England storm to T20 series win over West Indies with two matches to spare

Saint Lucia (Reuters) - England sealed a Twenty20 series victory over West Indies with two matches to spare in St Lucia on Thursday after a nervy final-over win in their third T20 clash.

Following a lengthy rain delay, England seemed on course to cruise to an unexpectedly comfortable series success when play did get under way, reducing the hosts to 37 for five as the West Indies top order again failed to deliver.

A half-century from skipper Rovman Powell ensured West Indies could at least post a respectable 145 for eight from their 20 overs, a total England looked like they might struggle to chase down.

Wickets fell with regularity, but some late big hitting from Liam Livingstone helped England seal a first white-ball series success in the Caribbean since 2019, with two more T20s still to come at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground this weekend.

"A real collective effort to win the series which is really pleasing," England captain Jos Buttler said. "I've been so impressed with how we've set the tone in the powerplays in all three games so far.

"We're in a really strong place as a team. We've got really good competition for places too, when you consider the players who aren't here. I've really liked seeing different players step up at different times, throughout the whole series."

England followed their disastrous one day World Cup performance in 2023 with another below-par showing as holders in the T20 edition five months ago in the United States and Caribbean.

However, having already lost their ODI series on this tour, a youthful England, missing a host of their leading stars due to test team commitments, continued their turnaround in the damp St Lucian conditions.

When play started after a 50 minute rain delay, Powell's 73-run partnership with Romario Shepherd for the sixth wicket gave West Indies hope, but Jamie Overton took two wickets in three balls to put England firmly back in command.

Saqib Mahmood continued his fine form with the ball with bowling figures of three for 17, setting England up for their lowest run chase of the series so far.

Opener Phil Salt went from centurion in the first T20 to golden duck in the second, before falling early for just four as England's reply got off to a nervy start.

Buttler, who again won the toss to ensure the tourists batted second - all three ODIs and two T20s on this tour have been won by the side winning the toss and batting second - managed just four, as did Jacob Bethell.

Sam Curran steadied the ship, top scoring with 41, while Livingstone lived dangerously, the all-rounder dropped twice on his way to 39, contributions that edged England over the line.

"It's a bit disappointing, we keep losing wickets in the powerplay and in clusters," said West Indies captain Powell. "We need to be our natural selves. We know we are good stroke players but that little bit of smart was missing.

"The middle overs become so much harder when you have lost those early wickets. But we did feel like we could defend that total after the recovery from myself and Romario."