Captain Liam Livingstone cracked a maiden one-day international hundred to lead England to a five-wicket victory against the West Indies on Saturday. Liam Livingstone‘s blistering innings outshone a century earlier in the day scored by opposition skipper Shai Hope. Chasing 329 to win, the England captain Liam Livingstone made his hundred off 77 balls with four fours and six sixes. He ended the innings undefeated on 124 having added another boundary and three more sixes to his total as England claimed victory with 15 balls to spare.
In the battle of captain’s centuries, there was one clear winner. Liam Livingstone’s devastating 124 not out from 85 balls trumped Shai Hope’s far more sedate 117 as England sealed victory in the second ODI by five wickets. Captain Shai Hope’s 117, along with half-centuries from Keacy Carty and Sherfane Rutherford, helped West Indies post a challenging total of 328/6. But skipper Liam Livingstone’s unbeaten 124 off 85 balls, which included five fours and nine sixes, helped England over the line in 47.3 overs.
Pitch Report and Toss
Pitch report: “We have had some rain around overnight. So far it’s clear. 63m square boundaries and 73m down the ground. There’s a little bit more moisture, could hamper the team batting first. Fast bowlers should hit the 6-8m length. Very important for the fast bowlers to be disciplined and for the spinners to control their pace” suggest Carlos Brathwaite and Nikhil Uttamchandani.
Toss : England skipper Liam Livingstone won the toss and chose to field with one change in the playing XI with Jamie Overton being replaced by Saqib Mahmood. West Indies skipper Shai Hope batting first bought in Shamar Joseph for Alzarri Joseph.
Shai Hopes blistering 117 alongside Keacy Carty, Sherfane Rutherford and late hitting by Hetmyer and Forde powers WI to 328
Earlier in the day, Shai Hope’s 17th century had seemingly done the main graft to put West Indies at a commanding position at the halfway stage with 328 for 6, meaning England needed to complete the second-highest ODI run-chase in the Caribbean.
Hope arrived at the start of the fourth over and batted through to the end of the 47th. There was vital support from Keacy Carty – whose 71 came in a third-wicket stand of 143 – and Sherfane Rutherford – his punchy 54 providing the majority of 79 for the fourth. Cameos from Shimron Hetmyer and Matthew Forde helped ransack 93 from the final 10 overs, even if Livingstone’s final flourish make that look well below par.
Livingstone’s decision to bowl after winning the toss was immediately vindicated by the removal of both West Indies openers in the first 19 deliveries. John Turner was responsible for both initial strikes for his first wickets in international cricket, the second of which was the prized wicket of Evin Lewis. The hero of the first ODI was snared down the leg side for just four following Thursday’s match-winning 94.
But things unraveled, characterized by England’s use of nine bowlers for only the second time in ODIs. That they could have dismissed Hope on 60 also cut them deep.
From 12 for 2, consolidation was the initial aim for Hope and Carty, who could have been removed on eight. An English squeeze involved three fielders at backward point, but Bethell – the middle of them – could only palm a skewed drive from Carty which would have given Turner a third dismissal.
The pair made it out of the Powerplay on 41 for 2, a figure bumped up in the 10th over by Hope’s first boundary – a stunning back-foot launch over extra cover for six off Turner. A brace of straight drives off Saqib Mahmood – the only change to the XI from the first ODI, with Jamie Overton sitting out – and a second six, lofting Adil Rashid over cover, was then followed by some quiet rotation.
Once satisfied the early losses had been offset, risks were taken to lift the run-rate. However, having cleared midwicket after Bethell dropped short to bring up his 42nd fifty-plus score, from 66 deliveries, it was a botched defensive push that should have brought his innings to an end on 60. A edge of Bethell bounced out of the hands of Salt behind the stumps.
Carty was soon moving to his fourth ODI fifty from 62 deliveries. He was then given two lives when a top-edge took Turner over the boundary at deep fine leg, then the fielder dropped a far simpler chance off the very next ball. Both came as Archer nailed his short-ball plans.
That miss would only cost three runs, as Rashid returned to bowl Carty through the gate at the start of the 31st. But that brought Rutherford to the crease, who ended up striking seven boundaries – three of them sixes – for a fifth half-century from just 35 deliveries.
Though he was dismissed a ball later – caught at deep cover attempting to replicate the six over the same region that took him to fifty – Hetmyer’s breezy 24 off 11 kept the pressure on. He was also dropped on 2 by Will Jacks down at long-on.
