Jonny Bairstow hit an unbeaten century to lead England to a thumping nine-wicket victory over the West Indies in Southampton on Friday, in a low-key fifth and final one-day international overshadowed by the Ben Stokes scandal..
Bairstow struck 141 not out as the hosts sealed the win with 12 overs to spare to complete a 4-0 series victory.
The tourists, seeking to end a long sequence of defeats against England, posted 288 for six despite becoming bogged down after a thrilling Chris Gayle cameo, but it never looked enough under the floodlights in the day-night encounter. Openers Jason Roy and Bairstow started the home side’s reply confidently, with Roy reaching his second consecutive half-century in the evening sunshine after his recall for the fourth match of the series, off 43 balls. Bairstow brought up his own 50 as the England openers kept the scoreboard constantly ticking over, untroubled by either pace or spin until Roy (96 in 70 balls) was trapped lbw by Miguel Cummins.
But his dismissal did little to upset England’s rhythm. Joe Root batted smoothly while Bairstow steered a ball down to third man for a single to notch his second century of the series off 90 balls with 10 fours.
The home side cantered past the winning post as Root finished alongside Bairstow on 46 not out, scoring the winning runs with a six.
- Gayle fireworks -
Earlier, Gayle lit up the gloom at the Ageas Bowl following a delayed start with a breathtaking brief knock under heavy late-September skies, hitting 34 runs off just six balls, all delivered by Jake Ball, including four successive sixes. But as he threatened to take the game away from England, Liam Plunkett took a fine diving catch running backwards off a slower Tom Curran delivery and the West Indies lost all momentum.
Spinners Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali established impressive control and the tourists went from the ninth over until the 31st over without scoring a single boundary. Desperately needing to step up the scoring rate to post a competitive total, Shai Hope clubbed three successive fours off ODI debutant Curran but was caught on the boundary by Sam Billings off Ball for 72 off 95 balls. - AFP
