West Indies vs England Livingstone’s ton sparks England comeback in Antigua

ANTIGUA: England captain Liam Livingstone scored a brilliant unbeaten century, leading the team to a five-wicket win over the West Indies in Antigua, levelling the three-match series at 1-1 on Saturday.

Chasing a substantial target of 329, Livingstone powered England’s pursuit with a quick 124 off 85 balls, including nine sixes, expertly timing the chase.

Despite West Indies’ strong finish, scoring 93 runs in the last 10 overs of their innings with Shai Hope's impressive 117, England found themselves at a delicate 160-4 after 28 overs.

Livingstone, partnered with Sam Curran, who contributed a brisk 52, steered England’s comeback. Although they required 100 runs in the final 10 overs, Livingstone’s aggressive hitting capitalised on loose West Indies bowling to secure his first ODI century.

Phil Salt, with a steady 59, and Jacob Bethell, adding 55, gave England a solid start. In the 47th over, Livingstone struck 22 runs off Shamar Joseph, leaving England needing only a handful of runs. They reached the target with 15 balls to spare.

Reflecting on the match, Livingstone acknowledged the importance of big individual scores and praised Salt’s early innings. He also noted the impact of England’s young players gaining international experience.

West Indies captain Shai Hope, scoring his 17th ODI century, had earlier thought the team’s 328 was competitive, given the challenging outfield and inconsistent pitch. However, he admitted the West Indies failed to execute their plans, allowing England easier scoring opportunities.

After the West Indies openers Brandon King and Evin Lewis fell early to John Turner, Hope and Keacy Carty stabilized the innings with a 143-run partnership before Carty was bowled by Adil Rashid for 71.

Despite some fielding lapses by England, Hope made the most of his innings, supported by Sherfane Rutherford’s rapid 50 and Shimron Hetmyer's 24 off 11 balls. Jofra Archer eventually dismissed Hope when he mistimed a drive to Livingstone.

England faced early challenges as Will Jacks was dismissed for 12 and Jordan Cox struggled before falling to a short ball from Shamar Joseph. However, Livingstone, first with Bethell and later Curran, seized on the West Indies’ erratic bowling to secure the victory.

But the duo of Livingstone and Curran, players still with much to prove despite their experience, refused to panic. Curran initially took the reins as the aggressor, starting smartly with a six off Motie having noticed an extra fielder in the outfield meant the umpires would call it a no-ball. He contributed 31 of the initial 50 for the fifth wicket before Livingstone, after five overs without a boundary heading into the final 10, decided it was going to be all on him.

The starter pistol was set with a charge off Motie down the ground to bring up Livingstone's fifty from 60 deliveries, before he signed off the 41st over with a slog-sweep over deep midwicket off the very next delivery. Back-to-back sixes in Motie's next over - the second bringing up the century stand from 92 - also found the grass banks.

Pace was then put back on the ball, which played further into Livingstone's favour. When Curran was dismissed a ball after the skipper had nudged his 77th ball down the ground to move to 100, Dan Mousley played his part to a tee - simply dabbing singles. The most important came at the start of the 48th over, giving Livingstone the strike for the honour of hitting the winning run.