To a cacophony of noise, West Indies completed a four-wicket victory in the sixth and penultimate one-day international over England on Sunday to take a 2-1 lead in the rain-marred seven-match series.
Chasing a target of 281 from 50 overs, West Indies achieved victory off the first ball of the 48th over when rookie Dwayne Bravo glanced Darren Gough to the deep fine leg boundary for four to finish unbeaten on 33 from 42 balls.
”I think it was important that we consolidated our position in the series after we played so well on Saturday,” West Indies captain Brian Lara said.
He added: ”We approached this sixth one-day international much differently. We felt we had to improve on the areas in which we fell down the previous day. In the final analysis, even though it we chased the same total, I think we played much better in this match.”
Shivanarine Chanderpaul hit seven fours and one six in the top score of 63 from 55 balls that earned him the Man of the Match award and Lara struck just four boundaries in 57 from 68 balls on his 35th birthday to anchor West Indies to their destination.
England captain Michael Vaughan and left-hander Andrew Strauss each hit 67 and shared 84 for the second-wicket stand to be the rock on which the visitors built a challenging total of 281 for eight from 50 overs.
”We felt we had a competitive total, but we should have gotten in excess of 300 and put West Indies under real pressure,” Vaughan said.
He continued: ”Full credit to West Indies the way they chased down the target. I felt we fought really hard after they hit us around the park in the first 15 overs of their innings, but we have had a good weekend of cricket.
”It’s unfortunate it has ended for us with a couple of defeats, but we will try to level the series in the final match.”
West Indies were entering the match with the confidence of successfully chasing 282 to win the previous day’s fifth one-day international by five wickets with 12 balls to spare and it showed.
In a volley of strokes, Chanderpaul and Ricardo Powell, whose 38 from 32 balls contained five fours and one six, marauded England’s bowlers inside the first 15 overs when fielding restrictions apply.
After opening batsman Chris Gayle was leg before wicket to Darren Gough for nine in the third over, Chanderpaul and Powell added 97 from 13 overs to give West Indies a sound base on which they could make a meaningful assault on the victory target.
Both batsmen surrendered meekly within three balls of each other, though. Powell was caught at long on off Gareth Batty charging down the pitch and playing an ill-advised cross-batted stroke in the 16th over, and Chanderpaul was caught at mid-wicket off Rikki Clarke mistiming a pull at a slower ball in the 17th over.
West Indies were 113 for three, but Lara and vice-captain Ramnaresh Sarwan consolidated their side’s position, much like they did the previous day, with a stand of 72 for the fourth wicket from nearly 15 overs.
When Flintoff bowled Sarwan for 28 in the 31st over, West Indies needed less than 100 to win and, with Lara playing circumspectly, coasted closer and closer to the magic number, despite losing Dwayne Smith in the 34th over and Lara in the 40th.
The visitors were given the foundation of a 57-run opening stand from Vaughan and Marcus Trescothick before Ravi Rampaul made the breakthrough for West Indies in the 11th over.
Trescothick, a century-maker on Saturday, was bowled for 29, but Vaughan and Strauss steadied the innings before their dismissals left England on 199 for three in the 38th over.
Vaughan was run out in the 28th over after striking seven fours from 78 balls, and Strauss was leg before wicket to Gayle after hitting seven fours from 82 balls in his highest ODI score and adding 58 for the third wicket with Andrew Flintoff.
After their dismissals, Flintoff with 43 from 47 balls and Paul Collingwood with 38 from 34 balls rallied England with a stand of 52 for the fourth wicket, but the visitors lost five wickets in the last five overs and only gathered 29 runs.
Chris Gayle was the pick of the West Indies bowlers with two for 39 from 10 overs.
Three of the previous one-day internationals were washed out and the second match at Port of Spain ended in a no-result because of rain, which forced the abandonment of the third also at Port of Spain and the fourth at St George’s.
The seventh and final one-day international will be contested at Bridgetown on Wednesday. — Sapa-AFP