Earlier, opting to bowl, England started well as John Turner struck early to dismiss Brandon King and Evin Lewis. But a well-paced 143-run stand between Hope and Carty provided West Indies a good platform to post a sizeable total. From a shaky 12/2 in the fourth over, Hope and Carty built on steadily, helping West Indies to 41/2 after 10 overs. England bowled a few tight overs and cut off the boundary opportunities, with West Indies moving slowly to 85/2 after 20.
Hope and Carty then cut loose, increasing the frequency of boundaries as both batters registered fifties and raised a century stand to help West Indies past 150 by the time the 30th over was completed. Carty’s outing, however, came to an end when he was bowled by Adil Rashid for 71 off 77. But Rutherford came out with a positive intent as he raced to a 35-ball fifty and contributed the bulk of the runs in his 79-run stand with Hope.
Rutherford, though, fell to Livingstone in the 40th over, leaving West Indies at 235/4. The likes of Shimron Hetmyer, Chase and Forde then came up with useful 20s while their captain registered his 17th ODI hundred. Hope was dismissed in the 47th over by Archer but West Indies managed a good finish, getting 93 runs in the last 10 overs, although the total proved to be insufficient in the end.
Liam Livingstone’s 124 aided with fifties from Salt, Curran and Bethell propels England to series levelling 1-1 victory over WI.
Though England shot themselves in the foot with four drops, they were also guilty of spurning opportunities to make immediate amends with the bat. Salt looked on his way to redemption, carrying the start of the innings on his back, shrugging off the loss of Jacks in the fifth over to contribute 36 of England’s first fifty runs.
When Shamar Joseph, making his ODI debut with his namesake Alzarri rested, bounced out Jordan Cox for an agonizing 4 off 19 deliveries, Bethell arrived to take England to 107 for 3 by the 20-over mark.
Both were culpable for relinquishing control. Salt skied the first ball of Forde’s new spell at the start of the 21st for 59, then Bethell dumped Roston Chase into the hands of long-off after reaching a maiden international fifty.
But the duo of Liam Livingstone and Curran, players still with much to prove despite their experience, refused to panic. Curran initially took the reins as the aggressor, starting smartly with a six off Motie having noticed an extra fielder in the outfield meant the umpires would call it a no-ball. He contributed 31 of the initial 50 for the fifth wicket before Liam Livingstone, after five overs without a boundary heading into the final 10, decided it was going to be all on him.
The starter pistol was set with a charge off Motie down the ground to bring up Liam Livingstone’s fifty from 60 deliveries, before he signed off the 41st over with a slog-sweep over deep midwicket off the very next delivery. Back-to-back sixes in Motie’s next over – the second bringing up the century stand from 92 – also found the grass banks.
Pace was then put back on the ball, which played further into Liam Livingstone’s favour. When Curran was dismissed a ball after the skipper had nudged his 77th ball down the ground to move to 100, Dan Mousley played his part to a tee – simply dabbing singles. The most important came at the start of the 48th over, giving Liam Livingstone the strike for the honor of hitting the winning run.
England lost two wickets inside the first 12 overs – Will Jacks falling to a loose, short delivery from Matthew Forde and Jordan Cox top-edging a pull off Shamar Joseph – to be 63/2. Phil Salt, meanwhile, was finding the boundaries as he got to a 42-ball fifty with a four.
Salt, however, fell to Forde on 59, following which a steady partnership between Jacob Bethell and Liam Livingstone ensued, with the former getting to a 51-ball half-century. Roston Chase, who was hit for two fours and a six in an over by Bethell, eventually dismissed the batter who mistimed a loft.
Sam Curran joined Liam Livingstone and he began positively, striking a six and a four in an over off Gudakesh Motie. But West Indies did well to put the pressure back on England by cutting off the boundaries in overs 30-40, with only two fours coming in that period. England went into the last 10 overs needing to score 100, which was when Livingstone shifted to a higher gear.
Liam Livingstone was on 46 off 57 at the end of the 40th over and by the end of the 45th, he had raced to 99 off 76. Motie came under attack from Livingstone, being hit for three sixes and a four in two overs, while England also got a big 26-run over off Jayden Seales in the 45th, with Livingstone striking two sixes and two fours.
Curran had also crossed fifty by then, and the pair extended their partnership to 140 when Liam Livingstone got to a 77-ball 100 with a single, getting his maiden ODI century. Forde accounted for Curran to bag his third wicket but Liam Livingstone wasn’t giving West Indies any chance of a comeback, hitting three sixes and a four off Joseph in the 47th over. A couple of singles in the 48th over got the job done for England who had their captain to thank for pulling off the second highest chase in the Caribbean and getting the team back in the series.
Presentations and Road Ahead
Shai Hope the losing WI skipper said : Personally I thought it was a decent score, the outfield was heavy, the surface was up and down, but it was not enough. [on his 100] It’s irrelevant, if it does not contribute to wins it does not matter. We need to be more disciplined, first game we showed that, we were a bit off today, we did not execute our plans well. We had clear plans but we did not execute them well today.
