England edged out West Indies by one run in an extraordinary second T20I at Kensington Oval, just about making up for their wretched start to the series.
There looked to be no doubt about the outcome when West Indies crumbled to 98-8 in pursuit of England's 171-8, but Akeal Hosein and Romario Shepherd both blazed innings of 44 not out to leave the home side just short on 170-8.
Hosein finished the match with three consecutive sixes off Saqib Mahmood, whose final over cost 28 runs as West Indies' chase ended in heroic failure.
After a nine-wicket battering on Saturday, England delivered a more competitive performance, with Reece Topley making a successful return to international cricket. For Topley, this was a first T20I appearance since facing South Africa in March 2016 and his brilliance had West Indies in immediate trouble at 6-2 in their reply to a solid England score.
After a relatively slow start, Jason Roy carted Fabian Allen for 24 runs from the 11th over as England began to pile on the runs. Roy top-scored with 45 before he was caught just inside the ropes at long-on by Kieron Polland off Shepherd, while Moeen Ali made a useful 31 and Chris Jordan flung the bat for 27 from 15 balls.
Topley then gave England a superb start with the ball, snaring Brandon King lbw with the second delivery of West Indies' reply before smartly running out Shai Hope.
Nicholas Pooran had been dropped twice before James Vince held an exemplary diving catch at deep midwicket to give Moeen the wicket of the dangerman for 24 in the eighth over, and West Indies imploded from there, or so it seemed.
Adil Rashid had Pollard and Darren Bravo pinned lbw, each time needing a review to get the decision, before Ali accounted for Jason Holder and Odean Smith in the 12th over, leaving the home side on 65-7.
Fabian Allen followed for 12 at the start of the 16th over, but then came the big flurry as West Indies, with two wickets remaining, got to the point where they needed 38 from the final two overs. Topley temporarily applied the brakes, but Mahmood was almost powerless to resist the big-hitting ninth-wicket pair, Shepherd making his runs from 28 balls and Hosein from just 16 deliveries.
A theme persists
West Indies have now alternated between victory and defeat in their last five men's T20I home matches. Their lower order gave England a headache in the closing overs, but recent history pointed to West Indies probably struggling to follow up their opening win. Indeed, the last time West Indies won their first two T20Is in a calendar year was in 2016, as they beat England and Sri Lanka in consecutive matches.
West Indies go down fighting
The hosts looked toast when they went seven down, but the lower order made England suffer horrendously, even as West Indies fell short of the victory target. The tourists' bowlers were seriously unsettled by the big hitting of Shepherd and Hosein, and there might be a lasting psychological impact caused by that pair, ahead of the third game in the five-match series on Wednesday.
“We have the manpower within the dressing room”- Sammy confident Windies can overcome 0-2 deficit against England
West Indies white ball head coach Daren Sammy says there’s still optimism in his camp that they can overcome the 0-2 deficit they currently face in their five-game T20I series against England.
The hosts lost the first two game of the series at the Kensington Oval in Barbados on Saturday and Sunday, with the rest of the series now shifting to the Daren Sammy Stadium in St. Lucia beginning with the third T20I on Thursday.
“Most definitely, especially here in St. Lucia,” Sammy said in a pre-match interview on Tuesday regarding his team’s optimism ahead of Thursday’s must-win game and the rest of the series.
“Yes, England have played better cricket than us in these first two games but I’ve rallied St. Lucia to come out and be the 12th man that we need here. We just haven’t played the brand of cricket that has allowed us to win and it’s something that we’re going to address but we have the manpower within that dressing room to win on Thursday and take it one game at a time,” he added.
The West Indies will be without two key players for the rest of the series in Andre Russell and Shamar Joseph.
Russell suffered an ankle injury in the first T20I on Saturday and has been ruled out for the rest of the series while Joseph has left the squad to prepare for the upcoming Test series against Bangladesh starting on November 22 in Antigua.
Replacing the pair are all-rounder Shamar Springer and spearhead Alzarri Joseph, returning to the squad after serving a two-game suspension.
“It’s always a blow to replace somebody like Andre Russell. We have young Shamar Springer who made his debut in Sri Lanka to replace him. He’s a really exciting prospect,” Sammy said.
