West Indies v England – 4th T20I as it happened – Record-breaking England level series in Trinidad and Tobago run-fest – MyCyberBase

So this incredible series is heading to a decider, back at this same ground on Thursday.

TNT Sports customers who want to stream that match, as well as live sport content such as the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, Premiership Rugby, MotoGP, UFC, Boxing and WWE, are encouraged to download the discovery+ app at the earliest opportunity. 

England produced their highest ever total in men’s T20 Internationals to set up a 75-run win over West Indies and level the five-match series at 2-2 with one to play.

Phil Salt’s second century in as many matches saw him register the highest score by an England man in the format, hitting 119 from just 57 balls to set up England’s huge total of 267-3 in 20 overs.

And both Jos Buttler (55 from 29) and Liam Livingstone (54 from 21) also hit half-centuries after England had been put in to bat at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Trinidad, with Will Jacks actually the quickest scoring of England’s batters with his explosive 24 from nine balls.

There were 19 sixes in England’s remarkable innings, but West Indies hammered 14 of their own in an impressive attempt at overhauling the enormous total, having lost a wicket to the very first ball of the chase when Moeen Ali had Brandon King caught at short third.

West Indies went for an all-out attacking approach, but wickets fell all-too-regularly, as they were bowled out for 192 with four and a half overs of the innings still remaining.

Andre Russell was the pick of the West Indies batters with 51 from 26 balls, while all six England bowlers took wickets. Adil Rashid’s 1-35 from four overs stood out on a night where the rest of the attack all went at more than ten-an-over. Reece Topley’s 3-37 from 3.3 were the best figures of the night.

Russell looks resigned to the defeat, but he is having fun out there anyway

It’s all over in Trinidad as England wrap up a 75-run win in this extraordinary game.

Andre Russell starts a Reece Topley over with ten runs from the first two balls, smashing an enormous six down the ground and following it up with a four to the long-off boundary that brings up his half century from just 24 deliveries.

But Topley gets the final wicket of the night as a slower ball is sent high and not long enough, with Brook taking the catch.

West Indies are bowled out for 192, still 75 short in this incredible run-fest.

Russell’s power is ridiculous, and he shows why he’s one of the most feared hitters in the game with two massive sixes off Rashid.

The first is huge, flying into the stands over midwicket. And the second isn’t even out of the middle but still flies comfortably over long-on.

He’ll keep the strike too.

Russell looks resigned to the defeat, but he is having fun out there anyway, starting a Topley over with a flicked through square leg for four.

But Topley gets Matthew Forde caught at cover by Buttler for 3 from 5 balls and England are closing in on victory in this Trinidad run-fest.

West Indies have really had a go at chasing down this mammoth target. But it was two wickets in two balls for Rehan Ahmed that snuffed out what realistic hope they had left.

The balance of England’s team tonight meant that Curran was always likely to be used primarily at the back end, and he comes back into the attack with the potential to bowl through from here. It’s an odd sort of scenario for him, but a chance to practice his death-bowling skills in the face of uber-attacking batting at least.

He’s slammed for four by Akeal Hosein off the second ball, but gets his man next up with a slower-ball bouncer, as Hosein mistimes a swipe into the leg side and his caught by Moeen for 15 from 11 balls. A rueful smile from Curran suggests maybe he got away with a delivery that didn’t quite come out right there.

Russell survives a run-out scare late in the over, and Moeen does well on the fence to save a boundary off the last ball as the over goes for nine runs – a decent showing from the bowler.

Rashid has lost his control temporarily. A leg-side delivery beats Salt and runs away for three wides, and another poorly-directed effort is missed again by England’s stand-in keeper, running away for five wides.

Some great fielding in the deep from Brook stops a boundary off the last ball of the over as Hosein’s drive down the ground yields two runs.

Russell lines up Rehan, who’s on a hat-trick don’t forget, and muscles him for a driven six.

A powerful cut means ten runs have come off the first two balls of the over, but the youngster responds well, going for just 13 in total from the over.

Rashid is hit for his first boundary off the final ball of his second over, as Hosein picks one up and launches it high into the night sky. It just has enough to beat a diving Jacks on the rope.

West Indies have gone down swinging here, smashing 129 from the first ten overs as the teams take drinks. But the home side need even more from the remaining ten overs if they are to win this game, 139 required to be precise, and have just three wickets left. It’s not going to happen from here.

