2nd ODI WI (159) lose to ENG (163/7) by 3 wickets

England 163 for 7 (Lumb 39, Bopara 38) beat West Indies 159 (Simmons 70, Parry 3-32) by three wickets

Ravi Bopara has been an England batting enigma: a man proud of his streetwise upbringing in East London but rarely able to bring that sense of astuteness to the 22 yards of turf that will make or break his cricketing reputation. But Bopara was calmness personified in Antigua as England batsmen flapped all around him and his unbeaten 38 secured a desperately-needed victory in a mundane contest.

This three-match series will be settled on the same ground on Wednesday and one hopes it will be more enthralling than this. At least England's stumbling display raked up the tension before they edged home by three wickets with more than five overs to spare. After a winter like the one they have endured, they will accept the win with relief.

A year ago, the England side contesting this ODI series in the Caribbean would have been presumed to be a 2nd XI. That might be regarded by some as an alibi, as a reason for patience, but without Bopara's poise, skittishly supported in an eighth-wicket stand of 58 by his captain Stuart Broad on a day when his luck was in, it would have been presented as proof of the pitiful levels to which England's one-day cricket has sunk.

A turgid pitch, an eminently achievable target of 160, for all that, a maladroit batting performance: such was the story of a humdrum match in which England combined bewilderment against the spin of Sunil Narine with a series of soft dismissals. Had Broad's contest with Ravi Rampaul not been so blessed - a decision overturned on review, a hook falling safely at fine leg, a drop by Dwayne Bravo at slip, West Indies might have been celebrating a series win.

Shorn not just of the ego of Kevin Pietersen, but the more socially acceptable egos of Eoin Morgan and Alex Hales because of injury (the prognosis on both, incidentally, is more encouraging), England began by looking short of nous. Moeen Ali hooked into the wind, Luke Wright was bowled as he consistently failed to read Narine and when Michael Lumb's innings came to grief courtesy of Nikita Miller's lbw, self-doubt set in.

Root played Narine well, but he was deceived by a Bravo delivery that stuck slightly in the wicket. Jos Buttler fell first ball, failing to ride the bounce of a bumper down the leg side, and Tim Bresnan was excellently run out by Bravo from wide mid-on. In between that, Ben Stokes chose to walk when he tickled Miller onto his pad which looped to Denesh Ramdin, even as the umpire Joel Wilson shook his head. He should not be castigated for his integrity, not for one moment, but one can bet that some place, some time, he will receive an homily about "professionalism".

Grateful for Stokes's honesty, West Indies will curse the dismissal of Bravo for the fact they set such a modest target. From the moment TV umpire Marais Erasmus ruled Jos Buttler's stumping of Bravo was legitimate, West Indies' flow silted up like a Somerset river. The dismissal came the ball before the compulsory Powerplay and, instead of marching into it with two batsmen set - Bravo and Lendl Simmons - they reached it at 133 for 5 and lost five more wickets for 26, Rampaul illustrating their mental collapse when he holed out at long-off against James Tredwell with more than five overs left.

The on-field umpires had turned to Erasmus when Bravo was drawn down the pitch by Tredwell and Buttler lost the ball in the process of completing the stumping. Buttler conceded that he was unsure when the ball had escaped his grasp and TV replays seemed maddeningly inconclusive, but not so for Erasmus who ruled that Bravo was out. Ottis Gibson, West Indies' coach, did not hide his exasperation, rising from his laptop to hold out his hands towards the middle in disbelief.

Stephen Parry, England's debutant left-arm spinner, finished with three wickets and the man-of-the-match award. Parry is very much a one-day specialist, having played only six first-class matches by the age of 28. He acquitted himself well, showing none of the qualms suffered by another Lancashire slow left-armer, Simon Kerrigan, on his Test debut against Australia at The Oval last season.

His contribution in the batting Powerplay was crucial. Simmons had again played judiciously and when he struck Parry over long-on for six, the stakes were ramped up. Parry held his nerve, the next ball was a touch shorter, and Simmons's half-hearted attempt at a repeat fell well short. As West Indies fell away, Parry picked off Darren Sammy at short midwicket and had Sunil Narine stumped, this time a fail-safe affair from Buttler.

The first half of West Indies' innings was a drag. For those who missed the first one-day international in Antigua, the teams staged a repeat. England again managed four wickets by halfway, West Indies' top order played with a bit more energy, but effectively the outcome was the same: a collection of spin bowlers drawing suspicion from West Indies' batsmen as they wheeled away to good effect.

Root's dismissal of Kirk Edwards was the highlight, owing much to a fast catch by Tredwell at slip as the batsman tried to force through the offside. Broad had good moments against the Bravos, causing Darren to drag on from the wicket and finding enough venom in a bouncer to strike Dwayne on helmet and neck and necessitate treatment.

