The young and inexperienced English squad, led by a stand-in captain in Liam Livingstone, hit back hard in the second ODI to tie up the series, lining up an exciting series finale for us.
Ahead of the third ODI between the West Indies and England, here are our match preview and predictions.
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West Indies vs England 3rd ODI | England tour of West Indies 2024 | 23:30 IST, November 6
After a disappointing batting performance in the opening game, debutant Josh Turner put the hosts in a spot of bother again as they tumbled to 12/2 before captain Shai Hope along with Keacy Carty and then Sherfane Rutherford powered the Windies to 328. Hope himself played a stunning innings to get to 117, while Carty and Rutherford got crucial half-centuries.
While their middle and lower batting orders look in form, the West Indies will hope that their two experienced openers get among the runs in the series decider. With the ball, though, the hosts were ordinary as apart from Matthew Forde’s early burst, there was nothing to celebrate. Jayden Seales, Shamar Joseph, and Gudakesh Motie not only struggled to get among the wickets but also leaked runs, something they will need to address ahead of the third game.
The English, on the other hand, started strong with the ball. Turner early on was brilliant, and while Jofra Archer and Adil Rashid were economical and among the wickets, England know that they should have been more clinical at the death. Livingstone used a total of nine bowlers, and most of his part-timers leaked runs at the hands of Hope, Carty, and Rutherford, with Forde smashing a couple of big blows at the end as well. With the bat, though, England were solid as Phil Salt and Jacob Bethell gave them a solid platform after losing early wickets before a sublime century from Livingstone, along with a crucial half-century from Sam Curran, saw England home in a high-run chase with little over two-and-a-half overs to spare. England will be hoping for more of the same in the decider.
The Kensington Oval in Barbados has been a low-scoring ground in recent history and we should expect another low-scoring thriller this time round, with the spinners and slow bowlers expected to do well on a tricky track. Expect the hosts to come out on top in a close encounter, though, as Hope and Co have the depth and experience to tackle these conditions.
Fantasy XI: Phil Salt, Shai Hope, Evin Lewis, Shimron Hetmyer, Liam Livingstone, Jacob Bethell, Sam Curran, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Alzarri Joseph, Gudakesh Motie
Venue: Bridgetown
Winners Prediction: West Indies
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