England’s strategy in these middle overs is pretty consistent and they continue with spin from both ends. Rehan is dispatched for sixes by both Russell and Rutherford, each finding the crowd over deep midwicket.

But one of Rehan’s many strengths as a young leg-spinner is his confidence, and he sticks to the plan and picks up two wickets in two balls at the end of the over that effectively ends whatever faint chance the West Indies had of pulling off a miracle in Trinidad.

Sherfane Rutherford is hit straight in-front and doesn’t overturn the decision on appeal, departing for 36 from 15 balls.

And Jason Holder goes for a first ball 0, picking out Jacks in the deep.

England turn to their main man with the ball and he starts with the sort of over that will snuff out West Indies’ chances extremely quickly if he can repeat it.

Just four runs, including two byes, come from the over, and he picks up the key wicket of Powell too with a gem.

The batter played for the googly but had picked it wrong and was left helpless as the ball knocked back his off stump. Powell goes for 4 from 6.

Rehan Ahmed is into the attack and should have a wicket first up as a miscue somehow falls between three fielders.

Three consecutive fours from Rutherford brings up the hundred for West Indies in just the seventh over – a remarkable effort, as the leggie’s first over goes for 15.

West Indies have only ever reached three figures quicker in this format – against Sri Lanka in 2021.

Don’t forget that you can watch this chase live on TNT Sports right now.

West Indies are giving this their best shot, out-scoring England in the powerplay as they hunt down England’s record total.

But it’s the wickets that are going to hurt the home side, and Woakes removes Hope for 16 from 8 as a top edge is caught by Salt with the gloves.

13 runs come off the over though as the runs keep on coming in this crazy game.

The ball is flying to all parts and in this sort of situation a captain has to shuffle his pack. Buttler, who isn’t keeping wicket today for England, with Salt taking the gloves instead, has a chat to Curran ahead of his first over of the game. But England take too long to get into position and are warned for exceeding the stop clock. The new rules state that further warnings would yield run penalties.

Pooran is furious about something as play resumes. Absolutely furious. And a ticking Pooran sends Curran’s first ball soaring into the night sky. It’s a massive hit, but has more elevation than distance and is brilliantly caught by Brook as he runs in to take a diving catch.

Pooran departs for 39 from 15 balls and has some heated words to say as he leaves the middle.

Rutherford is the new batter in and starts with a four, cutting away a one-handed four before getting off strike with his second ball. Hope gets in on the act as Curran misses his length, slamming a four through point.

There’s nearly a run-out next ball as terrific fielding from Moeen allows Livingstone a chance to shy at the stumps, where Rutherford would have been short of his ground.

But the batter made it and finishes the over with a monster of a six that soars over the long-off boundary rope.

Hope gets in on the six-hitting act as he launches Topley back over his head for a lovely six down the ground. He’s kind of an anchor-style player usually in this format, is Hope, but he’ll need to be a fast-scoring anchor tonight.

Some great fielding in the deep from Brook denies West Indies a four later in the over. We didn’t see much of that in the first innings, although in fairness, more often than not the ball was flying over the heads of the fielders on the rope.

A misfield allows Pooran a single to keep the strike after an over that yielded just ten runs.

Pooran is such a wonderful player to watch when he’s in full flow, and he makes Woakes pay at the end of an over that started with three consecutive dot balls.

An edge past the keeper runs away for four before consecutive sixes are dispatched over long-on.

You’re reading that correctly, West Indies require 268 to win after England’s record-breaking efforts earlier in the match.

Remarkably they’re actually ahead of the required rate after two overs, but the home side need everything to go their way from here, particularly with two wickets already down.

It’s all going on in Trinidad.

Topley is into the attack and is brutalised by Mayers for back-to-back boundaries, the first helped into the leg side for four and the second creamed brilliantly over extra cover for a massive six.

But West Indies can’t afford to do anything but attack here, and one more swipe goes high into the air and his held, after a juggle, but Woakes.

Mayers goes for 12 off 5 and England have two wickets already.

For the third match in succession it’s Moeen Ali who takes the first over in the powerplay for England, but this time he doesn’t manage to get through a cheap one first up.

West Indies need everything to go right if they’re to chase this down, and a wicket off the first ball was not in the plan!

Moeen gets one to bounce slightly more than King expects and he top-edges an attempted cut straight to Topley, who was stood at short third for exactly that sort of chance.