If Broad could therefore claim to have two Bravos, it was Bopara who ultimately got three cheers. Sheepish cheers perhaps, but it was a celebration that England desperately needed. "We made it quite hard work for ourselves," Broad said. 

Eng 163/7 44.5 overs (target 160)

FOW: WICKET - Moeen c Miller b Rampaul 10 (Eng 29-1)

Rampaul has changed ends and returns in place of Bravo, but Lumb powerfully guides a two past the diving Darren Sammy at square leg. A single takes him to 15, Moeen hoists one into the sky and is caught at deep square leg. The catcher, Nikita Miller, is wearing a maroon sunhat but with a brim approximately half the size of those massive ones sported by the newly knighted Sir Richie Richardson back in the day.

WICKET - Wright b Narine 0 (Eng 30-2)

A single from Lumb brings the right-handed (wright-handed?) Luke Wright on strike against Narine, with two slips and a short leg in. He seems to be in dire straits against Narine early on, not picking Narine's mystery spin, and the Sussex man's horror show ends as he's bowled for a duck.

Wright was recalled to the ODI side in September after an absence of two years. Since then, he has scored 5, 0, 1 and 0.

WICKET - Lumb lbw b Miller 39 (Eng 79-3)

Miller strikes with the third ball of his sixth over as Lumb is trapped in front of all three on the back foot. Michael Lumb, you were Michael Plumb there. And at a stroke, his ODI average is halved from 145 to 72.5.

WICKET - Root c and b DJ Bravo (Eng 81-4)

Suddenly, Root pops a return catch back to Bravo. Bang bang, I can hear Sir Geoffrey talking about "add two wickets to the score". Wheels coming off?

WICKET - Buttler c Ramdin b DJ Bravo 0 (Eng 81-5)

Jos Buttler goes first ball, caught behind as he tries to fend off a short ball. Bravo on a hat-trick! The last eight balls have seen two runs, three wickets. Wheels definitely off and rolling down the road to St John's!

WICKET - Stokes c Ramdin b Miller 4 (Eng 89-6)

The bearded Miller to bowl his eighth consecutive over of left-arm spin. Stokes tries to nudge into the leg side, the ball scoops up into the air and there's momentary confusion as West Indies appeal and the umpire shakes his head, but Stokes walks off. Clearly he knew he'd hit it.

WICKET - Bresnan run out (DJ Bravo/Ramdin) 10 (Eng 105-7)

A rare boundary as Bresnan straight-drives at Rampaul and Kieran Powell makes a complete horlicks of trying to stop the ball before it crosses the rope. Double teapots all round among the Windies fielders. Bresnan then tries to push a quick single to mid-wicket and is run out by a sensational pick up and throw by Dwayne Bravo. Top, top fielding, Bresnan was left stranded mid-pitch while Bopara had hardly moved, but let's salute a great piece of fielding rather than apportion blame.

WI 159 

Innings report: West Indies 159 (Simmons 70, Parry 3-32) v England

Some contentious dismissals affect the flow of a match more than others. The dismissal of Dwayne Bravo will rankle with the West Indies more than most if England level the series by winning the second ODI in Antigua. At midway they were certainly well positioned to do just that.

From the moment TV umpire Marais Erasmus ruled that Jos Buttler's stumping of Bravo was legitimate, West Indies' flow silted up like a Somerset river. It came the ball before the compulsory Powerplay and, instead of marching into it with two batsmen set - Bravo and Lendl Simmons - they reached it at 133 for 5, once again consumed by doubt.

Five more wickets followed with only 26 added, England's debutant left-arm spinner Stephen Parry finished as a satisfied recipient of three wickets and the last man out, Ravi Rampaul, illustrated the collapse of West Indies' intent, who, with more than five overs left, holed out at long-off against James Tredwell.

The on-field umpires had turned to Erasmus when Bravo was drawn down the pitch by Tredwell and Buttler lost the ball in the process of completing the stumping. Buttler conceded that he was unsure when the ball had escaped his grasp and TV replays seemed maddeningly inconclusive, but not so for Erasmus who ruled Bravo was out.

Ottis Gibson, West Indies' coach, did not hide his exasperation, rising from his laptop to hold out his hands towards the middle in disbelief.

The next crucial intervention was Parry's. Simmons, as he had on Friday, had played judiciously and when he struck Parry over long-on for six, the stakes were ramped up. Parry held his nerve, the next ball was a touch shorter, and Simmons' half-hearted attempt at a repeat fell to Ben Stokes, the wider of two men in the deep. As West Indies fell away, Parry picked off Darren Sammy at short midwicket and had Sunil Narine stumped, this time a fail-safe affair from Buttler.

