Saqib Mahmood‘s excellent spell (3/17) of fast bowling guided England to their first T20I series win over West Indies in the Caribbean in five years as they claimed the third T20I of the ongoing five-match series by three wickets. Player of the Match (POTM) Saqib Mahmood was the star for England in the third T20I. Saqib Mahmood recorded figures of 3/17 in his four overs and claimed the big wickets of Evin Lewis, Roston Chase and Shimron Hetmyer.
Sam Curran (41), Liam Livingstone (39) and Will Jacks (32) guided England past the finish line by three wickets in a tricky chase as the visitors clinched an unassailable 3-0 series lead over the West Indies in St. Lucia on Thursday. Earlier, fast-bowlers Saqib Mahmood and Jamie Overton picked three wickets each to restrict the West Indies to 145 for 7 in the first innings, a respectable total considering the hosts were 37 for 5 at one stage.
Pitch Report and Toss
Pitch Report : This has been the highest scoring venue going back to the last few years. The wind factor will be a cause of concern for the bowlers. The 6-8 meter mark is where bowlers would want to land has an even covering of the grass. One can swing through the line. Can also target the off and on side.
Toss : England skipper Jos Buttler won the toss and chose to bowl with one change in the playing XI as Rehan Ahmed comes in for Adil Rashid. West Indies skipper Rovman Powell batting first made 3 changes in the playing XI as Brandon King has a niggle, Shai Hope is in. Matthew Forde too has a niggle so Alzarri comes in and Hetmyer replaces Rutherford in the playing XI .
Saqib Mahmood’s and Jamie Overton’s 3-fers restricts WI to 145 for 8
Jos Buttler won the toss for the third straight game running as England opted to field on one of the highest scoring grounds in the West Indies. It didn’t take long for England to vindicate their captain’s decision as they picked up four wickets in the first four overs. First was Shai Hope, who was run-out in the first over by youngster Jacob Bethell while Saqib Mahmood struck with his third ball in the second over as Evin Lewis holed out to third man.
Hope lasted just two balls, run out by Jacob Bethell at backward point after aborting what looked a comfortable single. That was the first of four powerplay wickets to fall across 17 deliveries, including the destructive left-handers Evin Lewis and Pooran through wayward hacks against Saqib Mahmood and Jofra Archer, respectively.
Saqib Mahmood was not done there, nicking off Roston Chase before Hetmyer followed his fellow southpaws with another woeful heave, caught deep square leg. With two matches to play, the Lancashire quick’s eight powerplay wickets are already the most for an England bowler in any series during that period of a T20I.
Powell and Shepherd – West Indies top-scorers in the series – set about another face-saving stand, this one an impressive 73 from just 57 deliveries. But no sooner had they reached a respectable 110 for 5 after 15 overs, Overton instigated a collapse with three dismissals in seven deliveries, dismissing both set batters.
Overton had a peculiar start to this tour. A long overdue ODI debut in the first match at Antigua came as a specialist No. 8 batter – a continuation of a frustrating period without bowling. A stress fracture of the back that robbed him of a place in England’s T20 World Cup plans at the start of the summer was still holding him back.
His three-for in St Lucia, however, was a welcome return to business. Two weeks on from operating as a lower-order batter by circumstance, he was back to the bowling allrounder he is by design.
England have long-viewed the 30-year-old as an ace up their sleeve. Since moving on from Liam Plunkett after the 2019 ODI World Cup win, they have been shorn of an effective middle-overs bowler possessing the ability to hammer an awkward length and a nous for unpredictability. While Brydon Carse has auditioned well enough, Overton may have just given selectors a reason to recast the role.
The nature of Overton’s trio of dismissals was particularly heartening. Shepherd was flummoxed by a slower ball, then Gudakesh Motie caught at mid-off, undone by a short ball that followed the left-hander more than he’d have liked. Powell’s clothing of a short ball out to deep midwicket came about through a smartly executed cross-seam delivery that avoided the middle of the bat.
These are still early days in Overton’s international career. This, after all, is only his seventh cap in limited-overs cricket, and his fitness cannot be taken for granted. Nevertheless, his fourth-best figures in 146 T20 appearances outright – taking him to 100 wickets in the format – was a welcome sight. He would also have enjoyed being out there at the end as victory was sealed.
A breezy 28 for the ninth wicket between Gudakesh Motie and Joseph gave them something to work with. Alas, it was the same old story, albeit one that confirmed only England’s second T20I series win in the last two years.
