Source: BBC

England sealed a series win over West Indies with a game to spare after a superb chase of 197 in the second T20 at Bristol.

Former captain Jos Buttler struck 47 and his successor Harry Brook made 34 as England reached 112-2 in 12.2 overs, before they fell in consecutive overs with 85 still required to swing the game back in the tourists’ favour.

But Jacob Bethell’s stunning cameo of 26 from 10 balls, including three huge sixes, and Tom Banton’s unbeaten 30 off 11 set up a four-wicket win with nine balls remaining.

England had earlier been eyeing a much smaller target as they had restricted West Indies to 121-4 at the start of the 17th over, only for an onslaught of 75 runs from the final four overs to follow.

Luke Wood had given England the perfect start by pinning Evin Lewis lbw with a swinging yorker from the first ball of the match, before captain Shai Hope’s elegant 49 led the recovery in a stand of 90 with Johnson Charles, who made 47.

Their innings had been in danger of floundering with just 32 runs scored in 5.1 overs after Hope’s dismissal in the 11th, but Rovman Powell clubbed 34 from 15 balls and former skipper Jason Holder whacked an unbeaten 29 off nine.

Leg-spinner Adil Rashid bowled the penultimate over as England again only selected two seamers, and conceded 31 runs to finish with 1-59 – the most expensive figures of his T20 career.

In the highest-scoring T20 international without any batter of either side passing 50, England’s chase was a remarkable team effort.

Jamie Smith was caught off Holder for four in the second over but Ben Duckett and Buttler added 63 with a remarkable array of scoops, reverse-sweeps and switch-hits that had West Indies’ bowlers in disbelief, and spectators bracing themselves in the crowd.

Duckett fell for an 18-ball 30 before Buttler and Brook combined for another stand of 40, with England seemingly cruising to victory as Buttler was dropped on 43 by Charles as he miscued one to deep mid-wicket.

It did not cost too much in terms of runs as Charles held on with just four runs added to Buttler’s total, before Brook was caught at long-off an over later, but the tourists could not capitalise.

England still needed 71 from 39 when Brook fell but Bethell delivered his swagger and confidence with two towering sixes off Alzarri Joseph in the 16th over, one clipped effortlessly over square leg and the other slammed straight.

Banton’s knock emulated the innovation of Buttler and Duckett, deftly nudging the ball into the gaps and reversing past the keeper with ease while also stirking two sixes of his own.

England’s white-ball resurgence under Brook continues to impress as they head to Southampton with an opportunity to deliver a dominant clean sweep to start his reign.

It was a fluctuating innings from West Indies, as England’s bright start with the ball saw them concede just 12 from the first three overs of the powerplay and 43 from the next.

Wood accounted for Lewis with his extravagant swing, and the batter’s review one of pure desperation as the ball was crashing into middle stump.

Charles’ scratchy innings of 47 off 39 balls led to some suggestions it was a tricky pitch but considering the fluency of the rest of the line-up – and eventually England’s – his relative sluggishness in the middle overs contributed to his side posting a below-par total.

Hope’s strike rate was not much better but he enjoyed pace on the ball, as he whacked Brydon Carse for two stunning sixes over long-off and looked in such sparkling form that only a piece of magic from Rashid could dismiss him.

England’s leg-spinner tempted Hope into coming down the pitch, turned the ball past the off stump and Buttler whipped off the bails.

Brook rotated his bowlers efficiently through the middle as the runs dried up, with Sherfane Rutherford caught on the boundary off Bethell for six and Charles was bizarrely bowled by nutmegging himself to give Wood a second wicket.

But that kickstarted the chaos as Powell struck three sixes to take West Indies to 149-5 at the end of the 18th, before Brook had no choice but to bowl Rashid at the death with such short straight boundaries for the batters to target.

Holder capitalised, pulling a drag down over square leg first ball before slamming two more sixes down the ground in simple but brutal fashion.

He handed Shepherd the strike who then repeated the dose on a difficult day for spinners – Liam Dawson, the hero of the series opener with four wickets, was also reminded of cricket’s fickle nature with figures of 0-43.

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