Kyrie Irving added 26 points for Dallas, which had its highest-scoring game of this season and came up two points shy of the highest-scoring game ever in regulation.
Ochai Agbaji scored 21 points for the Jazz, who played without top scorers Lauri Markkanen (hamstring) and Jordan Clarkson (thigh).
Grizzlies’ Bane goes off as Pistons lose again
Desmond Bane poured in 32 of his career-high 49 points in the second half and the Memphis Grizzlies sent the Detroit Pistons to their 18th straight loss, 116-102.
Detroit’s streak is the longest single-season run in franchise history and the longest in the NBA since the Houston Rockets’ 20-game slide in 2020-21. The Philadelphia 76ers hold the NBA record with a 26-game drought in 2013-14.
Bane shot 19 of 31 from the field and 4-of-8 from 3-point range while sinking all seven free-throw attempts. He added eight assists and six rebounds.
The Pistons held a 69-61 lead midway through the third quarter, but Bane scored the next seven points.
Bojan Bogdanovic scored 22 points for Detroit, which was outscored 34-18 in the fourth quarter.
Embiid drops 50 in 76ers’ win
Joel Embiid scored a season-high 50 points and grabbed 13 rebounds to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 131-126 victory over the Washington Wizards.
Embiid hit the 50-point mark for the sixth time in his career, falling nine points short of his career best set on Nov. 13, 2022, against Utah.
He was 19 of 24 from the floor with a 3-pointer on two attempts and 11 of 13 from the foul line. He also had seven assists and six turnovers in just over 38 minutes.
Tyrese Maxey added 26 points as the 76ers averted a third straight loss.
The first blockbuster trade of the offseason arrived Wednesday night, with the New York Yankees acquiring slugger Juan Soto from the cost-cutting San Diego Padres.
The Yankees will get Soto, a three-time All-Star, and outfielder Trent Grisham from the Padres in exchange for pitchers Michael King, Drew Thorpe, Jhony Brito and Randy Vasquez and catcher Kyle Higashioka.
Soto, widely regarded as one of the game’s best hitters, is due to be a free agent after this upcoming season and was moved because San Diego needed to slash payroll and was seeking pitching depth.
The 25-year-old Soto is expected to slot in as the Yankees’ right fielder, with Aaron Judge likely shifting to center and newly acquired Alex Verdugo manning left field. Grisham will likely serve as a fourth outfielder and defensive replacement.
New York was in desperate need of offense after finishing 82-80 last season, the franchise’s worst record since 1992. The offense ranked 25th in the majors with 4.15 runs per game, 29th in batting average (.227) and 24th in OPS (.701).
Soto provides plenty from the plate with a .421 on-base percentage, the highest among active players. He is a four-time Silver Slugger Award winner and batted .275 with 35 home runs, 109 RBIs and .a 930 Ops in his only full season with the Padres in 2023.
San Diego acquired Soto from the Washington Nationals on Aug. 2, 2022, after he turned down a $440 million, 15-year offer.
Sam Curran refused to dwell too much on his weekend drubbing and believes he demonstrated his strength of character by helping England level their ODI series against the West Indies.
Curran recorded the most expensive figures by an England bowler in ODIs on Sunday as the Windies drew first blood in the three-match series, finishing with nought for 98 after 9.5 bruising overs.
He returned to the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua on Wednesday and laid the groundwork for England’s six-wicket win, snaring top-order trio Keacy Carty, Brandon King and Shimron Hetmyer.
After a redemptive display as he regained his moniker of “making things happen”, Curran felt there was nothing to be gained from focusing on the negatives as he drew an emphatic line under the experience.
“Any time you bowl in certain scenarios, you know you’re going to have a tough day but I think if you dwell on those things too much, I feel like it would have probably affected me here,” he said.
“The big, big messaging from this group was ‘you’ve got to learn from those situations’ and I feel like I’m a very strong character in that regard. I don’t feel like that’s going to affect me at all.
“Hopefully I just bounce back stronger and learn from those days that are tough. There’s a little bit of relief, I guess, it was a tough day the other day but it was fantastic to get the win here.
“I feel like I haven’t played a huge amount over the last couple of months, like any player it’s a bit of rhythm and confidence and fingers crossed we can keep looking forwards.”
Curran was axed from the side after three anonymous displays at the World Cup, where he averaged 11.66 with the bat and took two wickets and leaked 140 runs in 17.2 overs.
Scrutiny increased on his long-term role in a new-look ODI set-up after being taken down by the Windies but Curran was named Jos Buttler’s vice-captain ahead of this series, emphasising the premium England place on the 25-year-old.
“Jos mentioned before the series if he’d like me to do it, that’s a great honour,” he said. “I do feel like more of a senior player in the side so that was a nice, proud moment.
“I definitely feel like I can play all three formats. People can have their opinions that I might not be able to but I feel like I’m a player who likes to back myself in all those tough moments.
“The message is that it’s a new side at the moment and it’s looking forward for the next couple of years.
“I think the energy around the group has been fantastic as well. It feels like a lot of energy and buzz around the group right now and I feel quite a big part of that, so I feel that’s a good thing.”
Curran’s three for 33 saw the Windies slip to 23 for four and while there were knocks of 68 from Shai Hope and 63 by Sherfane Rutherford, Liam Livingstone snuffed out any chance of a substantial total.
He dismissed Rutherford then Hope en route to figures of three for 39, with Gus Atkinson and Rehan Ahmed chipping in with a couple of wickets apiece as the Windies stumbled to 202 all out in 39.4 overs.
Will Jacks thumped four sixes in his sparkling 73 off 72 deliveries but his dismissal left England on 116 for four and the game on a knife-edge as the out-of-form Jos Buttler strode to the crease.
Without a fifty in his previous 13 ODIs and out for single figures in five of his last eight innings, the batter often touted as England’s greatest in the white-ball formats rediscovered his Midas touch.
He was twice beaten on the outside edge early on by leg-spinner Yannic Cariah but gradually found some fluency, thumping three sixes in his unbeaten 58 from 45 balls, sharing an unbroken 90 with Harry Brook.
It was left to Brook to hit the winning runs, finishing on 43 not out, as England won with 103 balls to spare to set up a series decider in Barbados on Saturday.
“We take a lot of happiness from our team-mates doing well, especially our captain, it’s really exciting,” Curran added. “Jos did what we know Jos can do.”
The Windies are now the side on the ropes ahead of this weekend but captain Hope said: “This is gone, we can’t control a thing that happened in this game or even the first game. We have to look ahead.”
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
