The West Indies claimed their first home ODI series win over England since 1998 with a four-wicket win via the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method in the decisive third ODI at the Kensington Oval in Barbados on Saturday.
In a match eventually reduced to 40 overs per side after rain interruptions before and during the match, England recovered from a horrific first ten overs to post 206-9 from their 40 overs after being put in to bat by West Indian skipper Shai Hope.
Debutant Matthew Forde got proceedings off to the best possible start for the West Indies with the wicket of Phil Salt for just four at the end of the first over.
Not long after, Forde was at it again, picking up the wickets of Zak Crawley (0) and Will Jacks (17) to leave England struggling at 45-3 at the start of the ninth over.
45-3 became 48-4 in the 10th over when Alzarri Joseph brilliantly ran out Harry Brook off his own bowling for one.
England captain Jos Buttler, fresh off a half-century in the last game, lasted only one ball on Saturday.
Joseph greeted Buttler with a well-directed short ball that he was unable to control, helping the ball out to Gudakesh Motie on the deep square leg boundary for a simple catch to leave England 49-5 after 10 overs of the rain-shortened 43 overs per side contest.
An 88-run sixth wicket partnership between Ben Duckett and Liam Livingstone provided some stability to the English effort before Duckett fell for a well-played 73-ball 71 in the 26th over. His knock included six fours and one six.
Livingstone was next to go two overs later, caught by Sherfane Rutherford at mid-on off the bowling of Romario Shepherd for 45 to leave England 142-7.
With England 161-7 off 33 overs, the rains came once again. Soon after the restart, England lost their eighth wicket when Rehan Ahmed fell caught behind off the bowling of Alzarri Joseph for 15 to leave the score 166-8 in the 34th over.
Joseph picked up his third wicket when he had Sam Curran caught on the point boundary by Gudakesh Motie for 12 to leave England 171-9 in the 36th over.
In the end, a 35-run 10th wicket partnership between Gus Atkinson (20*) and Matthew Potts (15*) helped England reach 206-9.
Forde ended with 3-29 from his eight overs while Joseph was expensive, going for 61 from his eight overs with three wickets to his name.
A third rain delay during the innings break meant the West Indies had a revised target of 188 from 34 overs.
The chase got off to the worst possible start when Brandon King was caught at cover off the bowling of Gus Atkinson for just one in the second over.
Alick Athanaze and Keacy Carty then put together a solid 76-run second wicket partnership that ended when Atkinson trapped Athanaze in front for a 51-ball 45 in the 14th over.
Captain Shai Hope was next to go, caught brilliantly by Matthew Potts off the bowling of Rehan Ahmed for 15 to leave the West Indies 99-3 in the 17th over.
Then, with the West Indies cruising needing 72 from 78 balls, Shimron Hetmyer mistimed a ball straight into the hands of Phil Salt at point for 11 off the bowling of Will Jacks.
The West Indies quickly lost another one when Sherfane Rutherford held out to Zak Crawley at long on off Jacks’ bowling for three to leave the score at 122-5 after 23.2 overs leaving the hosts needing 66 runs from 64 balls.
Carty, two balls after bringing up an excellent half century, became Jacks’ third victim in quick succession caught and bowled to leave the West Indies 135-6 needing 53 runs from 50 balls.
The 31st proved to be the ultimate game changer for the West Indies. The over bowled by Gus Atkinson went for 24 to leave them needing just nine more to win from the final three overs.
In the end, Romario Shepherd (41*) and Matthew Forde (13*) steered the West Indies to 191-6 off 31.4 overs to seal the 2-1 series win.
Will Jacks tried his best for England with 3-22 from his seven overs while Gus Atkinson ended with 2058 from his six overs.
Full Scores:
England 206-9 off 40 overs (Ben Duckett 71, Liam Livingston 45, Matthew Forde 3-29, Alzarri Joseph 3-61, Romario Shepherd 2-50)
West Indies 191-6 off 31.4 overs (Keacy Carty 50, Alick Athanaze 45, Romario Shepherd 41*, Will Jacks 3-22, Gus Atkinson 2-58)
Phil Salt insists he would “be there in a heartbeat” if England needed him as a World Cup reserve in India.