Things got worse for the West Indies as the dangerous Nicholas Pooran played across the line to see his stumps rattled off Jofra Archer before Roston Chase edged one to slip. Mahmood picked up his third in the sixth over as Hetmyer skied a pull to deep mid-wicket to leave the hosts tottering at 39 for 5 at the end of the PowerPlay.
Rovman Powell (54) and Romario Shepherd (30) registered a 73-run partnership in 9.3 overs to try and take their side to a respectable score. They targeted leg spinner Rehan Ahmed and Livingstone as the batters scored 26 runs across the ninth and tenth over. Powell also survived a LBW decision through DRS thanks to an inside edge. The West Indies skipper brought up his fifty with a six off Curran but just as the hosts looked set to push for a big score, Overton brought about another twist.
Who knows just how one-sided this series would have been were it not for Powell. For the second time in as many matches, it was the skipper who had to single-handedly steady the ship. Captaining West Indies is never a straightforward gig, least of all when you find yourself batting in the first six overs when you’re carded at No. 5. For the third time in a week, Powell arrived to an early mess.
On all three occasions, he met fire with fire, this time making it through to an eighth 50-plus score. Arriving in the fourth over, he kept looking for boundaries despite Saqib Mahmood and Archer making merry with the new ball. The former was struck over cover, the latter blazed extravagantly into the stands in the same region before the fielding restrictions were lifted.
He struck three more sixes, two of them lifted down the ground off leg spinner Rehan, who was making his first T20I appearance in almost a year. Powell’s last lusty blow – sending a Curran half-tracker over square leg – took him to eight sixes in the series, the most on either side. Powell then went on to marshal well in the second innings, nailing his bowling plans, backed up with smart field placements. Had catches been held, he might have had more to show for it.
The fast-bowler picked up Shepherd and Motie in the 16th over while Powell fell in the 18th over. Through Alzarri Joseph and Akeal Hossein, the hosts managed to score 23 runs in their last two overs to take them to 145.
Akeal Hossein’s 4-fer in vain as Sam Curran ,Liam Livingstone and Will Jacks gives England unassailable 3-0 lead over WI
In reply, the visitors didn’t get off to the best of starts either as they lost Phil Salt cheaply for four – bowled by Hossein. Jacks slowly got his eye in and scored couple of boundaries before he saw his captain Buttler got a thick edge straight to his counterpart while Bethell scored a boundary before being caught behind off Joseph. This left the hosts at 42 for 3 after the PowerPlay.
Jacks, who witnessed his partners fall for low scores, registered a 38-run partnership with Curran. The left-hander clinched two boundaries off Terrance Hinds to bring some calm in the tourists’ camps. But Jacks fell at a crucial time punching one straight to cover. Livingstone had an eventful start to his innings with a six off Joseph before being put down twice across two overs, and made sure he made the most of his reprieves. Sam Curran then latched into Motie with a six over long-off to bring the equation down to 38 off 30 balls.
Perhaps the biggest compliment you could pay Sam Curran is that it did not look like he was in a hurry in Saint Lucia. This despite his vital 41 taking up just 26 deliveries.
But for the sweat drenching his red shirt, he was a picture of calm. At ease on a skiddy pitch, unflustered in a situation that was fraught when he arrived at the crease midway through the final over of the powerplay. England were 37 for 3, needing 109 from 87 balls, with a middle order that had not seen action in the series so far now having to bear the load.
Caressing his first ball through point for four, Sam Curran immediately looked up for the task. Consecutive boundaries through the same region in the next over reiterated that.
Sam Curran would wait 19 deliveries for his next boundary – clumping Motie down the ground for six – but the time in between was not wasted. He ticked over nicely, initially with Jacks, then with Livingstone, in what was a clinic in quiet, steady accumulation. He had faced just one dot ball before scything Terrance Hinds to Shai Hope at deep point.
Since starring as the player of the tournament at the 2022 T20 World Cup with 13 dismissals, Sam Curran has only equaled that tally in 21 T20Is since, and remains wicketless across his nine overs so far in these first three games. But this score, along with 37, 52 and 40 in the ODI series – where he also failed to register in the wicket column – suggests he might be in the midst of reinventing himself as a vital batter for England’s white-ball needs.
Hinds picked up his maiden wicket off Curran but a six by Dan Mousley and a 16-run 18th over by Livingstone left England with five runs to get off 12 balls. Although Livingstone fell in the penultimate over, the damage was already done England crossed the line comfortably.
