Saqib Mahmood stars as England inch past West Indies to complete T20 series victory

St Lucia played host to Twenty20 in a very different key from the pyrotechnics of the first two matches. With a slow outfield and pitch, both sides struggled for timing. Such difficulties will only increase England’s satisfaction at securing a three-wicket win - and, with it, an unassailable 3-0 lead in the series, with two matches to play.

England have enjoyed significant advantages in this series - above all, winning the toss on all three occasions. Yet, after their recent travails in the T20 format, they are in no place to be picky about how victories come. Between winning the 2022 T20 World Cup and arriving for this tour in the Caribbean, England won just eight out of 20 games against Full Member opposition, culminating in their limp World Cup campaign this year.

At the interval, England might have expected securing the series to be routine: they required just 146 to win. Yet, with Akeal Hosein and Gudakesh Motie both bowling expertly on a pitch assisting spin - Hosein a little faster, Motie with more loop and turn - England stumbled. Even after batting for over half of the innings, Will Jacks could not locate the rhythm of the pitch. When he fell for 32, trying to drill Motie over cover, England were 75-4 after 11 overs, still needing another 71 from their last nine overs.

Experience helped England to navigate out of this fraught situation. Promoted to number five, Sam Curran attacked the left-arm spinners with clinical precision; his 41 contained the most fluent batting of the day. After Curran fell, Liam Livingstone made sure of England’s victory, crunching two sixes in his 39.

England were also indebted to West Indies’ fielders. Wicketkeeper Nicholas Pooran dropped Livingstone twice in five balls, both chances he would expect to take. Shimron Hetmyer then shelled Livingstone at deep midwicket. Hetmyer also failed to intercept a Dan Mousley strike over midwicket, which he could have taken had he been far back on the boundary rope. With three fierce blows from Alzarri Joseph in the 18th over, including a six over midwicket, Livingstone ensured that such generosity led to an England victory, though it was altogether more precarious than the early skirmishes had promised.

After rain and a wet outfield delayed the start time by 50 minutes, West Indies suffered another early collapse to Jofra Archer and Saqib Mahmood. The pair bowled unchanged throughout the Powerplay for the second game in a row.

Since winning the 2022 T20 World Cup, England have struggled to take early wickets in the format. Across their four matches against Test opponents in this year’s T20 World Cup, England mustered just four wickets in the Powerplay. In the last two T20 games, England have now doubled that total. West Indies ended the Powerplay on Sunday at 44-3 in Bridgetown. In St Lucia, helped by Jacob Bethell’s direct hit to run-out Shai Hope in the first over, West Indies were an even more ruinous 39-5.

Once again, Mahmood varied his attack, switching between chasing swing and using his bouncer. While Roston Chase succumbed to new-ball swing, Evin Lewis and Shimron Hetmyer fell to well-directed short balls.

Both these wickets bore the imprint of Buttler, who is finding that fielding at mid off makes it easier to communicate with his bowlers. The ball before dismissing Lewis, Mahmood had asked Buttler whether third man should be moved up inside the ring; Lewis duly slashed the delivery to Archer, who was patrolling the ropes.

Mahmood had been harassing Hetmyer with new ball swing, but Buttler asked his bowler: “what do you reckon to a bumper?’” Mahmood bowled a bouncer that followed a plan that England’s analyst had helped to devise - angling the delivering across and keeping the ball outside Hetmyer’s eyeline. Unable to get on top of the ball, Hetmyer duly spooned it to midwicket.

The burst crystallised Mahmood’s growing importance to England’s T20 side. For all T20’s evolution, one truth remains: taking early wickets is the best predictor of winning games. Across the first three matches in the Caribbean, Mahmood has taken eight wickets in the Powerplay, the most by an England bowler in a T20 series.

From the detritus of 37-5, captain Rovman Powell led West Indies’s recovery, using the depth of the crease and his own strength to generate thunderous power. When Powell marmalised a Sam Curran half-tracker over midwicket into the Johnson Charles Stand, one local warned: “Hold onto your friends and family”. At 110-5 with five overs remaining, West Indies had designs on 170.

