West Indies beat England by four wickets in a rain-shortened third One-Day International at Kensington Oval last night to win the CG United series 2-1.
By sealing this victory on the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method, West Indies secured their first ODI series win over England since 2007.
On a wicket that eventual player of the match Matthew Forde described as “tacky”, England ended their innings on 202-9 after 40 overs. After another rain stoppage, West Indies were given a revised target of 188 to chase in 34 overs and reached 191-6 in 31.4 overs.
West Indies lost opener Brandon King early on the chase when he fell for just one in the second over to Gus Atkinson. Left handed Alick Athanaze (45) and Keacy Carty (50) put on a run-a-ball 76 partnership. After a slight wobble with key wickets Shai Hope (15) and Shimron Hetmyer (12) getting out, Romario Shepherd combined with debutant Forde to see the hosts over the line.
Earlier in the day, 21-year-old Barbadian Forde had a debut to remember with the ball, taking three for 29 as he ripped through the English top order. First Phil Salt (4) was dismissed when he was caught at mid-off by Alzarri Joseph with a low catch that required a number of television replays to reach a verdict.
Variable bounce and late seam movement did for Zac Crawley (0) and Will Jacks (17) respectively which left England in strife on 45-3 after 8.1 overs.
Harry Brook and Jos Butler combined superbly in Antigua to bring the victory home for the tourists but they were dismissed within the same over with just one run added between them. England were 49-5 in 9.4 overs and staring down the barrel of another defeat and even breaking their lowest score in ODI history which stands at 86 runs against Australia at Old Trafford in 2001
Ben Duckett (71) and Liam Livingstone (45) combined for an 88 run partnership which helped take the tourists to 206-9.
West Indies captain Shai Hope was named Player of the Series.
The two sides will meet again for a five-match T20 series.
Summarised Scores:
England 202-9 in 40 overs (Ben Duckett 71, Liam Livingstone 45, Gus Atkinson 20 n.o., Will Jacks 17; Matthew Forde 3-29, Alzarri Shepherd 3-61). West Indies 188-6 in 31.4 overs (Keacy Carty 50, Alick Athanaze 45, Romario Shepherd 41 n.o.; Will Jacks 3-22, Gus Atkinson 2-58). West Indies won by four wickets on the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method.
