Final England-West Indies T20 Abandoned Due to Rain, England Win Series 3-1

The fifth and final T20 international of the series between England and West Indies was abandoned in St Lucia due to heavy rain, resulting in England winning the series 3-1. England captain Jos Buttler chose to bowl first, and the West Indies had scored 44 runs without loss in five overs before the downpour began. Openers Evin Lewis and Shai Hope had contributed 29 and 14 runs respectively, aiming to replicate their strong 136-run partnership from nine overs in the fourth T20. Despite attempts by the ground staff to clear the wet outfield for a restart, the match was ultimately called off without a result at 22:15 GMT. Throughout the completed T20s, the team batting second emerged victorious in every instance, with the first two matches taking place in Barbados and the subsequent three scheduled for St Lucia. England secured the T20 series with a 3-1 victory, following their 2-1 defeat in the one-day international segment of the tour. Opener Phil Salt concluded the series as the top run-scorer, accumulating 162 runs across four innings, which included an unbeaten 103 in the opening T20. West Indies captain Rovman Powell ranked second with 153 runs. England seamer Saqib Mahmood, who was rested for the final game, led the wicket-takers with nine dismissals in four matches. England’s upcoming schedule includes three Test matches in New Zealand, commencing on 27 November, while their white-ball squad is set to face India in January. This January series against India will mark Brendon McCullum’s inaugural role as the white-ball head coach. Saqib Mahmood, England bowler and Player of the Series, commented: “As a group we’ve spoken a lot about what we want to do and our mindset of taking wickets in the powerplay, so it’s nice to get the rewards for that.” He added, “We’ve got a nice stock of fast bowlers now, hopefully we can all stay fit and healthy – long may it continue.” England captain Jos Buttler stated: “We’re delighted with the series win. We’ve played some brilliant cricket.” Regarding his captaincy without wicket-keeping, Buttler remarked: “I enjoyed it [being captain without keeping], I felt like I had a bit more time and it was nice to be out there running around and closer to the bowlers. I got everything I wanted to out of doing that.” West Indies captain Rovman Powell reflected on the series, saying: “It’s been a tough series and credit to Jos Buttler and his team who came to play in these conditions and dominated. ” He concluded: “We played good cricket in patches but not for long enough periods.”