Such hopes were extinguished by another man that England have retained high hopes for during his injury struggles. Jamie Overton was poised to be included in England’s T20 World Cup squad until suffering a back injury. Now able to play a full part as a bowler again, Overton showed the range that seamers need in T20 cricket.

If Overton’s pace and bounce were little surprise, perhaps more heartening was his adeptness in deploying an array of variations: Romario Shepherd was flummoxed by a cunning off-cutter. This was another encouraging sign that England’s white-ball side is not just winning matches again but also becoming a more rounded team.

12:41 AM GMT

England win by three wickets with four balls to spare!

That’ll do. Rehan Ahmed drives Terrance Hinds for four to complete victory and give England an unassailable 3-0 lead with two games to spare. It helped that they won all three tosses, certainly, but they’ve also played some pretty good cricket.

Saqib Mahmood has been a revelation, taking nine cheap wickets in three games, and most of the other players have put credit in the bank. All in all, it’s been a worthwhile exercise.

12:38 AM GMT

OVER 19: ENG 144/7 (Overton 3 Rehan 1)

It’ll go the last over with England needing two to win. The outstanding Akeal Hosein ends with 4-0-22-4.

12:36 AM GMT

Wicket!

Livingstone c Shepherd b Hosein 39 Livingstone, trying to hit the winning runs, holes out to long-on off Hosein. It’s a shame he won’t get England over the line but he has taken them to the brink. FOW: 142/7

12:34 AM GMT

OVER 18: ENG 141/6 (Livingstone 39 Overton 1)

Liam Livingstone is doing it again! He has walloped 16 from Alzarri Joseph’s final over to take England to the cusp of a series win. He whipped a low full toss behind square for four, stole two to extra cover (Overton would have been run out with a direct hit), pulled a violent sx and battered another boundary between extra cover and mid-off. He needed luck early on - he was dropped three times - but by heck he’s taken advantage.

12:28 AM GMT

OVER 17: ENG 125/6 (Livingstone 23 Overton 1)

Jamie Overton works his first ball for a single, then Livingstone does likewise. Hosein still has one over remaining, which may decide this match.

12:27 AM GMT

Wicket!

Mousley c Hetmyer b Hosein 8 The dangerman Akeal Hosein strikes again! Two balls after dropping Livingstone, a really tough chance at deep midwicket, Hetmyer takes a good low catch at extra cover to dismiss Dan Mousley. This is deliciously tense: England need 23 from 20 balls. FOW: 123/6

12:23 AM GMT

OVER 16: ENG 122/5 (Livingstone 21 Mousley 8)

Brilliant initiative from Dan Mousley! He charges Hinds and forces a chip shot that just clears Hetmyer on the midwicket boundary. Six runs, and as a result England need 24 from 24 balls.

Hetmyer was a few yards in from the boundary. Had he been right back he would probably have taken the catch; he’d certainly have stopped the boundary.

12:19 AM GMT

Wicket!

Curran c Hope b Hinds 41 Terrance Hinds takes his first international wicket! His second over started desperately, with three wides in four balls, but then Curran slashed another a legitimately wide delivery to deep backward point. Shai Hope slipped on the boundary but adjusted to take a brilliant catch. FOW: 114/5

12:13 AM GMT

OVER 15: ENG 108/4 (Curran 41 Livingstone 19)

The ball is so wet that Motie needs to dry it after every delivery. Curran, who has been dealing in singles for the last few overs, suddenly clatters Motie back over his head for six. That’s a brilliant shot, one that may have broken the back of England’s runchase.

Curran has quietly had a terrific tour with the bat, making at least 37 in every innings. His game awareness makes him a serious option at No5 or No6, even if he lacks the pizazz of some of his competitors. In a relatively low-scoring game, he has made 41 not out from 25 balls without taking many risks.