Jason Roy had been earmarked as the next man in should injury create a vacancy at the top of the order during the tournament, but the 33-year-old was stung by his last-minute omission from the squad and is currently on retirement watch after turning down a place in the Metro Bank Series against Ireland.
That means there is plenty to play for those who will be involved on Saturday at Trent Bridge and Tuesday in Bristol, with players on the periphery jostling to catch the selectors’ eye.
A modest total of just 14 ODI caps is still enough to make Salt the most experienced member of a second string with just 38 between them and a strong showing against the boys in green could help him inch one step closer to inking his name in as first-choice replacement.
“We haven’t had that conversation as yet. I’d imagine if that was to happen, it would be a little bit further down the line, probably after this series,” he said.
“But I know it’s an opportunity to stake a claim to a reserve spot and, obviously, if I got the call I’d be there in a heartbeat.
“We’ve got a young group here but it’s an exciting group who have done very well, whether that’s playing for their counties or in opportunities in franchise cricket or the Hundred.
“Coming into the dressing room and seeing how many proven performers we have sitting under the radar of the full-strength squad, I think it’s quite an exciting opportunity.”
Salt’s aggressive ball-striking and ability to double up as a wicketkeeper has earned him plenty of interest on the franchise circuit and he has previously turned out in domestic competitions in India, Australia, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Pakistan and the West Indies.
The vast sums available on the franchise scene is becoming a huge issue for boards to contend with as they seek to preserve the primacy of international cricket, with an avalanche of retirements expected to follow the completion of the World Cup.
At 27, and with plenty of unfulfilled ambitions at the highest level, Salt insists he is not tempted by life as a global freelancer but accepts that the appeal will only go up as the years progress.
“That’s probably quite a personal question for some people,” he said.
“Some people are at the stage of career where they are prioritising, earning money and securing their future and their family’s future. I’m a bit luckier in the position that I’m in where I’ve got time to make these calls and declare what I want to do.
“Right now, I just want to play as many games as I can for England. There’s a lot of franchise opportunities out there, but every game I can get in an England shirt, I want to take the opportunity with both hands.
“But there’s no doubt if I play as long as I want to, there will be a time where, like with every other professional cricketer, you’ve got that challenge where you’ve got to make decisions for yourself. It’s a hell of a question isn’t it?”
Former West Indies all-rounder Dwayne Bravo helped Worcestershire secure a 29-run win over Lancashire in their Vitality Blast North Group fixture at New Road on Friday.
Worcestershire posted a formidable 178-6 from their 20 overs after being sent in by Lancashire.
Opener Brett D’Oliveira (33) along with captain and England all-rounder Moeen Ali (31) were the main scorers while Kashif Ali (27) and New Zealander Colin Munro (26) also made valuable contributions.
Bravo, batting at number eight, played a decent cameo of 10 not out from five balls including one six.
Leg-spinner Luke Wells led the way with the ball for Lancashire with 2-26 from his four overs.
Lancashire’s reply can only be described as top-heavy as openers Phil Salt (44) and newly appointed England white ball captain Jos Buttler (42) were the only batsmen to pass 20 as they were dismissed for just 149 in 19.3 overs.
D’Oliveira capped off a fine all-round display with 4-20 from his four overs of leg-spin while Pat Brown and Moeen Ali took two wickets each.
Bravo, the leading wicket-taker in T20 history with 594 in 540 matches, added another to his tally with 1-26 from 3.3 overs.
Worcestershire remain at the bottom of the North Group with two wins, 10 losses, and one no-result from 13 games while Lancashire stay second with seven wins, four losses, and one no-result.
Chris Gayle followed up his unbeaten 52 for Team Abu Dhabi late last week with a 16-ball 30 as Team Abu Dhabi scored a seven-wicket victory over bottom-placed Chennai Braves in the Abu Dhabi T10 league on Sunday.
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