England and the West Indies will head to the Kensington Oval in Barbados for the third and final match of their One Day International series on Wednesday night.
The series currently hangs in the balance, with the hosts winning the first match by eight wickets before the visitors clinched the second match with 15 balls to spare.
Match preview
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After an Evin Lewis masterclass propelled his team to a commanding victory in the first ODI, the West Indies were quickly brought back down to earth, as they failed to defend a very competitive 328-6 in Antigua over the weekend.
Still, there were plenty of positives to take from the match for the hosts, but the biggest would have been the performance of Shai Hope, who scored a very impressive 117 off 127 balls - his 17th ton in the 50-over format.
The Windies skipper arrived at the crease in the fourth over with the job of rebuilding his side's innings, and he stepped up in a big way, combining with Keacy Carty (71) to put on a 143-run partnership.
Sherfane Rutherford and Shimron Hetmyer also provided important contributions with the bat, forcing their opponents to utilise nine bowlers, but only Jofra Archer managed to deliver an economy rate of under 5.00.
While England are showing up as marginal favourites to claim the series - when these two teams faced off in an ODI at this venue just under a year ago, it was the West Indies that successfully chased down a target of 191 in just 31.4 overs in a rain-affected match.
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For England, their performance in the deeply one-sided first ODI showed that the road to the 2027 World Cup will be long and challenging for a new generation of cricketers, whose inexperience in 50-over cricket was glaringly evident in Antigua.
However, the visitors bounced back in the best way possible over the weekend, when Liam Livingstone put on a stellar show with an unbeaten century, steering England to a successful chase of 329 and pushing their ODI series against the West Indies to this decisive final match.
The stand-in captain smashed nine sixes and five fours, guiding the team to victory by five wickets with 15 balls remaining, following Phil Salt's run-a-ball 59 and Jacob Bethell's maiden international half-century.
With the ball, John Turner sent both Windies' openers back to the pavilion after 19 balls and could have had them reeling even further had Bethell hung on to a half-chance to dismiss Carty while he was still in single digits.
Still, despite the victory and the momentum gained from that result, England fans will know that this final ODI is far from a given, especially if the side is unable to improve on what have been fairly toothless bowling performances overall on the pitches here in the Caribbean.
Team News
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Following almost a year out of the ODI setup, Shimron Hetmyer has largely impressed upon his return to the fold and should retain his place in the Windies' middle order for this final match of the series.
With spin expected to play a major role in Barbados, Gudakesh Motie will be crucial to the hosts, and the left-armer has a solid record at this venue, having taken two or more wickets in three of his last four games here.
On the point of spin, Adil Rashid has failed to find his best form in this series but will likely remain as the visitors' main spin option, with Livingstone providing him support with his off-breakers.
Jofra Archer has taken 17 wickets in nine matches this year, and while he came away wicketless in the second ODI, he is still expected to share the new ball with Turner on Wednesday.
West Indies squad: Brandon King, Evin Lewis, Keacy Carty, Shai Hope (c & wk), Sherfane Rutherford, Jewel Andrew, Roston Chase, Gudakesh Motie, Matthew Forde, Alzarri Joseph, Jayden Seales, Alick Athanaze, Romario Shepherd, Hayden Walsh
England squad: Rehan Ahmed, Jofra Archer, Jacob Bethell, Jafer Chohan, Jordan Cox, Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Liam Livingstone, Saqib Mahmood, Dan Mousley, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Reece Topley, John Turner, Michael Pepper
Series so far
ODI 1 of 3: West Indies win by 8 wickets (DLS method)
England -209 (45.1)
West Indies - 157/2 (25.5) - Target 157
ODI 2 of 3: England won by 5 wickets
West Indies - 328/6 (50)
England - 329/5 (47.3)
We say: West Indies to win
While England will enter this match with the momentum from their series-leveller, the inconsistency in their performances is a concern and their bowling has been an overall disappointment.
Indeed, the Windies have not been incredible themselves, but they seem to be less key-man dependent than their opponents, and that could prove to be the determining factor here in Barbados.
Devesh Jaganath