12:06 AM GMT

OVER 14: ENG 98/4 (Curran 33 Livingstone 17)

Shepherd is back on for Joseph, whose final over is being saved for the death. Livingstone savages a cut that is really well stopped on the boundary by Hetmyer. England have to settle for a couple, but they score off every ball and take nine from the over.

A low dot-ball ratio is serving England well here. They’ve only hit one boundary from the last seven overs but are still in a decent position to win the game: they need exactly eight an over.

12:01 AM GMT

OVER 13: ENG 89/4 (Curran 31 Livingstone 11)

Pooran drops Livingstone again! This was a tougher chance, standing up to the stumps off Motie, but it wasn’t a huge deviation and I reckon he would take that seven times out of 10.

England need 57 from 42 balls. They are favourites but at least, for the time in this series, the toss hasn’t decided the game.

11:57 PM GMT

OVER 12: ENG 83/4 (Curran 30 Livingstone 7)

Alzarri Joseph, whose late-innings runs suddenly look really valuable, returns in an attempt to get Liam Livingstone before he gets in. Oh my word this is ridiculous. Livingstone, on 0, charges his third ball and swivel pulls a spectacular six. That is unreal. It even had a flamingo flourish at the end.

And now Livingstone has been dropped! What a huge moment. He top-edged another pull over the head of Pooran, who ran back towards third man and put down a pretty simple chance. Replays show that he ran too far and couldn’t get in the right position; the ball hit his chest and dropped safely to the turf.

After all the fun and games with Alzarri in the one-day series, I’d love to hear his internal monologue just now.

11:51 PM GMT

OVER 11: ENG 75/4 (Curran 29 Livingstone 0)

England need 71 from 54 balls. It’s getting interesting.

11:50 PM GMT

Wicket!

Jacks c Powell b Motie 32 West Indies have broken the partnership! Jacks makes room to slap Motie towards shortish extra cover, where Powell takes a superb two-handed catch to his left. Another unconverted start from Jacks, who has had a frustrating series. FOW: 75/4

11:43 PM GMT

OVER 10: ENG 70/3 (Jacks 31 Curran 25)

More Chase, more low-risk milking. It feels like this suits England more than West Indies, who need to break this partnership. England bat very deep so a required rate of around 7.5 per over won’t worry them. Time for drinks.

11:39 PM GMT

OVER 9: ENG 64/3 (Jacks 26 Curran 23)

The left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie also comes into the attack. Jacks, pushing with hard hands, almost offers a return catch in an over that is milked for six. Sam Curran has done superbly to consolidate while also keeping England  up with the required rate; he has 23 from only 13 balls.

11:36 PM GMT

OVER 8: ENG 58/3 (Jacks 25 Curran 19)

Roston Chase comes on to bowl his peculiarly unhittable offspin. England are happy to milk him for five more.

11:34 PM GMT

OVER 7: ENG 53/3 (Jacks 24 Curran 15)

On comes Terrance Hinds, the 32-year-old who made his international debut on Sunday. Curran goes after him, hitting successive boundaries through backward point. Both were superb shots, one each with a horizontal and straight bat. He has raced to 15 from 7 balls, and England need 93 from 78.

11:25 PM GMT

OVER 6: ENG 42/3 (Jacks 22 Curran 5)

England promote another left-hander, Sam Curran, ahead of Liam Livingstone. He almost copies Bethell with a two-ball four; after slapping his first to the fence, he missed an attempted uppercut. That could easily have brushed the top edge.

11:22 PM GMT

Wicket!

Bethell c Pooran b A Joseph 4 Game on! Jacob Bethell back cuts his first ball for four, then thin-edges his second through to the keeper. It was a nice delivery, perfect length and slightly wider than Bethell realised. He pushed defensively, the ball brushed the edge and Pooran did the rest. FOW: 37/3

11:19 PM GMT

OVER 5: ENG 32/2 (Jacks 22 Bethell 0)

West Indies are well in this game. England need 114 from 90 balls.

11:18 PM GMT

Wicket!

