England Lions overcome West Indies ‘A’ to claim T20 series

BASSETERRE, St Kitts (CMC):

England Lions secured a second successive victory to clinch their T20 series against West Indies ‘A’ with a match to spare.

The home side offered a stronger challenge than in the opening encounter but still went down by 17 runs at Conaree Sports Club, handing the Lions an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.

After being sent in to bat, England recovered impressively to reach 151 all out in 18.5 overs after slipping to 120 for eight.

Despite knocks of 49 from Shadrack Descarte and 43 from captain Alick Athanaze, West Indies could only muster 134 for seven from their 20 overs.

For the second time in the series, pacer Jakeem Pollard gave the hosts a dream start by dismissing Ben McKinney for a duck in the first over.

After being struck for three fours in his second over, Pollard hit back by having England captain Thomas Rew caught for 11, leaving the visitors 23 for two at the end of three overs.

Rehan Ahmed and James Rew then put West Indies under pressure with a 49-run partnership for the third wicket that carried England to 72 for three in the eighth over.

However, once Descarte removed Ahmed for 31 off 21 balls, England’s innings threatened to unravel as they lost six wickets for 48 runs.

Leg-spinner Zishan Motara and wrist spinner Vitel Lawes led the fightback, combining for four wickets during the collapse.

From 120 for eight in the 16th over, however, England found valuable late runs through Liam Patterson-White, who made an unbeaten 22, and Eddie Jack, who blasted 21 from 13 balls from the number nine position.

Pollard finished with 4-20, while Lawes took 2-25 and Motara claimed 2-27.

West Indies’ chase never gained sustained momentum after openers Kamil Pooran and Zachary Carter were restricted by England’s new-ball pair of Naavya Sharma and Eddie Jack.

The pair took the score to 26 in the fourth over before pacer Scott Currie had Pooran caught at long-on for 18 off 15 balls.

Jewel Andrew then drove Eddie Jack to the boundary but was caught at backward point two balls later for four, leaving West Indies 31 for two after five overs.

Carter’s difficult stay at the crease ended when he was dismissed by leg-spinner Calvin Harrison for six off 19 balls. Harrison then had Karima Gore caught and bowled as West Indies slipped to 59 for four in the 12th over.

Athanaze and Descarte attempted to repair the innings during a 57-run partnership for the fifth wicket, but the required run rate continued to climb.

When Currie bowled Athanaze for 43 off 30 balls to leave the score at 116 for five in the 18th over, West Indies still required 36 runs from 13 deliveries.

Currie effectively sealed the result by bowling Quentin Sampson with the very next ball to finish with 3-17 from his four overs, while Harrison supported with 2-27.

Descarte was run out from the final ball of the match for 49 off 33 balls, including three sixes and two fours.

The third and final T20 will be played today at the same venue.