by David Harris

England defeated the West Indies by four wickets in the second T20I at Bristol on Sunday to win the three-match series. 

Chasing 197 runs for victory England scored 199 for six wickets; they started shaky losing the wicket of opener Jamie Smith who was caught at mid-off by Gudakesh Motie of Jason Holder in the third over. 

 Jos Buttler (47) and Ben Duckett (30) added 63 runs for the second to repair the damage, Duckett faced 18 balls and struck four fours and a six before he was dismissed in the eighth over.  

At the end of ten overs England had scored 87 for two wickets, Buttler; the former captain   top-scored and Harry Brook the current skipper took the score to 112 before Buttler was caught in the deep off left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein. 

At that stage the score was 112 for three wickets in the 13^th over, the West Indies were in the game in the next over when Brook was dismissed for 34.  With England requiring 71 runs off 39 balls, Tom Banton (30) and Jacob Bethell (26) pummelled the bowlers for 43 runs off a mere 15 balls to win the match and the series. Fast bowler Alzarri Joseph took two wickets for 45 runs. 

Earlier the West Indies scored 197 for six wickets after being sent in to bat, they endured a nightmare when opener Evin Lewis was trapped lbw by fast bowler Luke Wood off the first ball of the innings. 

Captain Shai Hope (49) and opener Johnson Charles (47) stabilized the innings with a second wicket partnership of 90 runs. While aggressive batting by Roman Powell (37), Jason Holder (29) and Romario Shepherd (19) took the West Indies to what appeared to be a formidable total. Wood was the most successful bowler with two wickets for 25 runs.    

 The West Indies must win the third T201 at Southampton on Tuesday to avoid being whitewashed in the series.  

by David Harris

England defeated the West Indies by three wickets at Kennington Oval in London on Tuesday to complete a 3-0 sweep of their One Day International (ODI) Series.  

The match was reduced 40 overs per side after 97 minutes were loss because of rain in the 15^th over of the West Indies’ innings. 

The Caribbean team scored 251 for nine wickets after losing the toss and being sent into bat, they were reeling at 28 for three wickets in the seventh over before Keacy Carty (29) and Sherfane Rutherford added 62 for the fourth wicket. 

 Rutherford also shared 33 runs for the seventh wicket with Gudakesh Motie added 33-run seventh wicket after the West Indies slumped to 121 for six wickets in the 22^nd over; and Motie shared a vital 91-run stand for the eighth wicket with Alazrri Joseph. 

Rutherford missed the first two ODIs while representing the Gujarat Titans in the Indian Premier League (IPL); his last match was 4,000 miles and five time zones away from London in Mullanpur on Friday, but he showed no signs of jet lag. 

Rutherford took to balls get his eye in before blasting the next two for four, he top-scored with 70 off 71 balls and struck nine fours and two sixes. Motie contributed 63 that included five fours and three sixes off 54 deliveries, and Joseph made an entertaining 41 off 29 balls towards the end of the inning. 

Leg-spinner Adil Rashid picked up three wickets for 40 runs off eight overs, while fast bowlers Brydon Carse, Matthew Potts and Saqib Mahmood all took two wickets each. 

Set a revised target of 246 to win the match and complete a whitewash in the series, England scored 246 for three wickets in 29. 4 overs. Openers Jamie Smith and Ben Duckett took control of the match with a barrage of boundaries of pacers Jayden Seales and Sharmar Joseph. 

Smith smashed 64 off 28 balls with 10 fours and three sixes, and Duckett made 58 that contained five fours and three sixes from 46 balls; veteran batsman Joe Root contributed 44, while Jos Buttler and captain Harry Brook were unbeaten on 41 and 26 runs respectively.   

By David Harris

The West Indies suffered an embarrassing 238-run to England in the first One Day International (ODI) match at Edgbaston Thursday. Chasing a massive total of 401 to win the match, the West Indies were bowled out for 162 runs in 26.2 overs. 

The chase was over before it began, the West Indies were stumbling at 79 for five wickets in the 15^th over as England’s bowlers dismantled the West Indies batsmen; Saqib Mahmood who captured three wickets for 32 runs ripped out the top-order;  pacer Jamie Overton kept the lower-order batsmen in check with three wickets for 23 runs, and leg-spinner Ail Rashid picked up two wickets. 

 Fast bowler Jayden Seales batting at number 11 top scored with 29 not out, captain Shai Hope 25, and Keacy Carty 22 were the other batsmen that scored over 20 runs. 

Earlier, England scored 400 (their second highest score in an ODI) after the West Indies won the toss and opted to field.  

England’s batters launched a collective assault on the bowler –every batter from one to seven scored over 30 runs, but it was the Barbados-born Jacob Bethell that top scored with 82; the 21-year-old faced 53 balls and struck eight fours and five sixes, opener Ben Duckett made 60, newly appointed captain Harry Brooks got 58, and veteran batter Joe Root contributed 57. 

Seales captured four wickets for 84 runs from nine expensive overs, while fast bowler Alzarri Joseph and Justin Greaves took two wickets apiece. 

The second ODI in the three-match series will take place at Sophia Gardens, Cardiff on Sunday.