That’s it for our coverage of a sixtastic T20 series. Congratulations to West Indies, who look like serious contenders for next year’s World Cup. England aren’t too far away either. Goodnight!
Jos Buttler’s reaction
We probably didn’t adapt quickly enough with the bat – I thought 16o w0uld have been a decent score on a used wicket. It was a fantastic bowling effort; we did well to hang in the game as long as we did.
Phil Salt has had a brilliant series. We found out lots about ourselves as a team. [On the stop-clock experiment] It was only in the last game that we really noticed it. It’s good to keep the game moving.
England’s miserable white-ball year ends with another series defeat. Plenty of good has come from this series, though, most notably the performance of Phil Salt. While there are a few slots to fill, most notably at No3, they are in reasonable shape ahead of nexr year’s World Cup.
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I suppose it’s appropriate that it ended with a six, the 120th of the series. Hope played a gem of an innings there, calmly anchoring West Indies in an increasingly nervous chase with a run-a-ball 43. England fought admirably to defend a below-par total; but for Hope, they would probably have done it.
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WEST INDIES WIN THE SERIES 3-2!
19.2 overs: West Indies 133-6 (Hope 43, Holder 4) That’s it! Hope pings Woakes over extra cover for six to seal another series victory for West Indies!
𝗔 𝗦𝗜𝗫 𝗧𝗢 𝗙𝗜𝗡𝗜𝗦𝗛! 🙌@WindiesCricket claim the series 3-2 and a white-ball clean-sweep 🏏#WIvENG pic.twitter.com/chrYkHbtcp
— Cricket on TNT Sports (@cricketontnt) December 21, 2023
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19.1 overs: West Indies 127-6 (Hope 37, Holder 4) Holder inside edges Woakes this far wide of leg stump for three runs. It would have been four but for an outstanding stop from Rehan Ahmed.
19th over; West Indies 124-6 (Hope 37, Holder 1) Holder is almost run out first ball! He took a very dodgy single to mid-off and was well short of the crease when Curran just failed to gather Rashid’s throw. Nine to win from six balls, Chris Woakes to bowl them.
WICKET! West Indies 123-6 (Russell c Livingstone b Curran 3)
Oh my. Russell slugs a low full toss straight down the throat of Livingstone at long-on, and England – who have been behind the game throughout this innings – are again dreaming of an improbable victory. West Indies need 10 from 7 balls.
18.4 overs: West Indies 123-5 (Hope 37, Russell 3) Sam Curran concedes only one run from the first four balls of a superb penultimate over. The ball is getting very wet, though, so there’s a short break in play while England call for a dry towel. West Indies need 10 from 8 balls.
18th over: West Indies 122-5 (Hope 36, Russell 3) Jos Buttler gambles by continuing with Rehan Ahmed, who has been relatively expensive. It doesn’t come off: Hope skims a back cut between short third and backward point for four to move the requirement back below a run a ball. It’s very hard to see how England can with this now.
17th over: West Indies 114-5 (Hope 30, Russell 1) The wicket England really need is that of Shai Hope, who is quietly guiding West Indies towards the finish line.
WICKET! West Indies 113-5 (Powell c Rashid b Topley 8)
England haven’t given this up. Powell edges Topley to short third man, where Rashid takes a smart low catch to his left. West Indies need 20 from 21 balls.
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16th over: West Indies 112-4 (Hope 29, Powell 8) Hope, who is playing an exemplary innings, opens the face to steer Rehan for his first boundary. Rehan has struggled as the series has progressed, an d later in the over Powell muscles him over long-on for six. West Indies are 21 runs away from a hat-trick of T20 series wins this year: South Africa away, India and England at home.
15th over: West Indies 99-4 (Hope 23, Powell 1) Rashid finishes with figures of 4-0-21-2. He’s had a great series: eight wickets at 15 with an absurd economy rate of 6.26. But he’s going to end on the losing side.
WICKET! West Indies 95-4 (Rutherford c Curran b Rashid 30)
Buttler brings back Rashid for his final over, knowing it’s now or never for England, and gets an immediate reward. Rutherford smashes a drive towards short extra, where Curran dives to his left to take a superb catch. It’s not the despair, Laura…
14th over: West Indies 94-3 (Hope 19, Rutherford 30) West Indies are rushing towards a series victory. Rutherford hooks the new bowler Sam Curran for six more, and there are 11 from the over in total. Rutherford has 30 from 23 balls, Hope 19 from 28. They’re playing their roles to perfection.
