England 329 for 5 (Livingstone 124*, Salt 59, Bethell 55, Curran 52, Forde 3-48) beat West Indies 328 for 6 (Hope 117, Carty 71, Rutherford 54) by five wickets
That it was Livingstone’s maiden 50-over century is one thing. But leading an inexperienced group, the responsibility he assumed to see England home in a chase of 329 – and thus square the series at 1-1 – in such jaw-dropping fashion is worthy of the highest praise.
The acceleration at the end that brought victory with 15 balls to spare is showcased best in the breakdown of Livingstone’s approach into the final 10 overs, with 100 still to get. He headed into this period on 46 from 57, before striking 78 off his final 28 deliveries.
But things unravelled, characterised by England’s use of nine bowlers for only the second time in ODIs. That they could have dismissed Hope on 60 also cut them deep.
From 12 for 2, consolidation was the initial aim for Hope and Carty, who could have been removed on eight. An English squeeze involved three fielders at backward point, but Bethell – the middle of them – could only palm a skewed drive from Carty which would have given Turner a third dismissal.
The pair made it out of the Powerplay on 41 for 2, a figure bumped up in the 10th over by Hope’s first boundary – a stunning back-foot launch over extra cover for six off Turner. A brace of straight drives off Saqib Mahmood – the only change to the XI from the first ODI, with Jamie Overton sitting out – and a second six, lofting Adil Rashid over cover, was then followed by some quiet rotation.
Once satisfied the early losses had been offset, risks were taken to lift the run-rate. However, having cleared midwicket after Bethell dropped short to bring up his 42nd fifty-plus score, from 66 deliveries, it was a botched defensive push that should have brought his innings to an end on 60. A edge of Bethell bounced out of the hands of Salt behind the stumps.
Carty was soon moving to his fourth ODI fifty from 62 deliveries. He was then given two lives when a top-edge took Turner over the boundary at deep fine leg, then the fielder dropped a far simpler chance off the very next ball. Both came as Archer nailed his short-ball plans.
That miss would only cost three runs, as Rashid returned to bowl Carty through the gate at the start of the 31st. But that brought Rutherford to the crease, who ended up striking seven boundaries – three of them sixes – for a fifth half-century from just 35 deliveries.
Though he was dismissed a ball later – caught at deep cover attempting to replicate the six over the same region that took him to fifty – Hetmyer’s breezy 24 off 11 kept the pressure on. He was also dropped on 2 by Will Jacks down at long-on.
Once Hetmyer was dismissed, caught by Archer at gully off a Rashid googly, Hope pressed down on the accelerator. After leaning into a drive off his 118th delivery to move to 100, he smeared Rashid for a four and six to wide long-on as 13 was taken off the 36-year-old’s final over.
Hell-bent on throwing his bat at everything sent his way, Hope misread a slower delivery from Archer that was well-taken by Livingstone charging in from long-off. Forde then picked up the baton for the final straight, striking three successive sixes off Mahmood in the final over to lift the hosts to 328 for 6.
Though England shot themselves in the foot with four drops, they were also guilty of spurning opportunities to make immediate amends with the bat. Salt looked on his way to redemption, carrying the start of the innings on his back, shrugging off the loss of Jacks in the fifth over to contribute 36 of England’s first fifty runs.
When Shamar Joseph, making his ODI debut with his namesake Alzarri rested, bounced out Jordan Cox for an agonising 4 off 19 deliveries, Bethell arrived to take England to 107 for 3 by the 20-over mark.
Both were culpable for relinquishing control. Salt skied the first ball of Forde’s new spell at the start of the 21st for 59, then Bethell dumped Roston Chase into the hands of long-off after reaching a maiden international fifty.
But the duo of Livingstone and Curran, players still with much to prove despite their experience, refused to panic. Curran initially took the reins as the aggressor, starting smartly with a six off Motie having noticed an extra fielder in the outfield meant the umpires would call it a no-ball. He contributed 31 of the initial 50 for the fifth wicket before Livingstone, after five overs without a boundary heading into the final 10, decided it was going to be all on him.
The starter pistol was set with a charge off Motie down the ground to bring up Livingstone’s fifty from 60 deliveries, before he signed off the 41st over with a slog-sweep over deep midwicket off the very next delivery. Back-to-back sixes in Motie’s next over – the second bringing up the century stand from 92 – also found the grass banks.
Pace was then put back on the ball, which played further into Livingstone’s favour. When Curran was dismissed a ball after the skipper had nudged his 77th ball down the ground to move to 100, Dan Mousley played his part to a tee – simply dabbing singles. The most important came at the start of the 48th over, giving Livingstone the strike for the honour of hitting the winning run.
Vithushan Ehantharajah is an associate editor at ESPNcricinfo