Presentations and Road Ahead
Jos Buttler the winning England skipper said : I think it was a collective effort to win the series. We set the tone with the ball. Jofra and Saqib were excellent as they took early wickets. He (Saqib) is delighted to play for England again, he’s among the wickets and you can see that. A few top players are not here, there’s a competition for places. I think Curran played well and took the pressure off the other guys.
Different players are putting their hands up, which is great for us. It’s easy to not put emphasis on bilateral series, but we are delighted (with our performance) today. We just want to keep winning, it’s a hungry dressing room, we are really looking forward to the next two games.
Rovman Powell the losing WI skipper said : I think it’s a bit disappointing, we keep losing wickets in clusters and in the powerplay. It’s a case of us of being our natural self. Saturday provides us an opportunity to turn things around. The middle overs get difficult when you lose wickets, can’t go hard in the middle overs when you lose wickets. The execution (by the bowlers) wasn’t proper in the previous games.
Tonight the execution was better from our bowlers. The guys have to take more catches. Fielding is a collective effort, need to get better as individuals. Akeal has been a standout performer for us. England are a good team, we have two good games of cricket remaining.
Saqib Mahmood Player of the Match for his 3-fer said : As a bowling unit we have had the mindset of taking wickets. We haven’t held back with the ball, have taken in-roads in every game. Coming into this series, feels like my own. Good to express myself. Jofra and I are good mates, we compliment each other well, we have done well in the last few games. I didn’t really want to bat back then. Hopefully we do well in the remaining two games as well.
Win the toss, win the match – win the series. Jos Buttler’s third correct call of the T20I series resulted in yet another successful chase, as England beat West Indies by three wickets at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground to take an unassailable 3-0 lead.
This, however, was the toughest ask, despite a target of 146 being the lowest of the three so far. Once again, West Indies scrapped to a respectable total from a dire position of 37 for 5. Saqib Mahmood took 3 for 17, once again bossing the powerplay, before Jamie Overton gutted the middle order with 3 for 20 after Rovman Powell’s 54 and 30 from Romario Shepherd rebuilt from the wreckage.
But Akeal Hossein’s 4 for 22 kept West Indies in the hunt right to the end. Sam Curran’s 41 off 26, along with a run-a-ball 32 from Will Jacks had just kept England on course. Liam Livingstone’s 39 removed what jeopardy there was. Livingstone was lucky to be out there long enough to have that impact, having been dropped three times. The first, on 6, was the easiest – Nicholas Pooran shelling a top-edged hook off Alzarri Joseph, returning from his two-match suspension as one of three changes.
Pooran then shelled an edge off Gudakesh Motie when Livingstone had 8, before Motie missed out again when Shimron Hetmyer failed to clasp a tough low chance at deep midwicket. Livingstone had 21 at the time and, in the next over, took 16 off Joseph to put England in front, before holing out to long-on as Hossein’s fourth. Rehan Ahmed, drafted in for the rested Adil Rashid, had the honor of carving the winning runs over point.
England win by 3 wickets and take an unassailable lead of 3-0 in the 5-match T20I series. Earlier in the day, West Indies were reduced to 37/5 within the powerplay, however, captain – Rovman Powell played an excellent knock to lead West Indies’ fightback. Shepherd supported him well from the other end by chipping in with a handy contribution as the pair rebuilt the innings. Saqib Mahmood and Jamie Overton took three wickets each, but the hosts managed to post a respectable total as a result of Powell’s crucial knock.
In reply, England didn’t get off to a great start either as they lost three wickets within the powerplay. Salt, Buttler and Bethell were dismissed cheaply as England were reduced to 37/3. Jacks got off to a start, but the opener wasn’t able to convert it into a significant total.
Sam Curran played a significant knock of 41 and put England in a commanding position, however, he was removed by Hinds in the 16th over. Livingstone was dropped three times and made the West Indies pay for their mistakes. He was finally caught in the 19th over, but the damage was already done by then.
A wet outfield delayed the start of play earlier in the day, but we got to witness a full game of T20 cricket eventually. The top-order batters of both the teams weren’t able to add anything substantial, however, the middle-order batters did chip in with handy knocks to make the match interesting.
West Indies fought back well to post a respectable total, but given the depth in England’s batting, the visitors were always going to be the favourites to chase down the total. Which they did eventually. Still two more games remaining in this series, so the West Indies will be looking forward to putting up a better show.