Buttler, Curran return to form; England beat West Indies by 6 wickets
Put to bat first by England, West Indies was rocked by an early onslaught from the pace duo of Gus Atkinson and Curran
Sam Curran celebrating a wicket. (Photo: England Cricket Twitter)
ST JOHN'S: A return to form for bowling all-rounder Sam Curran and skipper Jos Buttler and explosive half-century by opener Will Jacks helped England beat West Indies by six wickets in the second ODI at North Sound by six wickets to level the series on Wednesday night.
Following a crushing four-wicket loss in the first ODI, Curran, who had gone for 98 runs without taking a wicket and an out-of-form Buttler showcased glimpses of their best in the second ODI and new opening pair of Will Jacks and Phil Salt continued its good run in ODIs.
The three-match series is now level at 1-1. Put to bat first by England, West Indies was rocked by an early onslaught from the pace duo of Gus Atkinson and Curran as Atkinson removed Alick Athanaze (4) and Curran got the assistance of Zak Crawley in the slips to dismiss Brandon King (17) and Keacy Carty (0), while he trapped Shimron Hetmyer lbw for a duck. WI was reeling at 23/4 in seven overs.
West Indies was 41/4 at the end of powerplay one in 10 overs. WI reached the 50-run mark in 12.2 overs. Skipper Shai Hope, the centurion from the first ODI, kept his good form going and stitched a recovery partnership with Sherfane Rutherford. WI touched the 100-run mark in 19.3 overs. Hope reached his 25th ODI fifty in 44 balls, with five fours and a six.
The duo also brought up their century stand. WI reached the 150-run mark in 29.1 overs. Sherfane brought up his maiden ODI fifty in 71 balls, with five fours and a six. Livingstone broke the 129-run partnership by getting Sherfane for 63 in 80 balls, with seven fours and a six. WI was 152/5 in 29.4 overs.
Livingstone also got the precious wicket of Hope, cleaning him up for 68 in 68 balls, with six fours and a six. From that point on, WI faced another collapse and was bundled out for 202 in 39.4 overs. Curran (3/33) and Livingstone (3/39) were the pick of the bowlers for England.
Atkinson and teen spinner Rehan Ahmed got two scalps each. In the chase of 203, Salt and Jacks got England off to a flyer once again, bringing up the 50-run partnership in just 5.4 overs. Salt was cleaned up by Romario Shepherd for 21 off 15 balls, with four boundaries. England was 50/1 in five overs. England ended the first ten overs at 74/1.
However, spinner Gudakesh Motie removed both Zak Crawly and Ben Duckett for three each, reducing England to 85/3. Jacks reached his half-century in 43 balls, with four boundaries and three sixes. England reached their 100-run mark in 16.5 overs.
Rutherford brought back WI into the match by trapping Jacks lbw for 73 off 72 balls, with six fours and four sixes. England was 116/4 in 19.5 overs. Skipper Buttler and Harry Brook took England to the winning total with six wickets and over 17 overs to spare.
Buttler scored his 26th ODI fifty, 58* in 45 balls with four boundaries and three sixes, marking a return to form. Brook was unbeaten at 43* in 49 balls, with two fours and two sixes. Motie (2/34) was the pick of the bowlers for WI. Curran took home the 'Player of the Match' award.