But that’s as good as the over gets for England. Pooran is in at three and goes big, just as he has to do. A reverse sweep off his second ball runs away for four, and he repeats the effort for another boundary next up, sending it arrowing close to but past the ring-field.

And Pooran finishes the over spectacularly with back-to-back sixes, heaving both into the leg side.

Here’s how TNT Sports pundit Steven Finn reacted to what we’ve just seen:

“It was carnage. They’ve taken it to the next level today, 267 is a ridiculous score.

“They continued hitting sixes – we mentioned before about the power that you need in T20 games to reach a competitive total.

“Phil Salt right from the off took the attack to the West Indies. He gave himself a little bit of a chance to read the pitch, and then as soon as he was in his flow nothing was stopping him.

That was extraordinary from England: Their highest ever team total with 267-3 and the highest individual score in Phil Salt’s 119.

The innings featured 19 sixes in one of the most brutal displays of power-hitting we’ve seen in the format.

It’s over to you West Indies – how on earth do you follow that?!

It has been the Phil Salt show in Trinidad as he hit the highest score ever by an England man in T20 Internationals.

Watch as Salt slammed three sixes in a row in a knock that featured ten maximums:

And here’s how he brought up his second century in as many matches:

The West Indies have done well to restrict the damage at the back end, which sounds ridiculous with a total this huge, but is still true.

Holder’s final over goes for 17 – a reasonable effort in the circumstances.

However, Livingstone still finds the boundary three times in the over – a four through extra cover off the first delivery, a swipe into the leg side for his second, and an outside edge that runs to the rope to finish the innings.

It’s a half-century for Livingstone, 55 from 21, and England finish on 267-3 – their highest score in this format.

Russell starts with an attempted yorker that flies down the leg side and away for five wides. That takes England past their previous highest ever total in a men’s T20 International and there’s still 12 deliveries to come.

But Phil Salt’s magnificent innings comes to an end as he looks to turn away another huge six into the leg side as he’s cleaned up by a well-directed yorker. Salt goes for 119 from 57 – the highest individual score ever by an England man in T20Is.

Brook is the new batter, but Russell finishes the over well.

Livingstone in this sort of situation is always going to swing hard. In fact he’s going to swing hard pretty much regardless of the situation, but here he has complete carte blanche and he takes full advantage.

He starts with a massive swing that goes almost as high as it does long, soaring back over Forde’s head, and sends a tempting off-cutter booming over midwicket next up. The third six in a row is the best of the lot, cut away for six with ridiculous timing.

Forde comes back really well in the over, finishing with three balls for just one as he shows great spirit.

It says a lot when a 14-run over is one of the better one’s we’ve seen today for West Indies.

Motie reduces the damage with some good variations, but Salt book-ends the over with boundaries, starting with a four down to third man and finishing with a massive six off a bumper.

Livingstone gets in on the act. It’s not as fluent as what we’ve seen from the batters before him, but the all-rounder keeps the runs coming.

His first is turned away behind point for four. And a huge swish gets a top edge that flies away for six off a disgruntled Holder to bring up the highest total seen at this venue.

Salt continues the over’s damage with a brutal six down the ground, latching onto a slower ball and crunching it over the head of the man on the fence.

That brings up the 200 for England, with four overs still to play.

Consecutive T20I centuries for Phil Salt!

What are remarkable performance from the England opener, who starts Motie’s over with a four through midwicket and brings up his hundred with a single at the back-end of the over, reaching his ton off just 48 deliveries.

That is a brilliant knock from Salt and he’s still out there looking to inflict damage.

That’s the best over of the match so far for West Indies.

Just three runs come from it and Jacks departs, trapped in-front for 24 from just nine deliveries. He reviews but that was plumb.

Livingstone is in at four, which won’t stop the attacking intent.

England have been brutal today, and it was Jos Buttler who helped start the rain of sixes in Trinidad.

Here’s how England’s captain brought up his half-century earlier in his excellent 29-ball 55.

Russell starts an over well as West Indies try and stem the flow of runs, but the sixes keep on coming.

Salt spots a slower ball and heaves a maximum into the leg side, and Jacks finishes the over in style with a glorious drive that soars into the stands. The partnership is worth 55 from just 19 deliveries.

Jacks is firing now too. A misfield earns the England number three a boundary off a reverse sweep, and he compounds the error with a perfectly-timed lofted reverse off the next ball that flies all the way.

16 runs come off the over in all as England’s attacking momentum continues.

Rutherford is into the attack with his medium pacers, and the eyes of the England batters light up.