13th over: West Indies 83-3 (Hope 17, Rutherford 21) Rehan Ahmed returns, perhaps in the hope of tempting Rutherford into one big shot too many. Instead it’s Shai Hope, who is happily playing the anchor role, who faces five of the six deliveries. England are running out of time.
12th over: West Indies 80-3 (Hope 15, Rutherford 20) England appeal unsuccessfully for caught behind when Rutherford misses a swipe at Rashid. There’s only one review left and they decide not to risk it. A good job too; there was nothing on UltraEdge.
Out of nothing Rutherford launches a full ball from Rashid down the ground for six, almost knocking himself off his feet in the process. West Indies are managing an awkward chase pretty well.
11th over: West Indies 71-3 (Hope 14, Rutherford 12) After 23 balls without a West Indian boundary, Rutherford lifts Moeen handsomely over extra cover for four. That’s an excellent shot which keeps West Indies in control of the run-chase.
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10th over: West Indies 62-3 (Hope 12, Rutherford 5) West Indies know how dangerous Rashid is and are content to sit on him. I think that was Charles’ plan as well, but then he saw a low full toss and his brain went rogue. Time for drinks, after which West Indies need 71 from 60 balls.
Rutherford is not out! I need someone else’s glasses: it was comfortably missing leg stump and England have lost a review.
ENGLAND REVIEW FOR LBW AGAINST RUTHERFORD! This looks really close. Rutherford pushed around a legbreak from Rashid and was hit on the pad in front of middle and leg.
9th over: West Indies 58-3 (Hope 11, Rutherford 2) Moeen replaces Rehan and rushes through a pretty good over, four singles from it. West Indies are still on top but another wicket would make things very interesting.
8th over: West Indies 54-3 (Hope 9, Rutherford 0)
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WICKET! West Indies 54-3 (Charles c Buttler b Rashid 27)
Adil Rashid strikes straight away. On this occasion it had nothing to do with his bowling, but maybe a little to do with his aura. He accidentally bowled a very wide, dipping full toss to Charles, who clunked it low to Jos Buttler at short extra cover.
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7th over: West Indies 51-2 (Charles 26, Hope 7) Rehan Ahmed’s first over disappears for 12. It started quite gently, with four singles and a two off the first five balls, but then Charles clattered a no-nonsense straight six.
“We’re not going to win this, Rob,” writes Guy Hornsby. “But I’m just here to say I’m still watching for Woakes’ seam position and Rehan’s googly. That is all.”
6th over: West Indies 39-2 (Charles 16, Hope 5) Charles mistimes a short ball from Woakes just short of Moeen in the covers. In the end Moeen does well to save the boundary. This has been a good fightback by England, with only nine runs scored in the last three overs.
5th over: West Indies 37-2 (Charles 15, Hope 4) Topley continues, which makes sense because the spinners will be doing most of the work after the Powerplay, and concedes only three runs. He has quietly had a good series and is comfortably the most economical seamer on either side.
4th over: West Indies 34-2 (Charles 15, Hope 1) England needed early wickets to have a realistic chance of victory. One more in the Powerplay, before they bring on Adil Rashid, would put them right back in the game.
WICKET! West Indies 33-2 (Pooran b Woakes 10)
UltraEdge shows Pooran did edge that ball from Topley – but it doesn’t matter because Woakes has got him! Pooran tried to ride the bounce of an awkward delivery that cramped him for room, took the inside of an angled bat and ricocheted onto the stumps.
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3rd over: West Indies 30-1 (Charles 13, Pooran 9) Nicholas Pooran strolls to the crease and launches his second ball over midwicket for six. And why not. England thought he had edged the next ball to the keeper, though eventually they ran out of time to review. West Indies need 103 from 17 overs.
“Evening Rob,” says Kim Thonger. “Jolly exciting this game, in a damaged sort of way. It occurs to me perhaps T20 internationals need a complete rebrand. May I propose we rename them Ecky Thump. The term was Introduced in Kung Fu Kapers, a 1975 episode of BBC comedy The Goodies. In the episode, ‘ecky thump’ is a secret Lancastrian martial art using black puddings as a weapon. I’m not suggesting we go as far introducing black puddings immediately. A phased withdrawal of the cricket bat will cause less fuss.”
