BRISTOL: England completed a series win over the West Indies with a game to spare after chasing down a target of 197 in the second T20 International in Bristol on Sunday.
Former captain Jos Buttler led the way with 47 and current skipper Harry Brook made 34 as England reached 112-2 inside 13 overs.
The duo were dismissed in consecutive overs, with England still needing 85 more runs to win but that was the cue for two of the newer team members to lay down a marker.
Jacob Bethell’s 26 off 10 balls, including three sixes, and Tom Banton’s 30 not out rounded off a four-wicket win with nine balls remaining.
Victory meant Brook has won all five games since succeeding Buttler as permanent white-ball captain and now has the chance to match the preceding 3-0 ODI series whitewash of the West Indies in Tuesday’s T20 finale in Southampton.
“We chased the score beautifully,” Brook told Sky Sports. “It gives us great confidence having Jacob Bethell, Tom Banton and Will Jacks at five, six and seven. The top order can go all out blazing.”
West Indies were struggling at 121-4 off 16 overs before adding 75 runs in the final four overs of their innings.
“I thought we were a few runs short,” said West Indies captain Shai Hope, who top-scored with 49 in his side’s 196-6.
“We have to try and bounce back, win the [final] game and finish the tour strong.”
The recalled Luke Wood gave England the ideal start when his swinging yorker had Evin Lewis lbw with the first ball of the match, but Hope and Johnson Charles (47) repaired some of the early damage in a stand of 90.
Rovman Powell added late impetus with 34 off 15 balls and former captain Jason Holder struck 29 off nine.
Adil Rashid bowled the penultimate over as England again only selected two seamers, but the veteran leg-spinner conceded 31 runs and finished with figures of 1-59 — his most-expensive T20 return.
But Brook, having praised Wood for “setting the tone”, said: “The middle period with the spinners, the game didn’t get away from us.
“To have the couple of overs there let us get away with the big over at the end.”
England won the first T20 by 21 runs in Chester-le-Street on Friday thanks to Jos Buttler’s 59-ball 96 laced with six fours and four sixes, and spinner Liam Dawson’s 4-20 show with the leather. After electing to bat first, England posted 188-6 off the stipulated overs and then restricted West Indies to 167-9.
SCOREBOARD
WEST INDIES:
E. Lewis lbw Wood 0
J. Charles b Wood 47
S. Hope st Buttler b Rashid 49
S. Rutherford c Banton b Bethell 6
R. Powell c Wood b Carse 34
R. Shepherd run out 19
J. Holder not out 29
R. Chase not out 6
EXTRAS (B-1, NB-2, W-3) 6
TOTAL (for six wickets, 20 overs) 196
FALL OF WICKETS: 1-0 (Lewis), 2-90 (Hope), 3-98 (Rutherford), 4-117 (Charles), 5-148 (Powell), 6-190 (Shepherd)
DID NOT BAT: G. Motie, A. Joseph, A. Hosein
BOWLING: Wood 4-0-25-2 (1nb); Dawson 4-0-43-0 (2w); Carse 4-0-42-1 (1w, 1nb); Bethell 3-0-24-1; Rashid 4-0-59-1; Jacks 1-0-2-0
ENGLAND:
J. Smith c Motie b Holder 4
B. Duckett c Powell b Shepherd 30
J. Buttler c Charles b Hosein 47
H. Brook c Powell b Chase 34
J. Bethell c Chase b Joseph 26
T. Banton not out 30
W. Jacks c Chase b Joseph 7
B. Carse not out 6
EXTRAS (B-4, LB-2, NB-1, W-8) 15
TOTAL (for six wickets, 18.3 overs) 199
FALL OF WICKETS: 1-9 (Smith), 2-72 (Duckett), 3-112 (Buttler), 4-126 (Brook), 5-169 (Bethell), 6-188 (Jacks)
DID NOT BAT: L. Dawson, A. Rashid, L. Wood
BOWLING: Hosein 4-0-33-1; Holder 3.3-0-30-1 (1w); Shepherd 3-0-42-1 (4w); Joseph 4-0-45-2 (1w, 1nb); Motie 3-0-28-0; Chase 1-0-15-1 (2w)
RESULT: England won by four wickets.
MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Luke Wood
SERIES: England lead three match series 2-0.
Published in Dawn, June 10th, 2025
