Salt, Mousley fifties help keep England in contest at halfway
The West Indies require 212 runs from 41.1 overs remaining in the match. Here’s a statistical overview.
• In the last 5 overs (Run Rate): 25 runs for 1 wicket (5.00)
West Indies set a target of 264 runs to clinch the series after Shepherd's injury caused them to concede runs in the final overs.
Phil Salt reached his half-century off 79 balls. • Getty Images
At the end of the innings, England has posted a score of 263 runs for 8 wickets, with Salt contributing 79 runs and Mousley making 57 runs against the West Indies.
Phil Salt and Dan Mousley both scored half-centuries, which proved crucial for England as they avoided a total disaster at Kensington Oval. The West Indies were set a target of 264 runs in the final match of the series. Salt focused and played his longest innings in One Day Internationals, rescuing England from a tough position at 24 for 4. Following that, Mousley notched his first international fifty, and some contributions from the lower-order batsmen boosted their total to a much more daunting score than it initially seemed possible.
The West Indies dominated the first half of the innings, but Salt formed two key partnerships of 70 runs each with Sam Curran and Mousley, making the match more competitive. However, an injury to Romario Shepherd—who got caught on the ground at the beginning of his seventh over and needed assistance to leave the field—disrupted the West Indies further. Quick contributions from Jamie Overton (32 runs off 21 balls) and Jofra Archer (38 runs off 17 balls) helped England score exactly 100 runs in the final ten overs.
Both team captains preferred to bowl first, as Shai Hope mentioned, "we're uncertain about what the Kensington Oval pitch will offer." The seamers found some support on a decent length, allowing West Indies to capitalize on the favorable conditions early in the match, leaving England struggling with four wickets lost during the initial powerplay.
West Indies faced their first major issue early in the game due to a remarkable clash on the field involving Alzarri Joseph and Hope. The fast bowler appeared dissatisfied with the fielding arrangement for England's No. 3 batsman, Jordan Cox. Joseph was seen expressing his frustrations to his captain repeatedly while preparing to bowl. He unleashed his anger on Cox, who barely noticed a fast delivery at 148kph (92mph) that grazed his glove on its way through. Joseph didn’t celebrate after the ball, and he walked off at the end of the over, momentarily leaving the West Indies with only ten players on the field.
Matthew Forde made an impact in just his second over, bouncing back after Will Jacks hit him for four runs. He served up a similar delivery that moved enough to take the edge of Jacks’ bat. Shortly after taking over from Joseph, Shepherd had immediate results when Jacob Bethell attempted to hit a wide ball but ended up being brilliantly caught by Roston Chase, who leaped at point. Two consecutive maiden overs followed, and when Liam Livingstone was caught at the wicket while trying to aggressively drive off Shepherd, England found themselves struggling at 24 for 4 with only one ball remaining in the powerplay.
Among the England batters, Salt was one of the few remaining. His fifty runs in the second ODI marked the first occasion since June 2022 that he managed to play through the powerplay without losing his wicket. However, his performance in Barbados was less convincing; he finished with just 11 runs off 26 deliveries, highlighting the overall difficulties faced by the England team. He hit one well-timed drive straight down the ground off Forde for a boundary, but it wasn’t until his 53rd ball that he managed to score again, hitting a powerful shot over midwicket when Shepherd bowled a short delivery.
Salt, importantly, discovered a supportive ally in Curran, who batted at No. 6. Curran displayed greater fluidity than any other England batsman who had batted prior, hitting Forde and the returning Joseph for boundaries. When Gudakesh Motie came on to bowl with his left-arm spin, Curran welcomed him with a beautifully driven four through the covers.
Motie was dismissed once more in the 19th over when Curran hit a ball over the head of mid-off. Salt then started to accelerate the scoring. His six against Shepherd marked the partnership reaching 50, and a few overs later, he sent the ball racing through backward point for another boundary. However, with both batters nearing their half-centuries, Roston Chase managed to create an opportunity. After two dot balls, he prompted Curran to try for a big shot, but instead, Curran ended up lofting a catch to mid-off.
Salt kept the scoreboard ticking, reaching a half-century off 79 balls – the slowest of his five in One Day Internationals. He had a close call soon after when Chase couldn't hold onto a catch at backward point. Meanwhile, Mousley, in just his third international match, began to play a crucial role in stabilizing the innings. The Warwickshire all-rounder demonstrated his skill against spin bowling, hitting his first boundary with a signature reverse-sweep off Motie and then launching Chase over the long-on boundary, helping the sixth-wicket partnership add another fifty runs.
After 40 overs, England found themselves at 163 for 5, hoping for a solid finish. However, Salt was dismissed on the third delivery of the last powerplay. Forde’s slower ball made it challenging for him to hit the ball over midwicket, but Brandon King was quick to make a fantastic running catch near the boundary. He smartly dropped the ball to Joseph just as he was going over the rope, completing the catch.
Shepherd's injury, which was made worse when Mousley hit his wayward delivery for four runs, meant the West Indies were short a bowler toward the end of the match. Hope had to rely on Sherfane Rutherford, whose short stint of 3.5 overs of medium pace turned out to be quite expensive, yielding 57 runs. After getting started with a four off Rutherford, Overton smashed a six off Joseph over long-off, marking just the third six of the innings. In that same over, Mousley reached his fifty, scoring it in 64 balls.
Mousley was dismissed while fielding at midwicket off a delivery from Joseph. However, Overton and Archer aggressively batted during the last moments of the match, with Archer achieving his highest score for England across all formats. He hit Rutherford for four straight boundaries—one of which was a no-ball—resulting in a final over that conceded 25 runs.
Alan Gardner serves as an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo. You can find him on Twitter @alanroderick.
Current Update: Over 9 Runs • WI 52 for 1 Wicket
WI needed to score 212 runs off 247 balls.
Driven by Intelligent Analytics
Quick responses to T20 inquiries
Sign Up Bonus: Bet £10 and Receive £30 in Free Bets for new users at bet365.
Minimum deposit needed. Free Bets come in the form of Bet Credits and can be used once your qualifying deposit bets are settled. Certain minimum odds, bet types, and payment methods may not qualify. Winnings do not include the stake from Bet Credits. Conditions and time restrictions also apply.
