West Indies v England: Joe Root and Chris Woakes steer England to victory
- Published
Second one-day international, Antigua |
West Indies 225 (47.5 overs): Mohammed 50, Plunkett 3-32 |
England 226-6 (48.2 overs): Root 90*, Woakes 68*, Roy 52, Nurse 3-34 |
England won by four wickets |
England survived a mid-innings wobble to beat West Indies by four wickets in the second one-day international and win the series with a match to spare.
Liam Plunkett took 3-32 as West Indies, despite 50 from Jason Mohammed, were bowled out for 225 in 47.5 overs.
Jason Roy (52) put England on top but home spinners Ashley Nurse (3-34) and Devendra Bishoo (2-43) hit back.
However, Joe Root (90) and Chris Woakes (68) put on an unbeaten 102 to see England home with 10 balls left.
Batsmen needed to play patiently on a slow wicket at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium - the same one used in the first match on Friday - but only new Test captain Root and all-rounder Woakes really mastered the conditions.
Root's typically composed innings, which featured just three boundaries in 127 deliveries, and Woakes' more adventurous 83-ball knock guided England to an 11th win out of their last 12 completed ODIs against West Indies.
Root was named man of the match but Woakes was perhaps equally deserving of the award having also recorded figures of 0-26 from eight accurate overs with the ball.
Eoin Morgan's team, who won the first match by 45 runs, will seek to make it 3-0 in the final match in Barbados on Thursday.
What they said - Morgan praises Woakes
England captain Eoin Morgan: "I thought the bowlers did an outstanding job again, building on what we did on Friday. In the field we were a bit sloppy and the chase wasn't ideal, but we knew it would be tough.
"Jason Roy played well at the start but where we lost a few wickets was a bit of a concern. But the partnership of 102 between your opening bowler and best batsman - you have to take your hat off to them.
"Woakes is a guy who keeps giving to the team and a man who often goes without the majority of the praise and that's just his character. We don't want to rely on him too much but he is a luxury down the bottom of the order.
"We want to win all three games, we will be putting out our best 11 in Barbados."
Root and Woakes steady England after collapse
England's reply got off to a poor start when Sam Billings, facing his first ball and the second of the innings, was caught at first slip.
Roy was almost out to a sensational diving catch by Carlos Brathwaite and then survived a close review for caught behind.
The Surrey opener brought up his ninth ODI fifty from 46 balls, before off-spinner Nurse had him caught on the boundary for the first of his three wickets.
After a shaky start Root started to find the gaps but West Indies' slow bowlers brought their side back into the match with four wickets for 16 runs.
Morgan, who made a century in the first ODI, fell leg before for seven, Ben Stokes was caught behind for one, Jos Buttler departed for a seven-ball duck and Moeen Ali was bowled for three.
Root and Woakes' sensible stand regained control, although Woakes - who hit five fours and two sixes - was dropped on the boundary on 42 and then again on 58.
Finn achieves landmark wicket
After being invited to bowl first, pace bowler Steven Finn took two wickets and became the third-fastest Englishman to reach 100 one-day international wickets.
He reached the feat in his 65th match, with only Darren Gough and Stuart Broad getting there faster (both taking 62).
Making the most of some uneven bounce, Finn surprised left-handers Evin Lewis and Kieran Powell to create easy catches.
Stokes then had Shai Hope caught behind but jarred his finger when he made a mess of a high but simple chance to dismiss Kraigg Brathwaite.
Plunkett takes centre stage
Brathwaite looked dangerous before departing for 42 after being stumped off Moeen. Mohammed, though, played fluently on the way to his second ODI half-century.
But having reached it from 71 balls by pulling Stokes high over midwicket for six, he chipped a routine catch to Adil Rashid at mid-on off Plunkett.
Plunkett did the trick again, with another variation slower delivery, when Jonathan Carter (39) skied a catch to Rashid.
Rashid held his third successive catch when he took a swirling caught-and-bowled after Jason Holder became the next to mistime an attempted big shot.
Then Carlos Brathwaite fell to an excellent catch on the long-on boundary by Billings, and Plunkett bowled Nurse as the innings ending tamely with the last three wickets falling for six runs.
Further reaction from the players
Man of the match Joe Root: "It was about being patient and accepting the odd over where you might only get one or two runs.
"I thought Chris played exceptionally well. He took a lot of pressure off me at the other end. I think that's a sign of good side, where you don't just rely on one player."
West Indies captain Jason Holder: "It's a disappointing feeling, getting so close. We dropped chances, that's one area we need to improve. In batting, we need some partnerships to set us up nicely. We need to adjust and go forward from here.
"We just have to know when it is time to seize an opportunity. We had some opportunities but we turned them down, and there were some soft dismissals."
Test Match Special analysis
Former England batter Ebony Rainford-Brent: "England were not as clinical as they were in the first game but they put on a good fight and showed how deep they bat, with Woakes coming in and playing with freedom.
"Well done to England, this is what good teams do - even if you have that wobble, you are able to rebuild and go again."
Former West Indies pace bowler Sir Curtly Ambrose: "You have to think about batting all 50 overs. It doesn't matter if you only score 10 or 12 runs in those three overs. It is not good cricket on the part of West Indies to not bat to the end.
"There were a couple of good partnerships. Mohammed played well, but gave it away. Carter played well, but gave it away. This is international cricket and you must be able to assess situations quickly and most of the batsmen haven't done that."
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