England survived a late onslaught from
the tail-end batsmen of West Indies to win a thrilling third and
final Twenty20 by five runs in Barbados on Thursday.
The home team had a chance to make it a 3-0 victory in the
series but captain Darren Sammy was unable to hit the six his
side needed off the final ball at the Kensington Oval.
"It was a fantastic game of cricket," said England captain
Eoin Morgan. "There are a lot of positives for us looking
ahead."
The tourists batted first and compiled a solid 165 for six
built around a sparkling 63 from opener Michael Lumb.
Alex Hales chipped in with 38 as he and Lumb put on 98 for
the first wicket before the middle-order collapsed.
All-rounder Chris Jordan (27 not out), batting at eight,
produced a superb late surge with four sixes in the last over.
Jordan, who was named man of the match, also played the
starring role in the field, taking two catches and three
wickets.
"It was a good opportunity I got today," he said. "I've been
practising hitting all week and that gave me confidence for my
bowling."
The West Indies made a terrible start to their reply when
Dwayne Smith was bowled off the first delivery and Johnson
Charles was dismissed in the next over.
Lendl Simmons steadied the innings with 69 off 55 balls but
was run out in the last over trying to scramble for a second run
at the non-striker's end.
Player of the series Sammy blasted two fours and a six to
give West Indies hope but was unable to get another six off the
last ball from Jade Dernbach.
"We didn't get over the line today but it was a great game.
Credit to my guys for taking it to the final over," said Sammy.
"We always back ourselves to get two or three boundaries in
the last over. The way we fought back in the last 10 overs of
their innings was great."
The teams now head to Bangladesh for the Twenty20 World Cup
that starts on Sunday.
West Indies are the defending champions after winning in
2012. England won the previous edition in 2010.
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