But what would you call The Hundred? Bloody Eck?
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WICKET! West Indies 20-1 (King c Buttler b Topley 3)
One down, nine to go. Brandon King slogs Topley miles in the air towards mid-on, where Buttler takes a simple catch.
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2nd over: West Indies 20-0 (King 3, Charles 13) Johnson Charles was playher of the match when West Indies beat England at the T20 World Cup 11 years ago. Charles walloped 84 off 56 balls that day, and he looks like he fancies something similar here. He pulls Woakes for a big six, albeit with a hint of top-edge, and glides a boundary past short third man. West Indies are off to a flyer.
1st over: West Indies 7-0 (King 1, Charles 2) There’s some early inswing to the right-handers for Reece Topley. Brandon King survives an LBW appeal first ball – it was missing leg – before another inswinger to Johnson Charles runs away for four leg-byes. Every boundary hurts when the target is so low, even in the first over.
After a very short break, the players are back on the field.
The difference two days make
Tuesday, Tarouba England 267-3, 19 sixes
Thursday, Taroura England 132 all out, five sixes
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WICKET! England 132 all out (Curran c Rutherford b Holder 12)
Sam Curran clouts the next ball to long-off to end an increasingly miserable England innings. They were 109 for four after 14 overs, and then the house fell down. West Indies need 133 to win the series.
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WICKET! England 132-9 (Rashid run out 1)
Adil Rashid sacrifices himself, just like in the 2019 World Cup final, so that Curran can stay on strike. Four balls remaining.
19th over: England 129-8 (Curran 9, Rashid 1) The hat-trick ball is another attempted yorker that Rashid flicks wide of Russell for a single. He would have had three wickets in four balls had Hosein taken a tricky low chance at third man to dismiss Curran.
Russell, who bowled really well, finishes with two for 25.
WICKET! England 125-8 (Rehan ct and b Russell 0)
Andre Russell is on a hat-trick! Rehan Ahmed smashed a low full toss back at Russell, who took a blinding return catch in his follow through.
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WICKET! England 125-7 (Woakes b Russell 2)
Goodnight. Andre Russell bowls Chris Woakes with an immaculate yorker from round the wicket, and I don’t know what else to say. It was a nigh-on perfect delivery.
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18th over: England 125-6 (Curran 6, Woakes 2) Apparently dew could be a factor in the second innings, in which case Slim has left town. Just four singles from Oshane Thomas’s final over. Only Salt has scored freely in this innings, so the bowling allrounders were never likely to tee off from ball one.
“Coming late to the OBO following University Challenge, I reckon England are preparing to insure themselves by having two keepers opening,” writes John Starbuck. “If one of them comes off big, the other could take the gloves after having. his feet up for a while: a very cunning plan.
“Meanwhile, my last attempt to get the OBO fans have a treat with the Quicksilver Messenger Service’s version of ‘Mona’ which I’ve been playing a lot in this series.”
17th over: England 121-6 (Curran 4, Woakes 0) Motie ends a fine spell with figures of 4-0-24-3, and a fine series with an economy rate of just 7.37.
WICKET! England 121-6 (Livingstone ct and b Motie 28)
Erm, about those 40 runs England need. The man most likely to get them, Liam Livingstone, has just checked a return catch to Gudakesh Motie. The ball stopped in the pitch, another sign of its awkwardness, and Livingstone is on his way for a useful 29-ball 28.
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16th over: England 120-5 (Livingstone 28, Curran 3) Livingstone picks Holder up over square leg for his second six, a seemingly effortless blow. The rest of the over is a bit of a struggle for both batsmen, with a number of false strokes. On this pitch England’s score isn’t as modest as it looks, but they will want at least 40 off the last four overs.
What a crowd catch 😍
— England's Barmy Army 🏴🎺 (@TheBarmyArmy) December 21, 2023
Watch #WIvENG LIVE on TNT Sports and @discoveryplusuk 📺 pic.twitter.com/pC3hoDuiQv
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15th over: England 111-5 (Livingstone 21, Curran 1) Hosein ends an excellent spell with figures of 4-0-20-2. He’s had a strong series overall, with an outstanding economy rate of 7.8.