Parry is very much a one-day specialist, having played only six first-class matches by the age of 28, although 11 wickets in eight List A matches last season was hardly justification of his selection which owed much to England's determination to use the entire tour, 50 and 20 overs alike, to discover a blend ahead of World Twenty20 in Bangladesh. But he acquitted himself well, showing none of the qualms suffered by another Lancashire slow left-armer, Simon Kerrigan, on his Test debut against Australia at The Oval last season.

The first half of the innings had less to commend it. For those who missed the first one-day international in Antigua, West Indies and England made a decent effort at staging a repeat. 

England again managed four wickets by halfway on a turgid pitch, West Indies' top order played with a bit more energy, but effectively the outcome was the same: a collection of spin bowlers drawing suspicion from West Indies' batsmen as they wheeled away to good effect.

Any England fans wandering in belatedly from a beach bar would not have been overly concerned at missing the sight of Joe Root, Moeen Ali and James Tredwell appearing as a trio of offspinners by the 11th over, although they would have been diverted by the unusual sight of Tredwell operating to two leg slips in an ODI, and they would have wanted to be settled in by the time that Parry sent down his first over in international cricket.

A scoreboard showing 30 for 3 in the ninth over again gave early control to England. Two lacklustre chips by Dwayne Smith, Root picking him up at short midwicket, and Kieron Powell, knocking a return catch to Moeen, were offerings gladly accepted, but Root's dismissal of Kirk Edwards owed much to a fast catch by Tredwell at slip as the batsman tried to force through the offside.

What rare moments of release there were came against Tredwell, with Simmons twice cracking him through the covers and Darren Bravo hoisting Tim Bresnan straight for six. But England's control was reasserted when Stuart Broad angled one in at Bravo from around the wicket and he dragged on an attempted cut shot.

But Dwayne Bravo, West Indies' matchwinner in the opening ODI, discovered that a fast bowler worth his salt can be a dangerous proposition on the slowest of surfaces. Broad dug in a bouncer when Bravo had made only a single and Bravo, turning his head away and taking the blow on a combination of helmet and neck, needed treatment before he could resume.

West Indies also turned to a slow left-armer, in their case the Jamaican Nikita Miller, on a reused surface, on which England's captain, Broad, rightly reckoned had gone from "tacky" to "a bit more tacky." It made for some disengaging cricket, the sort of match that needs artificially awakening by Powerplays and slogs at the death. The Caribbean needs some pace in its pitches.

There was heartening news for England in the improving fitness of both Eoin Morgan and Alex Hales. Broad did not entirely rule out the possibility that one or more of them might take part in the final ODI in Antigua on Wednesday. "Good news maybe for Wednesday, certainly for Barbados," he said. 

25 overs West Indies 85 for 4 (Simmons 36*, DJ Bravo 2*) v England 

For those who missed the first one-day international in Antigua, West Indies and England made a decent effort at staging a repeat. England again managed four wickets by halfway on a turgid pitch, West Indies' top order played with a bit more energy, but effectively the outcome was the same: a collection of spin bowlers, a somewhat motley collection some might say, drawing suspicion from West Indies' batsmen as they wheeled away to good effect.

Friday: 73 for 4; Sunday 85 for 4. Pitch: flat; weather: sunny; bowlers: predominantly slow and not all that celebrated. If you must have Groundhog Day then at least setting it on the holiday island of Antigua must have been rich consolation for those present.

Any England fans wandering in belatedly from a beach bar would not have been overly concerned at missing the sight of Joe Root, Moeen Ali and James Tredwell appearing as a trio of offspinners by the 11th over, although they would have wanted to be settled in by the time that Stephen Parry, Lancashire's one-day specialist, sent down his first over of left-arm spin.

Parry is very much a one-day specialist, having played only six first-class matches by the age of 28, although 11 wickets in eight List A matches last season was hardly justification of his selection which owed much to England's determination to use the entire tour, 50 and 20 overs alike, to discover a blend ahead of World Twenty20 in Bangladesh. Five overs, unrewarded, for 13 was a solid start - free from the qualms suffered by another Lancashire slow left-armer, Simon Kerrigan, on his Test debut against Australia at The Oval last season.

West Indies would take the three-match series with victory here, following their 15-run win in the opening match on this ground on Friday. A scoreboard showing 30 for 3 in the ninth over again gave early control to England. Two lacklustre chips by Dwayne Smith, Root picking him up at short midwicket, and Kieron Powell, knocking a return catch to Moeen, were offerings gladly accepted, but Root's dismissal of Kirk Edwards owed much to a fast catch by Tredwell at slip as the batsman tried to force through the offside.

