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First dong, then ding. Give a punch, then a
counterpunch. The series headed towards a Bridgetown decider. After faltering
in the opening match, England steadied themselves, but the West Indies have a
chance to recover and intend to strike a decisive blow this weekend at
Kensington Oval under the floodlights.
Should they succeed, it would be an uncommon
two-and-a-half-year victory in the one-sided ODI series; it would also be their
first against England since 2007. Additionally, it would mark Shai Hope’s
greatest achievement since taking over the one-day side earlier this year. With
177 runs from 151 balls for a single wicket, Hope has led from the front thus
far, but more consistency from the rest of the team is required if they are to
expose English hesitancy in the format once more.
There was some fighting in the second Antiguan match,
particularly in the 129-run stand between Hope and Sherfane Rutherford, who
showed glimpses of a longer format ability with his maiden international
half-century, to rescue the home team from a desperate 23 for 4. Later, with
the ball, primarily through Gudakesh Motie, to thwart another explosive England
start. However, they were unable to hold out the challenge for very long.
That was partly because England had improved after a
lacklustre opening performance. Liam Livingstone and Sam Curran shared six
wickets despite having the dual disadvantage of being all-rounders. Curran’s
early burst with the new ball set the foundation, while Livingstone removed the
two top scores for the West Indies. Eventually, England’s white-ball powerhouse
made a comeback, thanks to a game-changing attack from Will Jacks at the top of
the order. Jos Buttler’s unbeaten 58 from 45 put an end to a run of 13 innings
without a fifty and made the chase easy to finish.
Buttler later declared himself “fed up” with
his lack of runs, and you have to imagine he would feel the same way if his
team lost steam once more. England will not play the format again until
September 2024, having lost 11 of the 22 ODIs that have been completed this
year. While winning the series would hardly make up for the World Cup’s
heartbreak, it would allow them to lay 50-over cricket to rest and enjoy a hot
cup of cocoa before turning their attention to the T20s and another impending title
defence.