The drought continues for the West Indies men. A total of 196 looked enough to end a sequence of nine consecutive away defeats against England, a run that began with the bio-bubble Test series of 2020.
With the hosts requiring 71 off 39 balls, Jos Buttler and Harry Brook gone, the game was heading to the visitors. Then came Tom Banton, a first-ball six and a change of tune, the final summary a four-wicket England win to secure an unassailable 2-0 lead in the T20 international series.
Banton is usually a top-order man in this format but he was dominant in the middle alongside Jacob Bethell as the pair put on 43 off just 15. The former pummelled Gudakesh Motie’s left-arm spin while Bethell struck Alzarri Joseph for three monstrous sixes, one finding the roof of the apartments that overlook Bristol’s County Ground.
The left-hander’s failed ramp on 26 mattered little as Banton remained, his own audacity including a reverse‑flick for four off Jason Holder. He finished on 30 off 11, steel to go with the tricks, nine balls to spare. For Brook it is five wins out of five as permanent captain, some joy finally found after England’s miserable tours of India and Pakistan at the start of the year. “Hopefully we’re entertaining a lot of people and hopefully people start watching us more again,” he said.
A golden glow over Bristol turned grey just before the start of play, a breeze for Luke Wood to embrace, the left-arm quick bowling in his first England appearance since September 2023. He was celebrating within seconds, the first ball of the match a swinging toe-bruiser that trapped Evin Lewis in front.
Wood’s first couple of overs cost four runs, but there was less comfort for England from the other end. Brook opted for two seamers in his lineup, a repeat of the template used in the Durham series opener. It will probably be the way at the T20 World Cup in the subcontinent next year but this was a bold call on a smaller ground: Liam Dawson’s first two overs went for 20, the amount the left-arm spinner conceded across four in his comeback game.
Shai Hope is another newly appointed captain trying to state his authority. The No 3 was tough on Brydon Carse, thumping sixes over long‑off as he advanced rapidly to 49, only to be undone by Adil Rashid’s old-world mastery. The tossed-up leg-break drifted into the right‑hander, the sharp turn away followed by a rapid Buttler stumping. Rashid puckered his lips, a quiet acknowledgment of his own brilliance.
Strength lies across this entire West Indies lineup, even in the absence of Nicholas Pooran, one of the best in the world but rested for this series after playing at the Indian Premier League (an apt summary of the sport’s power balance). While Sherfane Rutherford perished quickly and Johnson Charles finished on 47 off 39 balls, Rovman Powell tucked into Dawson on his way to 34 off 15.
Holder was even more brutal with a nine-ball 29. Rashid was entrusted with the penultimate over and the all‑rounder began with three consecutive sixes, the final blow caught by the diving Banton but beyond the long-on rope. A single brought some quiet but Romario Shepherd marmalised a couple down the ground to make it a 31-run over. A first-ball six by Roston Chase closed the late show but not enough had come earlier, with Wood impressive in taking two for 25. “We thought they were probably 20-30 runs short on that pitch,” Brook said. “It was a good wicket and with small boundaries we always felt in the game.”
Holder’s damage continued with the ball as Jamie Smith skied to mid‑off for four, but that only granted Buttler more time to settle. The former England captain repeated the straight hits of his 96 two days previous as he put on 63 with Ben Duckett inside seven overs.
Buttler should have perished on 43 to Joseph, but Charles misjuggled in the deep. Another misfield from Charles minutes later added to his misery but redemption followed in the next over. Akeal Hosein, who landed in the morning after visa troubles had delayed his arrival, had Buttler caught by Charles at deep third for 47.
Brook could not carry much forward, dismissed by Chase for the second game in a row, the equation leaning towards the visitors. But Banton, who ventured out to the middle and immediately swept the off-spinner for six, wasn’t having it.