Tredwell bowling to two leg slips and 18 overs of spin by the 25th over was certainly a different mood of cricket for those raised on the fearsome West Indies fast-bowling battery in the 1980s.

What rare moments of release there were came against Tredwell, with Lendl Simmons twice cracking him through the covers and Darren Bravo hoisting him straight for six. But England's control was reasserted when Stuart Broad angled one in at Bravo from around the wicket and he dragged on an attempted cut shot.

Dwayne Bravo, West Indies' matchwinner in the opening ODI, discovered, though, that a fast bowler worth his salt can be a dangerous proposition on the slowest of surfaces. Broad dug in a bouncer when Bravo had made only a single and Bravo, turning his head away, and taking the blow on a combination of helmet and neck, needed treatment before he could resume.

West Indies also turned to a slow left-armer, in their case the Jamaican Nikita Miller, on a reused surface, on which England's captain, Broad, rightly reckoned had gone from "tacky" to "a bit more tacky." It made for some unengrossing cricket, the sort of match that needs artificially awakening by Powerplays and slogs at the death. The Caribbean needs some pace in its pitches.

There was heartening news for England in the improving fitness of both Eoin Morgan and Alex Hales. Broad did not entirely rule out the possibility that one or more of them might take part in the final ODI in Antigua on Wednesday. "Good news maybe for Wednesday, certainly for Barbados," he said. 

FOW: Smith c Wright b Root 5 (WI 10-1)
And Root strikes as Smith leans forward and chips a catch to Luke Wright at short mid-wicket.

WICKET - Powell c & b Moeen 16 (WI 30-2)

Powell comes down the pitch to Moeen and drills a single to Bresnan who's now down at long-off, after dropping that catch at leg slip. Edwards guides a two off his legs as debutant Parry gives chase, then tips-and-runs a quick single to mid-off. The Windies pair are trying not to get bogged down against the two off-spinners, adding two more singles - but Powell, trying to force the pace, gives up a return catch to the delighted Moeen.

WICKET - Edwards c Tredwell b Root 9 (WI 30-3) 

Darren Bravo is the new batsman, he looks on as Edwards nibbles at Root and edges a catch to James Tredwell who takes it brilliantly one-handed at slip!

This match is starting to mirror the first ODI, when West Indies slipped to 40-3 and then 45-4, although it all went wrong for England after that...

WICKET - DM Bravo b Broad 13 (WI 81-4)

After a single from Simmons, Broad digs it in short, Bravo pulls and the ball top-edges between the bowler and mid-on when it could have gone anywhere. But Broad has his revenge when Bravo chops the ball onto his off stump while attempting a cut shot.

WICKET - DJ Bravo st Buttler b Tredwell 20 (WI 133-5)

Ooh, this could be tight. Keeper Jos Buttler's body language isn't confident. He didn't take the ball cleanly down the leg side, Bravo was well out of his ground but the slow-motion replay shows the ball may have slipped out of Buttler's grasp by the time he broke the stumps. But did the ball break the stumps, or the gloves? It's not clear to me. Umpteen replays later, the verdict is.. out!

WICKET - Simmons c Stokes b Parry 70 (WI 145-6)

Chris Jordan is on as a substitute fielder, we're not sure who's gone off. Simmons tucks into Parry, getting down on one knee launching a massive six over long-on and into the scoreboard. But attempting the same shot, he holes out to Stokes at cow corner to bring young Parry his first international wicket.

WICKET - Ramdin b Bresnan 5 (WI 151-7)

With the powerplay concluded, Broad is replaced by Bresnan who has only bowled three overs so far. (With so many bowling options, I'm sure questions will be asked if whether England could omit one of the all-rounders in favour of a specialist batsman). Big Tim is right on the money as Ramdin is foxed by a straight ball which jags in a little, tries a cut shot and is bowled.

WICKET - Sammy c Broad b Parry 3 (WI 151-8)

Sammy tries to power Parry through the leg side and is caught - at the second or third attempt - by Broad at wide mid-on. Big wicket for England, we know how dangerous Sammy can be in the last 10.

WICKET - Narine st Buttler b Parry 4 (WI 155-9)

With only two batsmen left, the slight figure of Sunil Narine is preferred at number 10 to the burly figure of Ravi Rampaul. Narine's a left-hander - so as Tony Cozier notes on TMS, we have a left-arm spinner who bats right-handed (Miller) in with a right-arm spinner who bats left-handed (Narine). Narine skips down the track to Parry and cleanly strikes him for four over mid-off's head. But trying to heave over mid-wicket, he's stumped.


WICKET - Rampaul c Lumb b Tredwell 1 (WI 159 all out)

Rampaul tries to lift Tredwell over the top and holes out at long-on - West Indies are all out with 5.4 overs to spare.