England levelled the series with a six-wicket win over West Indies in the second ODI in Antigua.
Sam Curran and Gus Atkinson set the tone with the new ball, quickly reducing West Indies to 23-4 after Jos Buttler won the toss and opted to field first. Shai Hope, fresh off his century in the series opener, rebuilt nicely with Sherfne Rutherford, but Liam Livingstone and Rehan Ahmed put the brakes on the West Indies recovery, eventually skittling the home side out for 202. Despite the loss of early wickets, England successfully chased down their target with ample time left spare with Will Jacks scoring 73 from the top of the order.
Here are five talking points from England’s victory in Antigua:
Curran bounces back in style
Curran claimed three early wickets to bounce back from his disappointing performance in the series opener where he recorded England’s most expensive ever figures in an ODI. In truth, he started poorly again but his first wicket – that of Brandon King – seemed to inject some lost confidence and he soon settled back into a nice rhythm. Though Atkinson picked up one fewer wicket, he was arguably the more impressive, snaring Alick Athanaze with an absolute snorter to open the floodgates. It is good to see Aktinson finally deployed in the role he performed so well in domestic cricket to first earn the attention of the selectors – bowling fast with the new ball.
Livingstone shines with the ball
Livingstone thrived on another slow surface, taking three crucial wickets in the middle overs including those of both West Indies half-centurions, Hope and Rutherford. His ability to turn the ball both ways as someone who is not a frontline bowler is extremely useful, especially on pitches such as this one.
Rehan continues to impress
Another extremely assured outing for the 19-year-old Rehan Ahmed. He may not yet be the finished article, but he has already come on leaps and bounds in his first year as an international cricketer with his leg-break an increasingly potent weapon. Rehan was the England bowler who most successfully applied pressure on the Hope-Rutherford stand and he was the man to dismiss Romario Shepherd just as he was threatening to reproduce his pyrotechnics from the series opener.
England lose early wickets again
For the second game in a row, England followed a rapid start with a steady stream of wickets, losing three wickets inside the first 16 overs; this time they lost their fourth in the 20th. There is no discernible difference between how Phil Salt treats ODIs and T20s – he has now gone 10 ODIs without facing more than 30 deliveries. England want to recreate the aggression that brought them so much success under Eoin Morgan, but this is a different group of players with slightly different strengths.
Part of what was so extraordinary about Morgan’s side – and their 2019 World Cup campaign in particular – was that Bairstow and Roy didn’t just get them off to fliers, they’d do so securely. This group is flush with outstanding death hitters; it may be more sustainable to create a platform for those players, similar to how South Africa created platforms for the likes of Henirch Klaasen and David Miller at the 2023 World Cup. At the moment, they are too often at risk of crumbling for scores that are well below par. Once more, it was Brook who exhibited the required maturity to take responsibility for the match situation, providing some stability before Jos Buttler let loose with the fin line in sight.
Rutherford provides West Indies balance
After a chaotic ODI debut on Sunday where he was dismissed for a three-ball six having had an lbw decision overturned second ball, Rutherford was impressive in difficult circumstances today. Coming in at 23-4, he provided Hope company and threatened to take West Indies to a more than competitive total. With the ball, his medium pace – unused in the first ODI – brought the wicket of Jacks for 73.
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