Buttler c Powell b Hosein 4 Jacks slices Hosein high in the air, over the head of Powell at extra cover; Powell runs back towards the boundary but can’t quite reach the ball as he stretched forward. Then Jacks gets his third boundary with a much better stroke, ramming a short ball through midwicket. But now Buttler has gone! He played an almost identical shot to Jacks earlier in the over, but this time Powell had time to get back and take a good catch. FOW: 32/2

11:14 PM GMT

OVER 4: ENG 22/1 (Jacks 14 Buttler 3)

A change of ends for Romario Shepherd. The keeper Pooran appeals on his own for caught behind when Jacks misses a disgusting mow across the line; Rovman Powell isn’t interested in a review. An excellent over is tarnished by the last ball, a slower delivery that turns into a full toss outside leg stump. Jacks wallops it behind square for four.

11:08 PM GMT

OVER 3: ENG 15/1 (Jacks 10 Buttler 1)

West Indies have started well in the field. That said, we can’t ignore the fact that, at the same stage of their innings, they were 17/3.

11:06 PM GMT

Wicket!

Salt b Joseph 4 The left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein strikes! Phil Salt is bowled off the pad by a typical Hosein delivery, straight and skidding off the pitch. His struggles against left-arm spin continue. FOW: 14/1

11:02 PM GMT

OVER 2: ENG 9/0 (Salt 4 Jacks 5)

Salt’s first big shot is almost his last, a swipe across the line at Alzarri Joseph. The ball beats the bat and bounces just over the stumps. That’s aside it’s another quiet over. The evidence of the West Indies innings is that batting will be much easier after the Powerplay, and you can almost feel Salt and Jacks struggling to resist the urge to belt everything.

10:57 PM GMT

OVER 1: ENG 5/0 (Salt 2 Jacks 3)

West Indies came out swinging; England have come out tipping and running. Salt and Jacks take five low-risk runs from Romario Shepherd’s opening over, every ball helping them to adjust to the pitch.

10:48 PM GMT

The mismatch will be televised

10:42 PM GMT

England need 146 to win the series

Jos Buttler’s team are strong favourites despite a good fightback from West Indies, who were in complete disarray at 37/5. The captain Rovman Powell led the recovery with a fine half-century, with Romario Shepherd and Alzarri Joseph also making important contributions.

10:41 PM GMT

OVER 20: WI 145/8 (A Joseph 21 Hosein 8)

The ball is wet, which makes this a trickier task for Mousley. He misses his length first ball and is belted over extra cover for four by Joseph. The next three balls are spot on, producing only two runs and a missed stumping chance when the ball hits the pads of the unsighted Salt.

Joseph ends the innings well by slashing another boundary through extra cover, though this time there wasn’t much wrong with the delivery. In the circumstances that was an excellent final over from Mousley.

10:36 PM GMT

OVER 19: WI 135/8 (A Joseph 11 Hosein 8)

West Indies get four leg-byes when Curran drifts onto the pads of the left-handed Hosein. It looks like being a decent over for England despite that... until Hosein makes room to drive Curran’s final delivery majestically over extra cover for six.

England’s four seamers have bowled their allocation so it’ll be Dan Mousley to finish the innings with his right-arm darts.

10:31 PM GMT

OVER 18: WI 122/8 (A Joseph 9 Hosein 1)

Alzarri Joseph thumps Overton through mid-on for four, then drags a fullish ball just over the head of the leaping Will Jacks at mid-on.

Overton finishes with outstanding figures of 4-0-20-3. It’s been a long time coming but he has just enjoyed his first big day as an England bowler.

10:27 PM GMT

Wicket!

Powell c Bethell b Overton 54 This is a big wicket for England. Rovman Powell, the last recognised batsman, drags a big shot straight to deep midwicket to give Jamie Overton his third wicket in seven balls. He has single-handedly stopped the West Indies fightback. FOW: 113/8

10:26 PM GMT

OVER 17: WI 113/7 (Powell 54 A Joseph 2)

Archer concedes only two from his final over to finish with 4-0-25-1. As in the second game on Sunday, those figures don’t do justice to the quality of his bowling.

