Casey Carthy, Brandon King seal series hundreds for West Indies

(ESPN Cricinfo) – West Indies made light work of the chase under the floodlights at Kensington Oval, centuries from Casey Carthy and Brandon King in a dominant eight-wicket win that sealed a 2-1 series victory over England last night.

Carthy’s maiden hundred from 97 balls made him the first cricketer from St. Maarten to achieve the landmark for the West Indies. He was followed with three figures by King, who twice hit 50-plus in ODIs after qualifying for the July 2023 World Cup. the highest for West Indies against England in the format.

England lost their way to what could have been a competitive game after a nightmare start that saw them 24 for 4 at the end of the first game. Phil Salt played his longest international innings by the number of balls, while Dan Mausley was resourceful on his way to a maiden ODI fifty. With an injury to Romario Shepherd forcing Shai Hope to turn to Sherfein Rutherford, whose 3.5 overs at the death had vanished for 57, England at least gave themselves a glimmer.

It took one ball of reply to suggest the conditions for the battle eased when King slapped Joffrey Archer into the opening gambit through the cover. He did the same in the second innings when Archer’s first three overs eventually cost 24 – and although Jamie Overton claimed the first ODI wicket with his third legal ball, Evin Lewis bounced back for 19, the West Indies were all set.

King completed the powerplay by hitting Rhys Topley with two fours in three balls to put the West Indies ahead at the asking rate of 65 for 1 after ten. And while Carty, who got his first four by slipping Topley behind square in the same over, had a few shaky moments against the leg-spin of Adil Rashid and Liam Livingston early on, the second-wicket pair were soon on their way to the target.

Rashid’s first three overs ended with just seven, but King dropped him for six to mark a change in mood. An edge from Livingstone eluded Salt’s gloves when King was on 44 and the West Indies opener moved to 60 balls in the next over with a hard-hitting Rashid over mini-wicket.

Carty was given out lbw on Livingston’s first ball but was checked knowing it was a bat. He cut and swept back-to-back boundaries in the same over and later launched Rashid over the deep midwicket boundary as West Indies steadily chipped away at the required pace, negotiating England’s seven bowling options. After scoring a fifty off 61 balls, Carty again took fours off Livingstone before doing the same to Sam Curran.

A muscular pull for a six from Topley ended in a crowd at deep mid-wicket as Carthy caught his partner, followed by a four that hit the ground. Beating his previous ODI best of 88, he reached his hundred by sliding for four off Jacob Bethell’s left-arm spin – taking off his helmet and raising his hands to applause.

The moment was repeated at the start of the next over when King, who had also seen a cut Archer burst through the hands of Jordan Cox at covers for 86, hit the same bowler through fine leg to bring up his third century of the format. Topley beat King with 13 needed but the result was beyond doubt.

The speed with which the West Indies met their demand showed well why both captains wanted to bowl first. Shai Hope, who grew up at Kensington Oval, said he was “not sure what we were going to get” from the surface, but his men certainly knew how to exploit the conditions, leaving England four down and reeling in the opening power play.

A major source of discomfort for the West Indies early on was an extreme conflict on the field between Alzarri Joseph and Hope, the fast bowler who appeared to be unhappy with the pitch to England No.3 Cox. Joseph could be seen repeatedly remonstrating with his captain at the top of his run-up and he took his frustration out on the batter, Cox barely seeing the 148km/h/92mph lifter drop the glove in his path. Joseph did not celebrate and departed at the end of the over, briefly leaving West Indies with 10 men on the field.

Matthew Forde had already struck in his second over, responding to Will Jacks driving him for four with a similar shot that went just far enough to take an outside lead. Shepherd then had immediate success replacing Joseph as Bethell fired wide only to be impressively held out by a leaping Roston Chase. When Livingston was again caught near the wicket trying to force Shepherd to bat, England were level at 24 for 4 with one ball to go in the powerplay.

One of the England players who still remained in place was Salt. His half-century in the second ODI was the first time he had bowled the powerplay since June 2022, but he backed up the effort in Barbados – although 11 not out from 26 spoke volumes for England’s struggles.

He found useful allies in Curran and Mausley, adding back-to-back stands of 70 for the fifth and sixth wickets. Curran, who had moved up to 6th again, was proactive from the start but was not looking to take part in Chase’s turnaround. Mausley then continued the recovery effort and Salt reached his fifty off 79 balls – by far the slowest of his five in ODIs.

England were 163 for 5 at the end of the 40th over but lost Salt in the next over, King’s athleticism at deep midwicket leading to a handy relay catch for Joseph. Shepherd then passed out, caught in the turf by spikes, and had to be helped off the field when the moment changed again.

Mausley fell shortly after reaching his fifty, but sub-par cameos from Overton (32 off 21) and Archer (38 not out 17) saw Rutherford’s medium pace battered and 100 runs run out from the final ten overs. It ended up being a footnote after King and Carty took over.