Unfettered England hunt down 197 in style to seal 2-0 series lead

Harry Brook had said at the toss that he "fancied a chase" in the second T20I in Bristol. Well, he was handed one all right, as West Indies obliged in trademark style, serving up a six-laden display of power-hitting that included five in a single 31-run over from Adil Rashid - the second-most expensive in England's T20 history - and 75 runs off the final four overs of their innings.

Despite 15 blows over the ropes in total, and a stiff target of 197, even that was not nearly enough to rein in a newly liberated England batting line-up that responded with a salvo of cameos to hunt down their target with nine balls to spare.

Fresh from his matchwinning 96 on Friday, Jos Buttler was once again the top-scorer, with 47 from 36, while Brook led as he would wish to be followed with 34 from 20. However, the star turns came from the young guns Jacob Bethell and Tom Banton in the middle order, whose combined haul of 56 from 21 balls drove England to an unassailable 2-0 series lead with Tuesday's final match in Southampton still to come.

In a match marked by such formidable hitting, however, it was a bowler in his first international appearance since September 2023 who made the ultimate difference. Brook had wanted a "point of difference", he said, in confirming Luke Wood's recall. His left-arm pace is an attractive option at the best of times, but with a strong cross-wind cutting across the County Ground, the conditions were tailor-made for his inswinger to the right-hander.

So Evin Lewis discovered with an Exocet of a first delivery - full, fast, tailing in at the toe, and extracting an immediate verdict from umpire Martin Saggers, even as Wood charged down the pitch in full celebrappeal mode. His follow-up to Shai Hope wasn't quite as intended - a wild full-toss as the yorker slipped out - but two overs for four runs in the powerplay kept West Indies very much under wraps.

Brydon Carse's introduction gave a more accurate reflection of the carnage to come, however. With England once again opting for just two frontline quicks, Carse's more conventional angles were very much to Hope's liking - with two fours and three sixes, each of them creamed over long-off as he opened his stance to take advantage of the short straight boundaries.

England's plethora of spin options were rolled out after the powerplay, as Hope's early momentum was stalled. Johnson Charles, who had hitherto been the silent partner in their second-wicket stand, took a few early lumps out of Bethell and Rashid, whom he slammed over midwicket for six, through the grasp of a leaping Wood on the boundary's edge.

In the same over, however, Rashid followed up with a ripper - a dipping, fizzing legbreak to Hope, that turned sharply past the edge for Buttler to complete the stumping as West Indies' captain toppled out of his crease for 49 from 37 balls.

At 90 for 2 in the 11th, Sherfane Rutherford was pushed up the order in a bid to pick up the tempo. But Will Jacks - a decent match-up to the left-hander - cramped his style with a series of offbreaks across his body, before Bethell sent him on his way for 6 from 8, as Banton hoovered up a slog to long-on.

Charles connected for a third six, off Rashid, but 15 dot-balls out of 38 told a tale of an innings without fluency. Carse returned with a change of ends to make amends for his profligate opening gambit, but it was Wood who prised him out - second ball of his second spell - via a deflection onto middle stump as he followed the batter outside off.

West Indies' extraordinary depth of power-hitters means that someone is bound to come good in the end … or several people, as it turned out. Rovman Powell was briefly the man as he brought Friday's hero, Liam Dawson, down to earth with 20 off his final over, and he had blatted his next ball, from Carse, over deep midwicket for another six before Wood clung onto an excellent tumbling take on the cover boundary.

But, with Brook trusting his senior man Rashid to bowl the 19th over, Jason Holder and Romario Shepherd turned on the afterburners, amid scenes of certain carnage that were reminiscent of that infamous final over in Kolkata in 2016. Rashid was smoked for five sixes out of six - the exception being a scuffed single to backward square from Holder off the fourth ball, to mock boos from an enthusiastic contingent of West Indies' fans.

Wood restored a degree of decorum - and capped an excellent comeback with figures of 2 for 25 - as Shepherd was run out for 19 off 11, but Roston Chase smacked his first and only ball down the ground for six, the 15th of the innings, as West Indies finished on a healthy 196 for 6 that included 75 from the final four overs. Brook had got his chase.

With ten an over needed from the outset, Jamie Smith didn't hang around, twice slogging Holder through the line and holing out to the second attempt for 4. But his second-over departure meant the in-form Buttler had all the longer to marshal the chase, and in Holder's next over, he signalled his poise with an imperious driven six over long-on.

Ben Duckett, however, was the impish source of early impetus, with his array of sweeps and dinks including a scoop over the keeper for six. He had a life on 11, when Lewis couldn't cling on at point, but - after setting up the chase in a 58-run powerplay - Duckett miscued a pull off Shepherd and was spectacularly grabbed by a leaping Powell at wide long-on for 30 off 18.

Buttler took up the cudgels, including an audacious reverse-hoick for six off Gudakesh Motie's second delivery. But, on 43 from 29, he had a reprieve in the midst of a pacy over from Alzarri Joseph, in which he was tempted to take on the short straight boundaries and instead miscued a short ball to deep midwicket. Charles, however, couldn't settle under the swirling ball, and the moment was lost.

With the run-rate nudging above 11, it was Brook's turn to come to the party in a 20-run over off Shepherd that included an extraordinary cut for six off a fast, straight full toss, as well as a misfield from Charles that earned him further stick from an invested Bristol crowd. But, just when it seemed the worm was turning in England's favour, Buttler reversed his hands on a sweep off Akeal Hosein - fresh off the plane at 7.30am after his visa issues - and that man Charles was on hand at deep third to send him on his way for 47.

Brook greeted the offspin of Chase with an open-shouldered launch down the ground, but two balls later, he picked out Powell for an easier grab in the deep. At 126 for 4, the innings was in danger of slipping away.

Banton, however, slog-swept his first ball for six to lay down a marker, and though Motie's next over started tightly, Banton showed his versatility with a reverse for four and a muscular straight six to keep the chase right on track. Bethell immediately got the memo with three more startling blows over the ropes in Joseph's next over - his fast hands belying his apparently slight frame.

He ruined his cameo by dinking the final ball straight to Chase at short third, but his 26 from 10 balls had broken the requirement into tiny pieces. Jacks picked out cover for 7 but by then Joseph had already wrecked any hope of a fightback with five wild wides down the leg-side. Banton and Carse duly closed out the chase to make it five wins in five for the Brook regime.