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Jos Buttler shook off the ring rust with a blistering 83 off 45 balls as England moved into a 2-0 lead in their five-match T20 series against the West Indies in Barbados.
One day on from a golden duck in his first competitive innings since late June, England’s white-ball captain overcame a shaky start to underpin a successful chase of 159 and seal a seven-wicket victory.
Buttler belted six sixes and eight fours, putting on 129 in 72 deliveries alongside Will Jacks after Phil Salt, who registered a match-winning 103 not out 24 hours earlier, got a first-baller of his own.
The Windies lost what appeared another crucial toss and posted 158 for eight on a tricky pitch which seemed competitive at halfway as England undermined their cause with 29 extras – 19 of them wides.
Saqib Mahmood took another two wickets, taking his tally for the series to six, and Liam Livingstone and Dan Mousley took a couple of scalps, while Jofra Archer’s figures of 4-0-31-1 hardly reflect how well he bowled, especially in the powerplay, but the Windies finished strongly.
When Salt lashed to short cover from the first ball of the reply and Buttler bottom-edged his third delivery over his leg stump in an eventful first over from Akeal Hosein, England nerves were jangling.
Jacks edged just short of a lone slip, while a whip off his hip bounced in front of short fine leg, but he opened up the offside to take three fours in six deliveries and ease some of the building pressure.
Buttler, who has been sidelined for four months with a nagging calf injury, took his time to get settled with just three singles in his first 10 balls in his experimental position of number three.
But he flogged four fours and a straight six from his next half-a-dozen deliveries to ignite his charge before spinners Gudakesh Motie and Roston Chase went the distance to bring up a 32-ball fifty.
T20 debutant Terrance Hinds, standing in for the injured Andre Russell, saw his first over disappear for 15, while Buttler muscled two more sixes and a four off the shell-shocked Chase.
Jacks had been happy to play second fiddle to his skipper but departed for 38 off 29 balls after holing out off Romario Shepherd.
Buttler was in no mood to hang around but was put down at extra cover in the same over before thumping the very next delivery to long-on to give Shepherd a second wicket.
But Livingstone’s 23 not out off 11 balls made sure a dramatic collapse was not in the offing, the all-rounder bludgeoning Shepherd for four-four-six to seal victory for England in 14.5 overs.
Archer was earlier borderline unplayable, having been included at the expense of the injured Reece Topley in England’s only change, and brushed the glove of Evin Lewis with a vicious bouncer.
So effective was he that Buttler stationed himself at short leg and put in two slips, but one of them, Jamie Overton, could not cling on to a high chance when Archer found Chase’s edge.
Mahmood was more erratic with several wides as he looked to capitalise on the early movement, but he got his lines right to account for Brandon King before beating Chase’s inside edge to get an lbw verdict.
While the Windies swung freely on Saturday despite a cascade of wickets, a pitch offering assistance to seamers and spinners alike made them more circumspect this time, exemplified by Nicholas Pooran chewing up 23 balls for just 14 and Windies captain Rovman Powell contributing just 43 from 41 deliveries.
But after Powell was yorked as Mousley claimed his maiden international wicket, the Windies added 56 in the last 4.3 overs, which included a wicket-maiden for Adil Rashid.
Mousley was entrusted to bowl the last over despite Mahmood having one left and a full toss ended Shepherd’s cameo of 22 off 12 balls, but the Windies still finished strongly.
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