CARIBBEAN SPORTS – WEST INDIES TROUNCE ENGLAND TO WIN FIFTH ODI

News Americas, NEW YORK, NY, Mon. Mar. 4, 2019: The West Indies cricket squad bounced back Saturday to win the fifth One Day International match against England and to tie the series 2-2 in St. Lucia.

The English side were contained to 113 as the Windies successfully chased down the modest target of 114 to earn the 2-2, series-levelling win.

Jamaican star batsman Chris Gayle made his final One-day International appearance in the Caribbean with a  merciless attack of 77 off just 27 balls. His knock included five fours and smashed nine sixes as he scored the fastest 50 ever by a Windies batsman in an ODI and second fastest ever against England, making him a shoo-in for the Player-of-the-Series award, as he finished the series with 424 runs – including 20 fours and an amazing 39 sixes – at an average of 106.

Shimron Hetmyer formalised the win for the West Indies in the 13th over, when he drove Tom Curran’s first delivery to the long-off boundary for his second four, as the home team had to make token use of extra time to complete victory before the interval.

“It’s been a fantastic series – to be able to tie it 2-all is great,” Gayle commented. “The bowlers deserve credit. Chasing a small target, you can be wary, but I wanted to put them on the back foot early. We will get some respect as a unit after this, going into the World Cup. We’re very capable of winning games in England and beating any particular team out there.”

“That was the perfect performance,” added West Indies captain Jason Holder. “All of the bowlers put in an outstanding effort. Oshane is an impact player for us and it’s good to see him make this breakthrough. He was quick, aggressive and consistent, and he caused trouble. It’s been a total team effort with the ball and then Chris stole the show at the end. Chris is a champion. It’s great to see him bow out in the Caribbean like this. We’re building something nicely as a group. We need to be more consistent now and string together more wins and win some series.”