We gave them a lot of easy options to score and when you play international cricket, the guys will capitalize and that’s what happened. The guys played really well, Keacy played really well, he has put a lot of work behind the scenes, Rutherford has got four 50s in a row now and Hettie with a nice cameo. Happy with the batters.
Liam Livingstone the winning skipper and Player of the match for his 124 runs said : Certain things I have done in practice and at the end of the season in England felt like I have been getting back to my best. Maturing and I’m enjoying my cricket and if I’m enjoying my cricket, I play well. Pretty proud day. Try and take some risks early on, the wind was pretty strong to that side. Target the death overs and that’s what me and Sammy were trying and it worked out perfectly.
He played beautifully, I have batted a lot and played a lot of cricket with Sammy, he hit the second ball he faced which was a no-ball for six and did not look back. I trusted him. We needed somebody in our top 6 to help us get a big score, Salty batted beautifully, he put the pressure on them.
We took wickets throughout, we were sloppy on the field but our bowlers did well. Looking forward to Barbados. We have got a lot of young boys still learning the ropes in international cricket, will do them a world of good, rest up and try to win the series.
After conceding a lead in the opening ODI, England came back strongly in the second game, registering a five-wicket victory in Antigua to level the series. Captain Shai Hope’s 117, along with half-centuries from Keacy Carty and Sherfane Rutherford, helped West Indies post a challenging total of 328/6. But skipper Liam Livingstone’s unbeaten 124 off 85 balls, which included five fours and nine sixes, helped England over the line in 47.3 overs
In the battle of captain’s centuries, there was one clear winner. Liam Livingstone’s devastating 124 not out from 85 balls trumped Shai Hope’s far more sedate 117 as England sealed victory in the second ODI by five wickets.
That it was Liam Livingstone’s maiden 50-over century is one thing. But leading an inexperienced group, the responsibility he assumed to see England home in a chase of 329 – and thus square the series at 1-1 – in such jaw-dropping fashion is worthy of the highest praise.
The tourists looked up against it after Phil Salt’s 59 and Jacob Bethell’s 55 – his maiden international half-century – had been the only scores of note in the top four. But a watchful stand between Livingstone and Sam Curran (52) evolved into a match-twisting epic of 140 from just 107 balls.
The acceleration at the end that brought victory with 15 balls to spare is showcased best in the breakdown of Livingstone’s approach into the final 10 overs, with 100 still to get. He headed into this period on 46 from 57, before striking 78 off his final 28 deliveries.
Left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie – 4 for 41 in the first ODI – was taken down for 14 and 16 at the start of the back straight to nurse his worst figures of 0 for 71. Jayden Seales was carted for 26 in an over, before debutant Shamar Joseph was thumped for 24. No one was safe. All in all, Livingstone thumped nine sixes among his 14 boundaries.
Aside from a hacked edge from Liam Livingstone on four that flew between Hope and a wide first slip, there was little Hope could do to turn back the tide. Earlier in the day, his 17th century had seemingly done the main graft to put West Indies at a commanding position at the halfway stage with 328 for 6, meaning England needed to complete the second-highest ODI run-chase in the Caribbean.
Hope arrived at the start of the fourth over and batted through to the end of the 47th. There was vital support from Keacy Carty – whose 71 came in a third-wicket stand of 143 – and Sherfane Rutherford – his punchy 54 providing the majority of 79 for the fourth. Cameos from Shimron Hetmyer and Matthew Forde helped ransack 93 from the final 10 overs, even if Livingstone’s final flourish make that look well below par.
What a run-chase this is from England. The second-highest ever in the Caribbean and now the last 7 games here at North Sound, Antigua has seen chasing sides win. Liam Livingstone with a brutal assault that sees England win with 15 balls to spare. It looked so different with 10 overs to go when England needed 100 exactly. Livingstone was on 46 from 57 then and look at where he has ended as he accelerated rapidly and went on a six-hitting spree that left West Indies crushed.
Brutal hitting from the big man and some huge sixes in there. The first part of his innings was slow going as he struggled but once he turned it around, there was no stopping him. Earlier Salt at the top and Bethell at 4 made fifties but fell without kicking on. Sam Curran joined Liam Livingstone and that partnership of 140 was key in setting it up for England.
Motie who took a match-winning four-fer in the last game went wicketless and the others apart from Forde couldn’t stop the Liam Livingstone juggernaut. Sets up the series beautifully for the decider in Barbados on 6th. The series is 1-1 and we have a decider coming up.