England sank to their fifth successive series defeat in the Caribbean as twin hundreds of Brandon King and Keacy Carty helped West Indies cruise to victory in this ODI decider.
On a tricky Barbados surface with tennis ball bounce and early movement, England were 24 for 4 after 9.5 overs, with Phil Salt curbing his attacking instincts as he contested 74 off 108 balls.
Dan Mousley’s 57 off 70 deliveries (his first international 50) and Sam Curran’s 40 were followed by blistering late cameos from Jamie Overton and Jofra Archer, but a total of 263 for eight took eight wickets and seven wickets. Checked over. Windy.
Overton claimed his wicket in the first over, but neither England’s seamers nor spinners posed a threat as King and Carty took advantage of better batting conditions under the floodlights.
King amassed 102 off 117 balls to complete an innings of 12 ODIs without an ODI fifty, while Carty’s 128 from 114 balls was his first international hundred and lifted the Windies to a 2-1 series win.
England lost not only the white-ball series last year but also the Tests and T20s in 2022, and it was the 13th upset in 20 ODIs for the team who gave a young and inexperienced team a chance on this visit.
first inning
After losing the toss, England’s work was cut out for them on a ground where the chasers had won seven of the last eight ODIs and faced great difficulty early on on a seamer-friendly pitch.
They did not help themselves as Will Jacks was dropped and Alzarri Joseph took out his frustrations evident at the field placement with a 92mph bumper that grazed the gloves of Jordan Cox, who continued his quiet start to his England career.
Jacob Bethell was given wide but his cut was swallowed up by a fine catch from Roston Chase before Liam Livingstone, who squared the series in Antigua with an unbeaten 124 on Saturday, threaded a loose drive towards Shai Hope.
England’s counterattack
After watching the carnage unfold at the other end, Salt led a rebuild, using Curran and Mousley to score 70 runs.
While he set Romario Shepherd at deep midwicket, Salt was dropped on 52, succumbing to his first proper indication of intent despite following a fine relay catch after King plucked the ball out of the air. Tie the rope to Joseph, who is standing next to you.
Mousley attacked the Windies spinner and then bowled a corner for four after Romario Shepherd was caught in the stride of his delivery and Sherfane Rutherford had to pick up the slack.
After Jamie Overton’s quick 32 off 21, Archer started his 17-for-38 with three leg-side sixes. This was England’s highest score and surpassed their previous ODI best of 8 not out.
Rutherford conceded 44 runs in the final two overs, while Overton and Archer guided England to a total of 250 runs. This would have seemed fantastic just a few hours ago.
Windy’s reply
But Archer was punched through cover for two by King at the start of the reply as the Windies were 65 for 1 after 10 overs, and Overton made the breakthrough when the dangerous Evin Lewis made a mistake too late for the pull. . To Adil Rashid in the ring.
But batting looked much easier under King’s lights and was given a reprieve on 44 when Salt had a difficult chance and Carty gave Livingstone lbw on 13 but was saved by a faint edge.
Otherwise, both players remained unmoved until their fifties, with spinners Rashid and Livingstone unable to stem the steady flow of runs like the fast bowlers could.
Cox knocked King down on Archer’s 86, who threw his head back in despair at the opportunity to beg.
It was the end of a forgettable tour for Cox, who returns to England on Thursday after skipping the T20 series ahead of the Test tour of New Zealand, where he will be England’s wicket-keeper.
Carty was the first to reach his ton off 97 balls by carving his 11th four to the back of square, with King following suit off 113 deliveries.
Topley cleared King’s leg stumps but Carty’s 15th four brought the game close for England, who now need to regroup for the five-match T20 series that begins in Bridgetown on Saturday.
