England 329 for 5 (Livingstone 124*, Salt 59, Bethell 55, Curran 52, Forde 3-48) beaten West Indies 328 for 6 (Hope 117, Carty 71, Rutherford 54) by five wickets
That this is Livingstone’s first 50 century is one thing. But at the helm of an inexperienced side, the responsibility he shouldered to take England home in a chase of 329 – and thus level the series at 1-1 – in such breathtaking fashion deserves the highest praise.
The acceleration at the end which brought victory with 15 balls to play is best showcased in the breakdown of Livingstone’s approach in the final 10 overs, with 100 remaining to be had. He started this period with 46 from 57, before dropping 78 from his last 28 deliveries.
But things took a turn for the worse, characterized by England using nine bowlers for only the second time in ODIs. The fact that they could have sent Hope away at 60 also affected them deeply.
From 12 for 2, consolidation was the initial objective of Hope and Carty, who could have been eliminated on eight. An English squeeze involved three defensive players at the back point, but Bethell – in the middle of them – was only able to recover a lopsided drive from Carty, which would have given Turner a third dismissal.
The pair exited the Powerplay on 41 for 2, a figure boosted in the 10th over by Hope’s first boundary – a superb back-foot delivery to extra cover for six against Turner. A pair of consecutive drives from Saqib Mahmood – the only change to the XI from the first ODI, with Jamie Overton sitting out – and a second six, lifting Adil Rashid over cover, were then followed by a leisurely spin .
Once convinced that the initial losses had been compensated, risks were taken to raise the current interest rate. However, after clearing mid-wicket after Bethell failed to reach his 42nd fifty-over score, off 66 deliveries, it was a sloppy defensive push that should have ended his innings on 60. A Bethell advantage bounced out of hands. salt behind the stumps.
Carty soon moved on to his fourth ODI fifty off 62 deliveries. He then had two lives when a top edge took Turner over the boundary at deep fine leg, then the fielder dropped a much simpler chance on the next ball. Both came as Archer worked out his short-ball plans.
That miss would only cost three points, as Rashid came back to send Carty through the door early in the 31st. But that brought Rutherford into the fold, who ended up hitting seven boundaries – including three sixes – for a fifth half-century from just 35 deliveries.
Despite being dismissed a ball later – caught at cover trying to replicate the six over the same region that took him to fifty – Hetmyer’s light 24 from 11 kept the pressure on. He was also dropped on 2 by Will Jacks at long.
Once Hetmyer was dismissed, caught by Archer at the gully from a googly from Rashid, Hope stepped on the accelerator. After bending over on his 118th delivery to move to 100, he sprawled Rashid for a long four and six wide as 13 was taken off the 36-year-old’s final over.
Determined to swing his bat at whatever was thrown at him, Hope misread a slower delivery from Archer which was well taken by Livingstone charging at long on. Forde then took over down the stretch, hitting three successive sixes off Mahmood in the final over to take the hosts to 328 for 6.
Although England shot themselves in the foot with four drops, they were also guilty of missing opportunities to immediately redeem themselves with the bat. Salt looked set to redeem himself, carrying the start of the innings on his back, shrugging off Jacks’ defeat in the fifth to contribute 36 of England’s first fifty runs.
When Shamar Joseph, making his ODI debut with his namesake Alzarri rested, bounced to Jordan Cox for an agonizing 4 off 19 deliveries, Bethell arrived to take England to 107 for 3 by the 20-over mark.
Both were guilty of giving up control. Salt skied the first ball of Forde’s new spell early in the 21st over for 59, then Bethell threw Roston Chase into the hands of long-on after reaching a maiden international fifty.
But the duo of Livingstone and Curran, players who still have much to prove despite their experience, refused to panic. Curran initially took the reins as the aggressor, starting smartly with a six off Motie after noticing an extra fielder in the outfield, which meant the umpires would call it a no-ball. He contributed 31 of the initial 50 for the fifth wicket before Livingstone, after five no-limit overs before the final 10, decided it would all be up to him.
The starting gun was placed with a charge to Motie on the ground to bring Livingstone’s fifty deliveries up to 60, before signing off the 41st with a heavy sweep over deep mid-wicket off the next delivery. Consecutive 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 worked even more in Livingstone’s favor. When Curran was dismissed one ball after the skipper pushed his 77th ball down the ground to move to 100, Dan Mousley played his part to the end – simply dabbing singles. The most important came at the start of the 48th, giving Livingstone the goal for honor to score the winning point.