“Shamar will go in and get ready for the Test series and Alzarri is back from his suspension. We’re looking forward to welcoming him and the experience he brings to the squad. Yes, we lose two key guys but we get two guys who are capable of doing the job for the team as well,” he added.
Harwood-Bellis 'didn't quite believe' first senior England call-up
Taylor Harwood-Bellis revealed he was in a state of disbelief when he was told about his first call-up to the England senior team last week.
Harwood-Bellis, along with Newcastle's Lewis Hall, received their maiden Three Lions call-ups in Lee Carsley's final squad as interim head coach.
The Southampton defender has impressed under Russell Martin this season, featuring in all of their Premier League fixtures so far this season.
Harwood-Bellis has won more aerial duels (13) for the Saints in the top-flight this term, with only Jan Bednarek (888) completing more passes than the 22-year-old (684).
He is also someone well known to the interim boss from his time in charge of England's Under-21's side, with his 21 appearances more than any other player during Carsley's tenure in the current Three Lions squad.
"Lee Carsley rang me in the morning and said, 'you'll be with us, with the seniors'. I didn't quite believe it at first," he told a press conference.
"My partner was next to me and I phoned my dad, who was very proud. He loves when I play for England, even the younger age groups.
"One of the first people to message me was Aaron Ramsdale. I was happy to see his name as he's one of my mates at the club."
Unfortunately for Harwood-Bellis, Ramsdale has since pulled out of the squad with a finger injury and has been replaced by Burnley's James Trafford.
England travel to Athens to take on Group B2 leaders Greece on Thursday before returning to Wembley three days later as they square off against the Republic of Ireland.
With a number of first-team regulars out through injury, Harwood-Bellis has the opportunity to become the first Saints player to represent England since Kyle Walker-Peters did so back in 2022.
The defender understood the potential ramifications of performing well for the Three Lions during this international break, with Thomas Tuchel taking over in the new year.
"It will be a big motivation for all of the lads, knowing that there's a new manager coming in and wanting to keep your spot," he said.
"That's something that especially the younger lads will be pushing towards.
"It's going to be difficult because of the quality and experience in some of the lads that aren't here is massive.
"It'll be difficult, but it'll be something that I'll focus on week in and week out for Southampton and if I get minutes here."
Springboks aiming to have 'two best teams in the world', says Esterhuizen
South Africa centre Andre Esterhuizen said that the Springboks are aiming to have "the two best teams in the world" ahead of their Autumn Nations Series clash against England.
The world champions were pushed all the way by Scotland in their narrow victory at Murrayfield on Sunday, though head coach Rassie Erasmus opted to rotate some key starting positions.
South Africa captain Siya Kolisi and flanker Pieter-Steph du Toit started on the bench, with the changes a common theme during Erasmus' seven-year tenure.
Their opening Autumn Nations Series victory also put them back on top of the world rankings after Ireland's first defeat in 19 home games by New Zealand on Friday.
"One of the good things is that everyone is getting game time now," Esterhuizen told the BBC's Rugby Union Weekly podcast.
"It is also about looking forward, you've got to be able to spare all the guys for the next World Cup and build experience into it.
"The aim is to have the two best teams in the world, all in one squad.
"We want to make it second nature for people slotting in, so if someone steps in, they can just slot in and play the same if not better than the other player."
South Africa next face England, who are yet to pick up a win this autumn, at Twickenham on Saturday.
Steve Borthwick's side suffered a narrow two-point defeat by New Zealand, before conceding an injury-time winning try to Australia on Saturday.
England have now lost each of their last four Test matches, their longest such run since losing five straight games in 2018, but Esterhuizen's former Harlequins team-mate Marcus Smith has been impressive for the Red Roses.
"It's a great space, I obviously love to play there," Esterhuizen added. "It will be great to be running at Marcus, not run off him.
"It's going to be a great match, England have played well in the last few games, it's unfortunate that it hasn't been the results that they want. I think it's going to be a big one."
The Springboks have won three of their last four matches against England (L1), including each of their last two. Three of the last five games between England and South Africa have been decided by single-point margins.
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