A spectacular maiden one-day international century from stand-in captain Liam Livingstone helped England defeat West Indies by five wickets and take the three-match series to a decider.
Chasing a formidable 329 to win in Antigua, Livingstone’s 124 from 85 balls saw the tourists home with 15 balls to spare.
Phil Salt and Jacob Bethell had hit half-centuries before the captain and Sam Curran’s resilient fifth-wicket partnership left England needing 100 runs from the last 10 overs.
Livingstone brought up his fifty in 60 balls before accelerating to bring up three figures just 17 balls later.
Earlier, Windies captain Shai Hope had scored 117 from 127 balls to help the hosts rebuild after losing both openers early.
Hope was ably supported by Keacy Carty (71) and Sherfane Rutherford (54).
It means the series will be decided in the third and final ODI in Barbados on Wednesday.
England skipper leads from the front
Questions would have been asked of Livingstone if England had lost a second game in a row under his captaincy.
The stand-in skipper used nine bowlers in the West Indies innings without managing to stem the flow of runs and, perhaps surprisingly, failed to use the full 10 overs from his most experienced fast bowler, Jofra Archer.
But he more than made up for it with the bat as his unbeaten 124 from 85 balls guided England to an improbable win.
Livingstone joined Bethell in the middle with his side 107-3 in the 21st over. When his young batting partner departed for 55, the Lancashire all-rounder took full control.
Soon after reaching his half-century, he hit three consecutive sixes off Gudakesh Motie.
Livingstone only need 17 balls more to complete his century, with Curran fitting nicely into his slipstream with a run-a-ball 52.
After Curran departed in the 46th over, the 31-year-old hit debutant Shamar Joseph for three sixes and a four in the following over to ease any nerves in a young side which had lost 12 of their previous 18 matches in this format.
Hope’s dazzling century not enough
It was a masterful captain’s innings from Hope that put the Windies in a commanding position at the halfway stage, despite losing the toss.
Coming in after John Turner sent back the West Indies openers, the Barbadian oversaw a rebuilding job with Carty which swung the momentum firmly back in the host’s favour.
Despite a wicket offering movement for the bowlers and a slow outfield, Hope made a blistering start, hitting Turner and Adil Rashid for sixes early on before exercising restraint to keep the scoreboard ticking.
While Carty was dropped twice, Hope offered just one chance for England on 60 when he nicked Bethell, only for wicketkeeper Salt to drop it.
After the early fireworks, he next took the aerial route in the 23rd over to bring up his half-century from 66 balls and his team’s 100, sending Bethell over the mid-wicket boundary.
The 30-year-old targeted the England spinners and brought up his 17th ODI ton in 118 balls while Rutherford added a rapid 54 from 36 balls to build on his captain’s innings.
But Livingstone eclipsed Hope’s effort to lead England to a victory that sets up an intriguing decider. (BBC)