10:21 PM GMT

OVER 16: WI 111/7 (Powell 53 A Joseph 1)

Jamie Overton has been quietly impressive in this series and surely deserves a run in the team. He’s a specialist death hitter, a precious commodity in T20 cricket, bowls with variety and skill and fields superbly.

10:19 PM GMT

Wicket!

Motie c Jacks b Overton 0 Really good bowling from Jamie Overton. After outthinking Shepherd, he bullies Gudakesh Motie with a heavy short ball that is clunked straight to mid-off. FOW: 110/7

10:17 PM GMT

Wicket!

Shepherd LBW b Overton 30 Jamie Overton strikes this time! It was another beautiful bit of bowling, a slower full toss that dipped under Shepherd’s bat and hit the back pad in front of middle stump. Shepherd reviewed, just in case, but was walking off the field long before UltraEdge showed no contact with the bat. FOW: 110/6

10:14 PM GMT

OVER 15: WI 110/5 (Powell 53 Shepherd 30)

Powell gets hold of Sam Curran, pulling a slower ball for a big six to bring up a defiant and highly skilful half-century from 36 balls. Curran pulls the over back quite well thereafter but it still goes for 12.

10:08 PM GMT

OVER 14: WI 98/5 (Powell 44 Shepherd 28)

Saqib Mahmood returns for his final over. Powell survives a review for a catch down the leg side after missing an attempted pull. Phil Salt was convinced there was a noise and persuaded Jos Buttler to go upstairs; there was nothing on UltraEdge.

Even so that’s a brilliant final over from Mahmood, who concedes only a couple of runs to end with marvellous figures of 4-0-17-3. His series figures are 11-0-71-9. You didn’t see a bowling analysis like that in the B&H Cup.

10:01 PM GMT

OVER 13: WI 96/5 (Powell 43 Shepherd 27)

Rehan Ahmed returns. If this was a World Cup final I’m not sure he’d be bowling, but I guess Jos Buttler feels it’s all part of his education.

Powell charges down the track, gets nowhere near the pitch of the ball and instead pulls it straight back over Rehan’s head for six. He’s such a brilliant T20 player, with the ability to thrive in any match situation. As captain he averages 31 with a strike rate of 150.

Rehan drops a ferociously difficult return catch offered by Shepherd, though in truth he did pretty well to touch it.

09:57 PM GMT

OVER 12: WI 86/5 (Powell 36 Shepherd 27)

No more spin for the time being. Plenty of cutters though, with Sam Curran coming on to replace Livingstone. He concedes three singles from a very handy first over. West Indies have recovered well, scoring 48 for 0 in the last six overs, but there’s a lot more work to do.

09:54 PM GMT

OVER 11: WI 83/5 (Powell 35 Shepherd 27)

A strange incident from the last ball of Overton’s over. Powell is given out LBW to a beautiful offcutter, reviews sheepishly and then starts to leave the field. There’s a spike on UltraEdge as the ball passes the bat, yet there also appears to be daylight between bat and ball.

No matter: the spike means the decision is overturned and Powell walks back to the middle. One thing’s for sure: if he did get a gossamer-thin inside edge, he didn’t feel it.

09:44 PM GMT

The story so far

Seam 7-0-41-4

Spin 3-0-33-0

09:43 PM GMT

OVER 10: WI 76/5 (Powell 30 Shepherd 20)

An interesting gamble from Jos Buttler, who decides to tempt West Indies with legspin at both ends by bringing on Liam Livingstone. Shepherd swipes him over midwicket for six, clearing the leaping Bethell on the boundary. He’d started to move in so wasn’t right on the rope, though I think it would have cleared him anyway.

Powell completes another good over for West Indies by launching Livingstone over extra cover for a one-bounce four. Drinks.

09:39 PM GMT

OVER 9: WI 62/5 (Powell 24 Shepherd 12)

Looks like West Indies have decided to target Rehan Ahmed, which makes sense given the damage done by the seamers. Shepherd blasts him down the ground for four, then Powell spanks a huge six over mid-on. Twelve from the over.

