England in West Indies: Eoin Morgan says his side can 'steal' wins after thrilling victory
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Eoin Morgan became the first England batsman to pass 6,000 ODI runs
Fourth one-day international, National Cricket Stadium, Grenada |
England 418-6 (50 overs): Buttler 150, Morgan 103, Hales 82 |
West Indies 389 (48 overs): Gayle 162, Rashid 5-85, Wood 4-60 |
England win by 29 runs |
England's thrilling 29-run victory over West Indies in the fourth one-day international gives them belief they can "steal" matches they do not look like winning, says captain Eoin Morgan.
Chris Gayle hit 162 to put West Indies on course to chase down 419 after Jos Buttler's 150 and Morgan's 103.
With the hosts needing 32 off the last 18 balls, Adil Rashid took four wickets in the 48th over to secure victory.
"It shows we can find a way of stealing a game of cricket," said Morgan.
"We were in second position for much of the West Indies innings and that magnificent performance from Adil to win us the game means a huge amount because it creates more belief that we can win when our backs are against the wall."
Jonny Bairstow (56) and Alex Hales put on a century opening stand, with Hales eventually falling for 82 on his return to the side in place of the injured Jason Roy in Grenada.
Morgan and Buttler then shared a 204-run partnership, the England captain bringing up his 12th ODI century and Buttler smashing a career-best 150 off just 77 balls as the tourists posted 418-6.
Despite Mark Wood taking 4-60, West Indies kept ahead of the rate thanks to Gayle's 14 sixes and key contributions from Darren Bravo (61), Carlos Brathwaite (50) and Ashley Nurse (43) before Rashid's intervention, with the leg-spinner claiming 5-85.
"When you have such intense cricket for the entire match, it's incredible to play in," Morgan told the Test Match Special podcast.
"It creates a huge amount of pressure on everybody's performance and there is no hiding.
"It was a really good test for us - we stayed calm and managed to get over the line but only through Adil's exceptional over.
"Our execution wasn't quite there at different stages - it wouldn't have been a tight game if our accuracy and attention to detail were on the money. We're harsh on ourselves and want to improve for the next match."
England lead the five-match series 2-1 with the final ODI in St Lucia at 15:00 GMT on Saturday.
'Buttler is a champion racehorse'
Jos Buttler now has seven ODI centuries
Having passed his half-century off 45 balls, Buttler reached his hundred off just 60 balls, the fifth-fastest ODI century by an England batsman. The wicketkeeper also holds the record for the fastest century at 46 balls.
It also took him just 31 further deliveries to reach 150 before he was bowled by Brathwaite next ball.
"Buttler is like a champion racehorse, once he gets in his stride, he's magnificent to watch and when you're at the other end watching it, it's really incredible," said Morgan.
Buttler, who also took two stumpings, said he has been "feeling in good touch for a while" and wanted to make the most of the "great platform" set by the England openers.
"It was as good as I have struck the ball in international cricket - to be that consistent with the hitting and stay that calm and still and manage to react is great," he said.
"We showed a lot of character to keep going and a lot of credit must go to Eoin Morgan. He kept calm and is never fazed. Emotionally and physically, it was a ridiculous game of cricket."
And finally…
Gayle, who revels in the self-appointed title of 'Universe Boss', was asked about comparisons between himself and Buttler, who was dubbed 'Universe Jos', external by Guardian cricket writer Ali Martin.
"There is only one Universe Boss," laughed Gayle. "He is a youngster. He is getting there. He hasn't reached it yet."
He added: "I thought we missed out. A bit more smart cricket and we could have got across the line, even with a couple of overs to spare.
"But this is the game of cricket - sometimes you feel you are in it and then things change quickly. We still have one more game to go. Hopefully we can square the series."