Mahmood sets the tone again before Curran and Livingstone give chase

(ESPN Cricinfo) – Win the toss, win the match – win the series. Jos Buttler’s third correct call of the T20I series resulted in another successful chase as England defeated the West Indies by three wickets at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground to take an unassailable 3-0 lead.

However, this was the most difficult question, despite the fact that 146 was the lowest of the three so far. Once again West Indies moved back to a respectable total from a dismal position of 37 for 5. Saqib Mahmood took 3 for 17 and once again bossed the powerplay, before Jamie Overton took away the middle order with 3 for 20 after Rovman Powell’s 54 and 30 . by Romario Shepherd rebuilt from the wreck.

But Akeal Hosein’s 4 for 22 kept West Indies in the hunt till the end. Sam Curran’s 41 off 26, along with a run-a-ball 32 from Will Jacks, had just kept England on course. Liam Livingstone’s 39 removed the danger.

Livingstone was lucky to be there long enough to have that impact, having fallen three times. The first, on 6, was the easiest: Nicholas Pooran fired an angular hook from Alzarri Joseph and returned from his two-match ban as one of three substitutes.

Pooran then fired ahead to Gudakesh Motie when Livingstone had 8, before Motie missed again when Shimron Hetmyer failed to grab a difficult low chance at deep midwicket. Livingstone had 21 at the time and in the next over he got 16 off Joseph to put England ahead before going through as Hosein’s fourth. Rehan Ahmed, called up for the resting Adil Rashid, had the honor of scoring the winning runs over point.

West Indies heralded the changes, with the trio of Joseph, Shai Hope and Hetmyer calling for Matthew Forde and Brandon King – both injured – and Sherfane Rutherford. And yet they still had to endure a failed start.

Hope lasted just two balls but was run out on backward point by Jacob Bethell after chipping away at what looked like a comfortable single. That was the first of four powerplay wickets that fell over 17 deliveries, including destructive left-handers Evin Lewis and Pooran through wayward hacks against Mahmood and Jofra Archer respectively.

Mahmood wasn’t done there, picking off Roston Chase before Hetmyer followed his fellow southpaws with another woeful heave, from deep square leg. With two matches to play, the Lancashire Quick’s eight powerplay wickets are already the most for an English bowler in any series during that period of a T20I.

Powell and Shepherd – West Indies top scorers in the series – produced another face-saving stand, this one an impressive 73 from just 57 deliveries. But once they reached a respectable 110 for 5 after 15 overs, Overton caused a collapse with three dismissals in seven deliveries, with both set hitters dismissed.

A breezy 28 for the ninth wicket between Gudakesh Motie and Joseph gave them something to work with. Alas, it was the same old story, albeit only confirmed by England’s second T20I series win in the last two years.

Overton’s window opens again

Overton had a special start to this tour. A long-awaited ODI debut in the first match at Antigua came as specialist No. 8 batsman – a continuation of a frustrating spell without bowling. A stress fracture of the back that robbed him of a place in England’s T20 World Cup plans early this summer continues to hold him back.

However, his three-for in St. Lucia was a welcome return to business. Two weeks after circumstances forced him to appear as a lower-order batsman, he was back to being the bowling all-rounder he naturally is.

England have long viewed the 30-year-old as an ace up their sleeve. Since leaving Liam Plunkett after the 2019 ODI World Cup win, they have been deprived of an effective middle-overs bowler who has the ability to hammer an awkward length and a sense of unpredictability. Although Brydon Carse auditioned well enough, Overton may have just given the selectors a reason to recast the role.

The nature of Overton’s resignation trio was particularly encouraging. Shepherd was confused by a slower ball before Gudakesh Motie was caught at mid-on, undone by a short ball that followed the left-hander more than he would have liked. Powell’s dress of a short ball to deep mid-wicket was accomplished by a cleverly executed cross-seam delivery that avoided the middle of the bat.

These are still the first days in Overton’s international career. After all, this is only his seventh cap in limited-overs cricket, and his fitness cannot be taken for granted. Nevertheless, his fourth-best figures in 146 T20 appearances – taking him to 100 wickets in the format – were a welcome sight. He would have enjoyed being there at the end too because the victory was sealed.

Curran shows batting chops (again).

Perhaps the greatest compliment you can pay Curran is that he didn’t seem to be in a hurry in Saint Lucia. This despite his vital 41 taking only 26 deliveries.

But despite the sweat that soaked his red shirt, he was a picture of calm. At ease on a rough pitch, unconcerned in a situation that was fraught when he arrived at the crease midway through the last over of the powerplay. England were 37 for 3 and needed 109 off 87 balls, with a middle order that had not seen action in the series so far now having to bear the burden. Curran stroked his first ball through point four and immediately looked up to the task. Successive borders through the same region into the next region repeated that.

Curran would wait nineteen deliveries for his next boundary – clunking Motie into the ground for six – but the time in between was not wasted. He worked well, initially at Jacks and then at Livingstone, in a clinic that built up quietly and steadily. He had faced just one spot ball before throwing Terrance Hinds to Shai Hope on deep.

Since starring as the player of the tournament at the 2022 T20 World Cup with 13 dismissals, Curran has only matched that tally in 21 T20Is since and remains wicketless across his nine overs so far in these first three matches. But this score, along with 37, 52 and 40 in the ODI series – where he also failed to register in the wicket column – suggests he may be in the process of reinventing himself as a crucial batsman for England’s white-ball needs .

Powell stands tall

Who knows how one-sided this series would have been without Powell. For the second time in as many games, it was the skipper who had to single-handedly keep the ship steady.

Captaining the West Indies is never easy, especially when you find yourself batting in the first six overs while at number 5. For the third time in a week, Powell got into an early mess.

On all three occasions he met fire with fire, this time reaching an eighth score of over 50. Coming into the fourth over, he continued to push for boundaries despite Mahmood and Archer being merry with the new ball. The former was hit over cover, and the latter extravagantly fired into the stands in the same region before field restrictions were lifted.

He hit three more sixes, two of which came off the ground off leg-spinner Rehan, who was making his first T20I appearance in almost a year. Powell’s final lusty blow – sending a Curran half-tracker over square leg – took him to eight sixes in the series, the most on either side.

Powell then went on to perform well in the second innings, laying down his bowling plans, backed up by clever field placements. If there had been catches, he might have had more to show for it.