| Third T20 international, St Kitts |
|---|
| West Indies 71 all out (13 overs): Willey 4-7, Wood 3-9, Rashid 2-18 |
| England 72-2 (10.3 overs): Bairstow 37, Hales 20 |
| England win by eight wickets |
| Scorecard |
England dismissed a hapless West Indies for just 71 as they completed an eight-wicket win in the final T20 at St Kitts and claimed a 3-0 series victory.
West Indies were bundled out in 13 overs just two days after they collapsed to 45 all out, with David Willey taking a career-best 4-7.
Mark Wood took 3-9 and Adil Rashid 2-18 as England’s bowlers dominated.
Jonny Bairstow struck 37 from 31 balls as the tourists chased down their target in 10.3 overs.
Left-arm seamer Willey took the first four wickets of the match as West Indies capitulated once again.
West Indies’ innings was the fifth shortest completed innings in terms of balls bowled in T20 internationals.
Windies collapse for second time in three days
England’s Caribbean tour has been largely competitive, with West Indies winning two of the three Tests and drawing the ODI series, but the T20s have been one-sided.
West Indies’ innings lasted 78 balls – seven more than they managed on Friday – with batsmen caught out playing big shots on a tacky pitch.
Man-of-the-match Willey struck with the first ball of the match as Shai Hope spooned a full delivery to cover and Shimron Hetmyer fell in the left-armer’s next over as he mistimed a drive to mid-off.
At 10-2, calm was needed.
However, John Campbell holed out to Joe Denly in the covers to give Willey his third, before Darren Bravo edged a fine delivery through to Bairstow to leave the hosts 24-4.
Only three batsmen reached double figures, with the longest partnership the 21-run stand between Jason Holder and Nicholas Pooran.
The hosts managed to hit just three sixes and six fours and were restricted further by some excellent England fielding – Bairstow and Jordan taking impressive catches in particular.
Once Holder was caught trying to slog Denly and Nicholas Pooran swung a Wood slower ball to Jordan on the boundary, a quick ending felt inevitable.
Rashid produced two fine googlies to bowl Fabian Allen and last man Obed McCoy as England dismissed West Indies in just over an hour.
It means West Indies – world champions in this format – have scored 116 runs for 20 wickets in 24.5 overs across two matches.
England add insult to Windies’ injury
England were able to stroll through their run-chase, reaching their target with 57 balls remaining.
Sixteen runs came from the first over of the reply, with Alex Hales thrashing Sheldon Cottrell for back-to-back fours and a six over long-on.
Hales and Bairstow did not play ultra-aggressively, however, with left-arm spinner Allen bowling a maiden in the powerplay, before Hales was well-caught on the leg-side boundary by Campbell.
West Indies’ again struggled in the field, with Hetmyer dropping a simple chance off Bairstow on 18. Bairstow’s response was to hit opposition captain Holder for a straight six.
Although Bairstow fell with England on 60-1 – bowled by a Devendra Bishoo leg-break – Joe Root and Eoin Morgan were able to work singles to reach their total with ease.
“I don’t think you can fault us for much in this series,” England captain Morgan said afterwards.
“The more we played in the West Indies the better we get – we’ve improved as the series has gone on.”
England’s next job? Pick their World Cup squad – analysis
by Simon Mann, BBC Radio 5 Live in St Kitts
England showed the type of ruthlessness they will need in this summer’s World Cup.
England have seven more white-ball games – starting against Ireland in Dublin on 3 May – before they have to finalise their World Cup squad on 23 May.
Barring injuries, 10 players are already guaranteed a place in the final 15: Eoin Morgan, Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler, Alex Hales, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes and Adil Rashid.
Four of Mark Wood, David Willey, Tom Curran, Joe Denly and Liam Plunkett will almost certainly be included as well – possibly all five.
The two remaining questions are: does Jofra Archer merit a place in the final squad? If so, which of the five above does he replace?
Michael Vaughan and Phil Tufnell will analyse England’s tour of the West Indies on their show on BBC Radio 5 Live at 21:00 GMT on Monday.
‘I like to think it helps my World Cup chances’ – what they said
England bowler David Willey: “I’d like to think it helps my World Cup chances but it’s a different format. As long as I’m taking wickets up front, that’s the key for me.”
England bowler and man of the series Chris Jordan: “It was a good series for me. Everyone in our team was phenomenal.
“To bowl out a team of that quality twice for under 100 was a great effort.”
England coach Trevor Bayliss, speaking to Sky Sports: “Chris has been fantastic – he’s been a good player in T20 cricket for us a while. Not just his bowling, he’s also our best fielder. He’s shown catches win matches.
“The more players and depth we have, the better it is for English cricket. There’s been talk of Jofra Archer playing and two or three guys in the team at present have responded positively to the challenge.”
West Indies captain Jason Holder: “It’s important for us to keep building as a side. It’s all to play for in the future.
“I don’t think it’s a drop in intensity, we just didn’t bat well in these past two games. We must give England credit as well.”
