England in West Indies, 5 T20I Series, 2024 |4th T20I |11/16/2024 Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia
Commentary
Right then, we are done with the 4th T20I and West Indies do have a win on the board. But there's still one more game before this tour rounds up. The 5th and final T20I will be played right here in Gros Islet and within 24 hours as well. That game will begin at 8 pm GMT on Sunday, 17th November but you can join us a lot sooner for the build-up. Cheers!
Rovman Powell, the captain of West Indies says that the guys were more committed in this game. Says they try to play their best combination and also says that they were forced to use only five bowlers in this game. He says that Alzarri Joseph is a spearhead of their bowlers and also states that the others need to reach his standards. Ends by saying that there's still a lot to play for and they just want to play for the people of St Lucia who come out in huge numbers to support them.
Jos Buttler, the captain of England says that it was an excellent wicket and they got off to a fine start and needed at least 220 on the board. Adds that the opposition batted really well and they had to make changes to the field positions and force them to do something different. On Jamie Overton, he says that they are just trying to manage his workload and hence he could not bowl today. On Rehan Ahmed, Buttler says that leg-spinners are like gold dust in this format and was happy with how he bowled. Ends by saying that they played well and will look to get back to winning ways in the next game.
Shai Hope is the PLAYER OF THE MATCH for his stellar knock. He says they failed to assess conditions in the previous matches and also lost early wickets. He adds they just tried to understand the situation better this time around and stayed on the top in the powerplay. Mentions that he just tries to do what the team requires at the particular moment. On being asked about his preferential position to bat, he says he is flexible enough to bat at any position his team needs but loves to bat in the middle order.
The presentation ceremony...
Earlier in the day, Rovman Powell finally won the toss and got his wish of bowling first but things seemed to be going downhill right from the start as Phil Salt and Will Jacks launched an onslaught in the first 5 overs. West Indies did pick up timely wickets to get back into the game but the top order had done its job and then Jacob Bethell made a fine 62 to ensure England got to 200 runs and then some. Alzarri Joseph was the standout bowler for the hosts but Gudakesh Motie too made a fine comeback after a very expensive first over and picked up two wickets. In reply, West Indies had their openers do the heavy-lifting as they eventually huffed and puffed to victory.
England began as well as one could with just 5 runs off the first two overs including a maiden. However, soon enough, their bowlers were treated to a barrage of boundaries with Liam Livingstone bearing the brunt the most as he went for 30 in his first over. Then came the over from Rehan Ahmed that gave England a lifeline as three wickets fell in three consecutive deliveries but they were still up against it. Saqib Mahmood had another fine game but England missed his wickets up top but they still forced the hosts into a battle towards the end and just couldn't come out on top.
The standout for the Windies was that opening stand of 136 runs as both Shai Hope and Evin Lewis struck the ball with disdain and brought up a couple of fifties as well. However, the highly-rated duo of Nicholas Pooran and Shimron Hetmyer flopped once again and that is a real concern for the hosts. Another positive was the knock skipper Rovman Powell played and he is really starting to handle the pressure in that middle order but he couldn't see them through as it was a shaky Rutherford who came to life when it mattered most and got the job done for the hosts.
Pheww! That got much closer than it should have but Sherfane Rutherford has made sure that West Indies do get that consolation win and it is also the highest successful run chase at this venue and a sensational one at that as well.
18.6
6
Dan Mousley to Sherfane Rutherford, SIX! RUTHERFORD FINISHES OFF WITH SOME MUSCLE POWER AND WEST INDIES HAVE DONE THE MOST UNTHINKABLE! A juicy full toss from Dan Mousley, on the body, Sherfane Rutherford stays inside the crease, waits for the ball to arrive and smokes it out of the park behind deep mid-wicket for a monstrous six. A sensational win for the hosts as they chase 219 down with 6 balls remaining.
18.5
6
Dan Mousley to Sherfane Rutherford, SIX! That makes things a lot easier for the hosts now! Mousley misses delivering the yorker by some margin and bowls it full on the stumps. Drops it right in the arc of the left-hander, Sherfane Rutherford gets under it and launches it over long on for a huge six.
18.4
1
Dan Mousley to Roston Chase, Flat full toss on the stumps. Chase clears his front leg and swipes it across off the inner half of the bat to deep backward square leg. A single taken.
18.3
1
Dan Mousley to Sherfane Rutherford, A full toss outside off, quicker at 111.9 KPH. Rutherford flat-bats it off the bottom of the bat. It goes over the head of the bowler but Jamie Overton in the deep scoots and dives across to his left from long off and saves a certain boundary. A casual running there as that could have been easily a couple of runs.
Halt! The dew is really starting to set in and that ball has picked up a lot of it as well. The umpires decide to change the ball.
18.2
1
Dan Mousley to Roston Chase, Too flat and full and outside off, Roston Chase stands deep in the crease, clears his front leg and drills it to long off for a single. 12 needed off the last 10 balls remaining.
18.1
2
Dan Mousley to Roston Chase, Dan Mousley fires it in, full and on the middle and leg, Roston Chase swings hard and it goes off the inside edge of the bat and runs to the deep fine region. The batters scamper for the second quickly. Good running!
END OF OVER 18 | 6 Runs & 0 Wkt | WI 204/5
Dan Mousley to bowl the crucial penultimate over of the chase.
17.6
1
Sam Curran to Roston Chase, On a nagging length, outside off. Chase punches it to the left of the bowler for a single. Good effort from Buttler there as he saved a few more runs with that sharp dive.
17.5
2
Sam Curran to Roston Chase, This is good running! Sam Curran switches to around the stumps, delivers a length ball on the off stump. Chase flicks off the inner half of the bat to the left of deep backward square leg for a couple of runs.
17.4
1
Sam Curran to Sherfane Rutherford, Back of a length, and around off. Rutherford steers it to backward point for a single.
17.3
1
Sam Curran to Roston Chase, Full on the stumps. Chase flicks it aerially towards long on for a single. 200 up for West Indies.
17.2
1
Sam Curran to Sherfane Rutherford, IN THE AIR...LANDS SAFE! Sam Curran hits the deck hard, outside off. It skids through and comes off very quickly at the batter. Rutherford is a bit late to execute the pull shot but does go through and ends up slicing it off the willow. It swirls up in the night sky for a long, long time over mid on. Four fielders including Jos Buttler converge to take the catch but it lands with pin-point precision in the no-man's land. A single taken. It is getting a bit nervy now for both sides.
17.1
0
Sam Curran to Sherfane Rutherford, A very important dot delivery to begin with! Sam Curran steams in from over the stumps, lands it full and it deviates away from the deck, outside off, and zips past the outside edge of the batter.