England chase down big total to seal three-match Twenty 20 series against Windies
Jos Buttler top-scored again as England chased down an imposing target and beat West Indies by four wickets in the second T20 on Sunday to take a 2-0 lead and seal the three-match series, continuing their excellent form under new captain Harry Brook.
Former captain Buttler's 47 from 36 balls at Bristol's County Ground came on the back of his 96 in the first T20 in Durham and set the platform for England to hunt down West Indies' total of 196-6 with nine balls to spare.
It was a second straight series victory for England under the captaincy of Brook after they secured a 3-0 series sweep in the one-dayers.
Jacob Bethell hit a thrilling 26 from 10 balls, which included three sixes, as England spread the runs throughout the team with Ben Duckett (30), Brook (34) and Tom Banton (30) providing solid backup.
England, who won the toss and chose to bowl, got off to the perfect start with Luke Wood, who was the hosts' standout bowler with 2-25, striking Evin Lewis on the pads with the day's first delivery, but the tourists quickly steadied the ship.
Shai Hope took the fight to England with 49 off 38 balls, while Johnson Charles started patiently before he also fell just short of his half century, with 47 from 39 deliveries.
The West Indies innings threatened to stall at that point but a rollicking finish peppered with sixes from Rovman Powell, Romario Shepherd and Jason Holder saw them power to a healthy total, even considering the County Ground's short boundaries.
England's Dawson relishing return from international wilderness: Liam Dawson is determined to make the most of his surprise recall to international duty after believing his England career had come to an end.
The 35-year-old left-arm spinner had won just 20 caps across all three formats since making his debut in 2016.
He appeared surplus to requirements as England selected a succession of other slow bowlers in red and white-ball cricket, many of whom had inferior county records to Hampshire mainstay Dawson.
But he produced a reminder of his quality with 4-20 and a player-of-the-match award as England marked Harry Brook's first T20 as captain with a 21-run win over the West Indies at Chester-le-Street on Friday.
'I had got to an age where I probably thought international cricket was gone,' said Dawson after taking his best figures in T20 internationals.
'In my domestic career, I've tried to go out there and just enjoy playing for whoever I'm playing for. It was about going out there and not worrying about playing for England.
'I think that can hamper you sometimes so I've not really worried about that. I'm at an age now where I know that I'm close to finishing.'
Brook gave Dawson the new ball in Durham, a sign of his confidence in the bowler, and perhaps a marker for next year's T20 World Cup on turning pitches in India and Sri Lanka.
'Personally, I think he's been knocking on the door for years to try and solidify that spot and the performance we saw from him was awesome,' said Brook of Dawson.
'Him and Adil Rashid working in tandem at both ends is going be good to watch in the coming years. He can also help the younger lads along the way, to have him in the inner circle when they are bowling is going to help us a lot.'
The three-match series continues in Bristol on Sunday before finishing at Dawson's home ground in Southampton on Tuesday.
Well though he bowled in Durham, Dawson is taking nothing for granted.
'I know how cricket works, you've got to be consistent and it's only one game,' he said. 'So I'll park this and go again. It would be nice to play at my home ground, if selected.'
Agencies
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