Simmons, Walton help West Indies Champions trounce England

SHARJAH, United Arab Emirates (CMC):

Lendl Simmons and Chadwick Walton struck important half-centuries as West Indies Champions cruised to a seven-wicket victory over England Champions in the World Championship of Legends tournament on Wednesday.

After electing to field at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium, West Indies dismissed England for 154 in 19.1 overs, with Dwayne Bravo (2-24), Raymon Reifer (2-25) and Fidel Edwards (2-33) leading the bowling effort.

For England, Moeen Ali top-scored with 41 off 28 balls, while Dawid Malan and Jason Roy contributed 29 and 27, respectively.

Simmons then blasted an unbeaten 55 off 33 balls at the top of the order, while Walton made 46 from 35 deliveries as West Indies raced to 156 for three in 16.1 overs.

The diminutive Simmons struck five fours and two sixes, while Walton hammered three sixes and three fours, with the pair sharing an 86-run second-wicket partnership in nine overs.

After Walton’s dismissal, Reifer added an unbeaten 35 off 22 balls, including three fours and two sixes, as the Windies completed the chase with 23 balls remaining.

It was the Windies’ second win of the tournament, improving their record to 2-1 and leaving them third on four points, level with second-placed England (2-1) and leaders South Africa (2-0).

Their next match will be against bottom-of-the-table Australia Champions today.