Phil Salt posts 109 and Harry Brook hits an astonishing 31 runs from seven balls as England beat West Indies by seven wickets in an enthralling third T20 international.
Whether the scoring has been high or low, West Indies have been outclassing England on their home turf for a number of weeks, and it appeared that would again occur on Saturday.
After making a massive 222-6 from their 20 overs, the hosts were able to keep England under wraps until Salt and Brook each let loose during the closing overs.
While Salt scored a sensational unbeaten 109 from 56 balls from the top of the order, Brook hit four sixes off seven balls during a tense conclusion to edge England over the line with a ball to spare.
Like in the second fixture earlier this week, England made early inroads, reducing West Indies to 8-2, but it only added more explosiveness from the remainder of the batting lineup.
Shai Hope (26), Rovman Powell (39) and Sherfane Rutherford (29) all had strike-rates of in excess of 136, yet it was Nicholas Pooran who did the most damage with 82 from 46 balls, a knock that featured six maximums.
🏏💥 @WindiesCricket have hit 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘀𝗶𝘅𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗿𝘀!
— Cricket on TNT Sports (@cricketontnt) December 16, 2023
And the highest T20i score at this venue...
England will require 2⃣2⃣3⃣ to stay in this series.#WIvENG pic.twitter.com/UGnkr0j01P
Adil Rashid (2-32) and Sam Curran (2-34) both made notable contributions with the ball, but England faced an uphill task if they were to remain competitive in the series.
To their credit, Salt and Jos Buttler were outstanding at the top of the order, with the latter making 51 from 34 deliveries before Will Jacks took six balls to make just one run.
Liam Livingstone made a helpful 30 from 18 to retain hope for his side, even if they required 37 from 13 balls when he was dismissed.
However, that set the scene for Salt and Brook to put together 50-ball partnership in just two overs, an astonishing feat as Salt recorded his first T20 international century and Brook produced one of the most notable seven-ball knocks in the history of international cricket to get England back to trailing 2-1 in the five-match series.