09:36 PM GMT

OVER 8: WI 50/5 (Powell 17 Shepherd 7)

Jamie Overton comes on to bowl some heavy balls. Powell and Shepherd have finally gone down the gears, realising the next few overs aren’t the time to be a hero, and there are just four singles from the over.

09:31 PM GMT

OVER 7: WI 46/5 (Powell 15 Shepherd 5)

Rehan Ahmed, in the side tonight in place of Adil Rashid, assumes his role by coming on straight after the Powerplay.

Shepherd works his nicely into the leg side for three, the biggest stroke of a relatively quiet over. In fact it’s the first of this game without either a boundary or a wicket.

09:28 PM GMT

OVER 6: WI 38/5 (Powell 13 Shepherd 1)

That was Mahmood’s ninth wicket, which equals Adil Rashid’s record for England in a bilateral series. And Mahmood still has two games to go, plus one more over today.

His figures are ridiculous: 10-0-69-9.

09:25 PM GMT

Wicket!

Hetmyer c Mousley b Mahmood 2 Erm, no, they’re not. Hetmyer tries to pull Mahmood and top-edges miserably down the throat of deep square leg. It was clever bowling, slightly wider so that Hetmyer had to fetch it, but West Indies’ batting has been terrible. FOW: 37/5

09:22 PM GMT

OVER 5: WI 34/4 (Powell 12 Hetmyer 0)

If in doubt, go harder. Powell drives Archer over extra cover for six, an outrageous and brilliant stroke. The rest of the over is pretty quiet, so perhaps West Indies are starting to play more judiciously.

09:17 PM GMT

OVER 4: WI 26/4 (Hetmyer 0 Powell 5)

The captain Rovman Powell comes out to clean up the mess. He almost adds it to it when a leading edge loops gently over Mahmood’s head and drops just short of the man running round from mid-on.

Mahmood now has eight wickets in the series, seven in the Powerplay. Careers have turned on less.

09:13 PM GMT

Wicket!

Chase c Overton b Mahmood 7 Dear me, this is a shambles. The ball after driving Mahmood expertly for four, Chase tries a repeat and edges to second slip. His weight was back yet he threw everything into the drive and snicked it straight to Jamie Overton. FOW: 21/4

09:10 PM GMT

OVER 3: WI 17/3 (Chase 3 Hetmyer 0)

The moisture in the pitch is making batting very tricky, but experience suggests it will get easier as the innings progresses. West Indies have tried to hit sixes from ball one. They’re batting on the pitch they wanted, not the one they got.

09:09 PM GMT

Wicket!

Pooran b Archer 7 West Indies are in all sorts. Pooran misses a lusty smear across the line and is cleaned up by Archer. This isn’t great batting from West Indies, who are playing as if the pitch is dry and flat when in fact the new ball is doing plenty. FOW: 17/3

09:05 PM GMT

OVER 2: WI 13/2 (Pooran 6 Chase 0)

Saqib Mahmood’s figures in this series are tremendous: 8-0-56-7.

09:01 PM GMT

Wicket!

Lewis c Archer b Mahmood 3 Saqib Mahmood continues his brilliant series by striking with his second ball. Lewis tried to heave a fullish delivery to leg and sliced it down to third man, where Archer crouched to take a good catch. That’s an ill-judged shot, to say the least. “A word of advice to youngsters watching,” says Mark Butcher on commentary. “Don’t try pulling half-volleys.” FOW: 13/2

08:59 PM GMT

OVER 1: WI 11/1 (Lewis 1 Pooran 6)

Jofra Archer almost dismissed both openers before Bethell struck. Lewis top-edged a pull not far short of deep backward square, then Hope was cut in half by a vicious nipbacker that also beat Salt down the leg side. I thought it went for four byes but they were given as runs.

A very eventful first over concludes with a spectacular swivel-pull for six from Pooran; that was only the second ball he’s faced.