WICKET! England 110-5 (Moeen c Powell b Hosein 23)
A useful, if chancy, innings from Moeen Ali comes to an end. He charged Hosein, who saw him coming and pushed the ball shorter and wider. Moeen smeared it towards long-on, where Russell and Powell completed a relay catch. Russell’s throw almost fell short of Powell, who had to dive forward to clasp the ball with both hands.
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14th over: England 109-4 (Livingstone 20, Moeen 23) Moeen tries to pull Russell and somehow edges the ball to the left of Pooran for four. Every little helps. Moeen then misses a slower bouncer and top-edges another pull that lands safely. A terrific over from Russell – seven from it, but five came from false strokes.
“Gary Naylor’s comment about Salt looking like Maxwell is something I’d been thinking about,” writes Tom Van der Gucht. “Salt seems to have one of those faces that make him look like lots of famous people from different angles. From some perspectives he looks like Ian Bell on steroids, from others he has a ring of the actor Jamie Dornan and sometimes he gives off definite Matt Prior vibes.”
That’s a perceptive point. There are also quite a few pictures in which he resembles our deputy digital editor Gregg Bakowski.
13th over: England 102-4 (Livingstone 18, Moeen 18) Moeen joins Club Maximum, hoicking Motie miles over midwicket. That’s England’s fourth six of the match and their 55th of the series. The usual ones and twos make it another excellent over for England.
12th over: England 90-4 (Livingstone 16, Moeen 8) It’s fair to say Liam Livingstone enjoys pace on the ball. When Oshane Thomas returns to the attack, Livingstone launches a typical fast-handed six over midwicket.
Moeen has a stroke of luck when a top-edged pull lands safely, but that’s a much better over for England – ten from it.
11th over: England 80-4 (Livingstone 8, Moeen 6) Livingstone, who is taking a bit of time to get used to the pitch, takes a couple of singles off Hosein to move to eight from 13 balls. England have scored only 11 runs from the last three overs.
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10th over: England 77-4 (Livingstone 6, Moeen 5) Another boundaryless over, this time from Jason Holder. England are starting to lose their way, though I must stress that the pitch looks pretty awkward. Drinks.
9th over: England 73-4 (Livingstone 5, Moeen 2) Terrific stuff from Motie – just three runs and the wicket. England’s spinners will fancy bowling on this, but only if they have something to defend.
WICKET! England 70-4 (Brook c Pooran b Motie 7)
Two wickets in four balls for Gudakesh Motie! Brook tried to lap a ball that bounced to hit the glove and loop into the hands of Nicholas Pooran behind the stumps. This pitch is offering plenty to the spinners.
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8th over: England 70-3 (Livingstone 4, Brook 7) Brook is beaten by a grubber from Russell, then throws his head back in surprise when the next ball kicks from a length. This certainly isn’t another 267 pitch. It might not be a 167 pitch.
A low full toss from Russell allows Brook to free his mind of uneven bounce and calmly wave his first boundary back down the ground.
7th over: England 61-3 (Livingstone 1, Brook 1) “It’s just struck me that, under the lid, “Phil Salt looks a bit like Glenn Maxwell under the lid,” says Gary Naylor. “Bats a bit like him too.”
His numbers for this series are bonkers: 331 runs at 83 with a strike-rate of 186.
WICKET! England 60-3 (Salt b Motie 38)
A huge wicket for West Indies! For the second time in three overs, an England batter is dismissed the ball after hitting a six. Salt had launched Gudakesh Motie over wide mid-off for his first six of the match and his 22nd of the series. Motie’s response was a beautiful delivery that curved onto middle stump and straightened dramatically to beat Salt’s defensive push. That is a jaffa.
Phil Salt hits his first six of the innings 🙌
— Cricket on TNT Sports (@cricketontnt) December 21, 2023
𝗡𝗲𝘅𝘁 𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗹: Clean bowled and out for 38 😬#WIvENG pic.twitter.com/aK8gXZlWwJ
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6th over: England 50-2 (Salt 31, Livingstone 1) Salt takes Thomas for successive boundaries, through backward point and then straight down the ground. In doing so, he breaks Mohammad Rizwan’s record for the most runs in a bilateral T20 series. Rizwan made 316 against England last year; Salt has 324 and counting.
