Watch cricket video highlights of England tour of West Indies 2024. Third Twenty/20 between West Indies and England. Venue of the match will be Gros Islet.
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Win the match, win the series, and win the toss. At the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground, England defeated the West Indies by three wickets to take an unassailable 3-0 lead, with to Jos Buttler’s third accurate call of the T20I series, which led to yet another successful chase. Even though the aim of 146 was the lowest of the three thus far, this was the most difficult request. West Indies once again struggled to a reasonable total after falling to 37 for 5.
Once again dominating the powerplay, Saqib Mahmood took 3 for 17, but after Romario Shepherd’s 30 and Rovman Powell’s 54, Jamie Overton destroyed the middle order with 3 for 20. However, West Indies were in the hunt until the very end because to Akeal Hosein’s 4 for 22. Will Jacks’ run-a-ball 32 and Sam Curran’s 41 off 26 had just kept England on track. What danger there was was eliminated by Liam Livingstone’s 39. After being dropped three times, Livingstone was fortunate to survive long enough to experience that impact.
The simplest came on number six, when Nicholas Pooran, one of three substitutes, returned from a two-match suspension and shelled a top-edged hook off Alzarri Joseph. When Livingstone had eight, Pooran then edged out Gudakesh Motie, and Motie lost again when Shimron Hetmyer missed a difficult low chance at deep midwicket. Before holing out to long-on as Hosein’s fourth, Livingstone, who had 21 at the time, took 16 off Joseph in the following over to put England ahead. The honor of scoring the winning runs over point fell to Rehan Ahmed, who was sent in to replace the rested Adil Rashid.
With the addition of Joseph, Shai Hope, and Hetmyer to replace injured Matthew Forde, Brandon King, and Sherfane Rutherford, the West Indies made a number of changes. They still had to deal with another disastrous start, though. Hope aborted what appeared to be an easy single and was run out at backward point by Jacob Bethell after just two balls. Four powerplay wickets fell in 17 deliveries, including the devastating left-handers Pooran and Evin Lewis, who were hit by errant hacks against Jofra Archer and Mahmood, respectively.
Before Hetmyer followed his fellow southpaws with another terrible heave, caught deep square leg, Mahmood was not finished, nicking off Roston Chase. The Lancashire quick’s eight powerplay wickets, with two games remaining, already set a record for an England bowler in any T20I series during that time. The series’ best scorers for the West Indies, Powell and Shepherd, went about making another face-saving stand, this time with an outstanding 73 off only 57 deliveries.
However, Overton caused a collapse with three dismissals in seven deliveries, removing both set batsmen as soon as they had reached a reasonable 110 for 5 after 15 overs. They had plenty to work with when Gudakesh Motie and Joseph put up a brisk 28 for the ninth wicket. Unfortunately, it was the same old tale, although one that verified England’s second victory in the T20I series in the previous two years. Overton’s tour got off to an odd start. After a difficult spell without bowling, he finally made his ODI debut in the opening match in Antigua as a specialist No. 8 batsman.
He was still hampered by a stress fracture of his back that prevented him from being included in England’s preparations for the T20 World Cup at the beginning of the summer. But his three-for in St Lucia was a welcome comeback to the field. After playing as a lower-order batsman by accident for two weeks, he was back to his normal self as a bowling all-rounder. The 30-year-old has long been considered England’s secret weapon.
They have been without a potent middle-overs bowler with the ability to pound an uncomfortable length and a knack for surprise since they parted ways with Liam Plunkett following the 2019 ODI World Cup victory. Overton could have simply given selectors an excuse to recast the character, even if Brydon Carse did a decent job at the audition. The character of Overton’s three dismissals was very encouraging. A slower ball flummoxed Shepherd, and a short ball that trailed the left-hander further than he would have wanted collected Gudakesh Motie at mid-off.
By avoiding the heart of the bat with a well-executed cross-seam delivery, Powell was able to blast a short ball out to deep midwicket. Overton’s worldwide career is only getting started. Since this is only his seventh limited-overs cricket cap, it is impossible to assume that he is healthy. However, it was encouraging to see him reach 100 wickets in the format and record his fourth-best total in 146 T20 games. And he would have liked to be out there when victory was assured.
The fact that Curran didn’t appear hurried in Saint Lucia is maybe the greatest praise you could give him. This is true even if he just took up 26 deliveries for his crucial 41. He was a picture of peace, except for the perspiration that was soaking through his red shirt. He reached the crease halfway through the last over of the powerplay, calm on a slick surface, unfazed in a tense moment. A middle order that had not played in the series was now expected to carry the burden as England was 37 for 3, requiring 109 from 87 balls.
Curran seemed up for the challenge as soon as he caressed his opening ball through point for four. In the following over, consecutive boundaries through the same area reaffirmed that. Curran would smash Motie down the ground for six after waiting 19 deliveries for his next boundary, but he made the most of the interval. He clicked over wonderfully in what was a clinic in calm, steady accumulation, first with Jacks and then with Livingstone. Before scything Terrance Hinds to Shai Hope at deep point, he had only faced one dot ball.
Curran has only equaled that total in 21 T20Is after he was named the player of the tournament in the 2022 T20 World Cup with 13 dismissals. He has yet to claim a wicket in his nine overs in these first three games. However, this score, coupled with 37, 52, and 40 in the ODI series—where he also did not record a wicket—indicates that he may be in the process of redefining himself as an essential batsman for England’s white-ball requirements. Without Powell, it’s hard to imagine how biased this series might have been.
The skipper had to steady the ship by himself for the second time in as many games. It’s never easy being captain of the West Indies, especially when you’re carded at number five and have to bat in the first six overs. Powell came to an early disaster for the third time in a week. He met fire with fire on each of the three instances, and this time he managed to get an eighth score of fifty or more. Even though Mahmood and Archer were having fun with the new ball, he continued to search for boundaries when he arrived in the fourth over.
Before the fielding limits were removed, the latter flared extravagantly into the bleachers in the same area, while the former was struck over cover. In his first T20I outing in over a year, he hit three more sixes, two of which were lifted off legspinner Rehan. Powell hit eight sixes in the series, the most on either side, with his last lustful shot, a Curran half-tracker over square leg. Powell then proceeded to lead effectively in the second innings, executing his bowling strategies flawlessly and supported by astute fielding decisions. He could have had more to show for it if captures had been kept.
