Evin Lewis and Shai Hope helped the West Indies record their highest successful T20 chase in the Caribbean as England’s hopes of a series clean sweep were dashed in a heavy-scoring affair.
Leading 3-0 in the five-match series, England piled up an imposing 218 for five with Phil Salt’s 55 off 35 balls and Jacob Bethell’s unbeaten 62 off 32 deliveries topping and tailing the innings in St Lucia.
But the Windies sealed a five-wicket win largely thanks to an astonishing 136-run stand in nine overs between Lewis and Hope – even if both openers and Nicholas Pooran departed in the space of three balls.
They endured a couple of nervy moments after Lewis’ 68 off 31 balls and Hope’s 54 off 24 deliveries as England applied some pressure, but Sherfane Rutherford (29 not out off 17) thumped back-to-back sixes off Dan Mousley to get his side over the line with an over to spare.
With England having already claimed a series win, there was an end-of-term feeling to the first of two dead rubbers but a sparse crowd was treated to an exhibition of big-hitting with 16 sixes apiece.
The Windies eclipsed their previous highest T20 chase of 191 at home against India in Jamaica seven years ago and did so by extending the trend to seven matches on this tour of the team who wins the toss, wins the match.
Any relief the Windies had at calling correctly for the first time in this series when the coin came down was offset by some early loose fielding as Salt and Will Jacks clicked into gear, each clearing the rope in Akeal Hosein’s first over.
Salt has traditionally struggled against left-arm spin and in this series his strike-rate against wily pair Hosein and Gudakesh Motie has been 123 compared with 200 against every other type of bowler.
He turned a weakness into a strength here, clubbing 33 runs in 14 balls off the duo, only to fall to Roston Chase’s off-spin, swinging wildly but only glancing down the leg-side to Pooran.
A couple of fallow overs followed but Jos Buttler reignited the charge with towering sixes off Chase and Motie, who had his lone success when the England captain nailed a reverse sweep to short third.
Bethell showed his range as he settled with some sweetly timed fours before demonstrating his power with two pulls and a drive for three successive sixes off Chase to bring up a 22-ball fifty.
Sam Curran cleared the ropes off Alzarri Joseph and Obed McCoy as he and Bethell added 63 in the last five overs to lift England to the highest T20 total at the Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium.
When John Turner’s first T20 over for England went for five – with four via an edge off Lewis – and Saqib Mahmood hemmed in Hope, sending down a maiden, the Windies looked to be already up against it.
But Turner was exposed to the harsh reality of T20 cricket after leaking 25 in his second over, thumped for four-four-six-four by Hope, who upped the ante from nought off six balls, taking 41 off his next 13 to underpin a powerplay total of 69 without loss.
Lewis was initially happy to play second fiddle but exploded into life upon Livingstone’s introduction, bludgeoning three huge sixes, including one for 105 metres, in an eighth over that yielded 30.
The absence of the rested Jofra Archer and Adil Rashid left England without a cutting edge and Curran conceded 23 before they had some respite with three wickets falling in as many deliveries.
Lewis’ onslaught ended when he skewed Ahmed into the deep attempting an eighth six, while Hope was run out for the second match in a row, this time backing up after a quick single was turned down by Pooran.
When Pooran inside edged on to his stumps, England seemed to be back into the contest but Rovman Powell’s 38 off 23 balls kept them motoring along before Rutherford got them home after his side were left needing 10 off the last eight balls.