08:56 PM GMT

Wicket!

Hope run out 4 Shai Hope punches his bat angrily after being run out by Jacob Bethell. It was a brilliant piece of fielding, a direct hit from square leg after Hope was sent back by Evin Lewis. Bethell, as Tim Wigmore wrote earlier today, is an extraordinarily gifted fielder. FOW: 5/1

08:45 PM GMT

Time for action

St Lucia has a reputation as the best batting pitch in the Caribbean, so this should be a sixtastic contest.

Jofra Archer will bowl the first over.

08:36 PM GMT

Team news: Rehan in for Rashid

England make one change, Rehan Ahmed coming in for Adil Rashid. West Indies bring in Shai Hope, Alzarri Joseph and Shimron Hetmyer for Brandon King, Matthew Forde and Sherfane Rutherford. King and Forde are both injured.

West Indies Hope (wk), Lewis, Pooran, Powell (c), Hetmyer, Shepherd, Chase, Motie, A Joseph, Hosein, Hinds.

England Salt (wk), Jacks, Buttler (c), Livingstone, Bethell, Curran, Mousley, Overton, Rehan, Archer, Mahmood.

08:33 PM GMT

England win the toss and bowl

Jos Buttler has won his third toss in a row, although it shouldn’t be quite as big an advantage as it was in Barbados.

08:24 PM GMT

Play to start at 8:45pm

“Good news,” reports Tim from St Lucia. “Toss is at 4:30pm local time, play set to start at 4:45pm.”

08:22 PM GMT

Promising signs

08:13 PM GMT

The covers are off

That’s the good news. The bad news is that there’s a fair chance of further rain.

08:07 PM GMT

Rain delays toss

It’s now raining at the ground, which won’t do much for the outfield. Settle in, this could be a long day-night.

07:58 PM GMT

Luckless Topley to fly home

Reece Topley’s tour is over: the injury he sustained in the first T20 will not heal in time for him to play any of the last three games, so he is flying home ahead of schedule. The poor bloke has had hideous luck with injury.

07:49 PM GMT

Worrying signs in St Lucia

07:48 PM GMT

Bethell compared to Jonty Rhodes

While we wait for some news, here’s Tim’s excellent piece on Jacob Bethell and why England’s coaches have privately given him the ultimate compliment for a fielder: comparison with Jonty Rhodes.

Read more...

07:38 PM GMT

Wet spots on St Lucia outfield

07:30 PM GMT

Toss delayed

06:20 PM GMT

Good evening

Hello and welcome to Telegraph Sport’s live coverage of the third T20 international between West Indies and England. The teams have moved to St Lucia for the last leg of this short white-ball tour, with three T20Is to be played in the next four days. England only need to win one toss more atch to take the series.

Jos Buttler’s exuberant 83 set up another crushing victory in Barbados on Sunday. But while England played very well, it was hard to escape the conclusion that winning the toss did most of the heavy lifting. Hopefully it won’t be as influential in St Lucia; in fact, in the last five years the team that wins the toss has won only four of the 11 T20Is on this ground. Batting second feels like a slight advantage rather than a decisive one.

Whatever happens, Jacob Bethell will be front and centre. He has made a quietly eye-catching start to his international career and is already being talked about as a potential three-format great. He’s certainly three-dimensional: a stylish, mature batsman, a useful left-arm spinner and a spectacular fielder who England’s coaching staff privately believe is already the best in the country.

Bethell, strikingly mature in his cricket if not necessarily his hair, is deaf to any hype. “I’ve got pretty good confidence in myself with what I can do,” he said. “Unless it’s my parents or really good friends, I don’t really listen to what anyone else says. When my friends from school sometimes get it wrong and send me stuff people are saying, I’m like: ‘please don’t’. I don’t look at it for a reason. When people say good things about you, it’s always nice but I know that as much as there’s good, there’s bad.”

He has more good things said about him than most, and if all goes to plan he will be part of a series-winning England team for the first time tonight. The match starts at 8pm.