Stand-in skipper Liam Livingstone powered a shocking first England century to take his aspect to a five-wicket win over West Indies within the second ODI in Antigua and the three-match sequence to a decider.
Livingstone (124no off 85) had fallen two runs in need of fifty throughout an eight-wicket defeat within the sequence opener on the identical venue on Thursday as England had been bundled out for 209 in 45.1 overs.
However pressed on two days later with a superbly-paced maiden ODI ton because the vacationers eclipsed West Indies’ 328-6 – by which Shai Hope (117) struck a seventeenth century – with 21 balls to spare to make Wednesday’s Barbados finale winner-takes-all.
Livingstone – deputising as captain for Jos Buttler (calf) – and Sam Curran (52 off 52) joined forces at 160-4 with the ask 169 from 132 balls and initially absorbed strain earlier than Livingstone exploded from the forty first over onwards, turning a 60-ball fifty right into a 77-ball century and cracking 9 sixes in whole.
The 31-year-old, who placed on 140 from 107 balls with Curran, went six-crazy on the backend, thumping Motie, Jayden Seales and Shamar Joseph into the stands.
Defeat was harsh on Hope (117 off 127), who punished England wicketkeeper Phil Salt for dropping him on 60 to guide his aspect to 328-6 – the skipper supported by Keacy Carty (71) throughout a stand of 143 from 12-2 after which Sherfane Rutherford (54), who clubbed a 35-ball fifty.
England used 9 bowlers for simply the second time in an ODI – the primary event was towards Sri Lanka within the 1987 World Cup – with solely Salt and Jordan Cox not turning their arms over.
That meant Jofra Archer (1-40) – the person to lastly dismiss Hope – bowled solely 9 of a potential 10 overs, with Sir Alastair Cook dinner” saying the approach was “complicated” whereas on punditry obligation for TNT Sports activities as solely leg-spinner Adil Rashid (2-62) acquired by means of his full quota.
However any errors Livingstone might have made within the discipline he greater than made up for with the bat, including 5 fours to his glut of sixes however extra importantly delivering beneath strain, staking his declare for a significant position when Brendon McCullum takes cost of the white-ball staff from January.
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