”If Phil Salt keeps batting like this,” says Brian Withington, “I might just about be persuaded that he is worth his place in spite of the truly awful wicketkeeping. Is he stepping in just to make us grateful for the return of Jos ‘Tin Gloves’ Buttler?!”
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5th over: England 39-2 (Salt 21, Livingstone 0) That was the last ball of the over. Jacks has had a frustrating series. A strike-rate of 146 is excellent; the problem is that his average is one decimal point away: 73 runs at 14.60.
WICKET! England 39-2 (Jacks b Hosein 7)
Brilliant bowling from Akeal Hosein! The ball after being slugged down the ground for six by Will Jacks, Hosein skidded a quicker ball through to hit the stumps as Jacks shaped to cut. Shane Warne would have been proud of that.
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4th over: England 32-1 (Salt 20, Jacks 1) Buttler ends a decent series with 161 runs at an average of 32, and with a strike-rate of 144. Meanwhile Salt, the leading runscorer on either side by a mile, gets four more with a deft steer to third man. As Ian Bishop notes on TNT Sports, West Indies are bowling very straight and so far England have struggled to time the ball.
WICKET! England 24-1 (Buttler c b Holder 11)
A strength can also be a weakness, part 437241. Jos Buttler premeditates a ramp off Jason Holder’s second ball but scoops it straight to short fine leg, where Oshane Thomas takes a simple catch.
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3rd over: England 24-0 (Salt 13, Buttler 11) The left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein, who has opened the bowling throughout the series, comes on first change tonight. Salt makes room to crack another boundary through the covers. Rutherford hurt himself while diving to try to stop the ball; for a second I thought he’d dislocated a finger but he seems to be okay.
Salt takes a very tight single to Holder at mid-off – it would have been very close with a direct hit – and then Buttler mistimes a big shot that plops short of long-on. The early signs are that this pitch isn’t quite as conducive to batting thuggery as it was on Tuesday.
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2nd over: England 16-0 (Salt 7, Buttler 9) Oshane Thomas, playing his first T20I in two years, starts with a wide half-volley that is laced through extra cover for four by Salt. His line is much tighter thereafter, but when he drops short Buttler heaves a pull through midwicket for four more. No sixes, yet.
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1st over: England 5-0 (Salt 1, Buttler 4) Russell hasn’t opened the bowling in a T20 international since 2018. His third ball is a wretched half-tracker that Buttler pulls past short fine leg for four, but that aside it’s a decent over.
The players are on the field and Andre Russell is going to open the bowling. Let us flay.
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The match starts in precisely 20 minutes. Here’s something to read while I watch Luke Littler grab a coffee
Team news
England are unchanged. West Indies bring in Johnson Charles and Oshane Thomas for Kyle Mayers and Matthew Forde, which means a return to the King Charles opening partnership. Shame they don’t have a player with the surname Ralph.
West Indies King, Charles, Hope, Pooran, Rutherford, Powell, Motie, Russell, Holder, Hosein, Thomas.
England Salt (wk), Buttler (c), Jacks, Livingstone, Brook, Ali, Curran, Woakes, Ahmed, Rashid, Topley.
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West Indies win the toss and bowl
Jos Buttler says he would have done the same, though batting first wasn’t a problem for England on Tuesday night.
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Preamble
All good orgies must come to an end. The T20 series between West Indies and England has been a bacchanalia of six-hitting: 108 in four games, obliterating the record for a bilateral series. Expect at least another 25 in tonight’s decider in Tarouba. And then, just like that, the series – and one of the more eventful years in English cricket history – will be over.
England’s comeback from 2-0 down has been built on two spectacular centuries from Phil Salt. No longer is he living up to his initials by being an afterthought in England’s white-ball sides. Salt has been the biggest triumph of this series, making what Matthew Mott called an “undeniable case” for inclusion in the team at next year’s World Cup. Adil Rashid has been majestic, even by his standards, and is top of the T20 rankings for the first time in his career, while Rehan Ahmed, Liam Livingstone and Sam Curran are among those who have done their World Cup chances more harm than good.
This series is ultimately about finessing England’s team for when they return in June, so a defeat wouldn’t be the end of the world. But a comeback win would make a statement that, after a traumatic year, England’s white-ball team are back to their old ways: knocking the opposition for six.
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