Salt is on for history as the first three balls of the over all disappear into the stands – the first into the leg side, the second heaved over midwicket and the third hacked a long a way by the opener.

He misses out on the chance of something extraordinary as he miscues the fourth delivery for a single, but Jacks keeps up the scoring momentum as he smashes a cut shot away for four.

Finally the breakthrough for West Indies as Buttler’s brilliant innings comes to an end.

It’s Holder who gets the wicket after an over packed full of variations, with Buttler through his shot far too early to sky one to long on, departing for 55 from 29 balls.

The players take drinks before Will Jacks takes strike at number three and starts with a hard-run two.

The 100 is up off just 53 deliveries

Motie’s over is extremely expensive, with England banging three sixes in the over.

Salt smashes one into the leg side to start things off powerfully, and it’s Buttler who finishes the over in style with two glorious driven maximums, the first over extra-cover and the second over long-on.

That’s a half-century for Buttler too, coming off 26 balls.

Phil Salt is in serious form. The opener brings up his half-century off just 23 balls, starting a Russell over with consecutive fours, bringing up his landmark with a superb late cut.

With so much batting to come, England are on course for a mammoth score here.

Still the runs keep coming. Motie joins the attack and is taken for two fours in the over by Buttler, very nearly getting the England man though with some impressive turn that will have the England spinners interested.

West Indies turn to Holder to try and change the momentum at the end of the powerplay. It’s a good over that ends on a high for England as Salt shows off his form with a special drive that he hits on the rise and sends over the ring-field and away for four.

That’s the end of the initial fielding restrictions, and England are well-placed for a big score.

England are rollicking along here. Forde returns to the attack and is brutalised by the England openers.

Buttler gets the first boundary of the over, clipping a leg-side delivery away for four.

And Salt turns on the power later in the over, swinging one away to the leg side for four before finishing the over with back-to-back sixes. The first his hooked away, and the second soars through the Trinidad sky back over the bowler’s head.

It’s a huge over for England.

Hosein continues and is given the Buttler treatment. A mishit four just about finds a gap in the covers, narrowly evading the hands of Powell and running away for four.

But the last two shots in the over are pure class, a dismissive reverse-sweep for six and a classy sweep to the rope.

There’s some cloud cover and Mayers is given a bowl with the hope of extracting some movement.

He almost gets Buttler with a caught and bowled chance, stretching out an arm and getting fingertips to a return effort.

And the England captain responds with a glorious lofted drive the next ball.

It’s spin in the Powerplay as Hosein takes the second over, and it’s an excellent one too.

Just the two singles come off it as England see off the main spinning threat.

Forde, who’s into the side for West Indies, gets things underway with the ball.

He makes a strong start, but Phil Salt sizes him up, opens up his stance, and blasts a lofted drive for six, following it up with a cover drive all along the floor to finish the over with back-to-back boundaries.

Rehan Ahmed is back into the team along with Chris Woakes, strengthening the batting line-up and giving England another high-quality spin option. It does mean that the options at the death are slightly more limited, putting a lot of pressure on Sam Curran in particular.

There’s also an interesting switch, as England opt to try out Phil Salt as wicketkeeper, testing out options ahead of the World Cup next summer.

England all-rounder Liam Livingstone has been chatting about what really matters in T20 cricket.

The big-hitting batter bashed 30 from 18 in England’s victory in the last T20, and has reiterated his view that strike rate is king in the format.

“Milestones are actually pretty meaningless in T20 cricket,” he said. “It’s all about how you can affect the game and how you can win games.

“I couldn’t tell you how many fifties or hundreds I score any more. It’s all about how many games that you can impact and winning games for your team.

“I’d much rather get 30 off 18 balls than 50 off 40 balls. Your strike-rate is something that you pride yourself on.”

West Indies: 1 Brandon King, 2 Johnson Charles, 3 Shai Hope, 4 Nicholas Pooran (wk), 5 Rovman Powell (capt), 6 Sherfane Rutherford, 7 Andre Russell, 8 Jason Holder, 9 Matthew Forde, 10 Akeal Hosein, 11 Gudakesh Motie

England: 1 Jos Buttler (capt), 2 Phil Salt (wk), 3 Will Jacks, 4 Liam Livingstone, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Moeen Ali, 7 Sam Curran, 8 Chris Woakes, 9 Rehan Ahmed, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 Reece Topley.

The stage is set in Trinidad. Who’s ready?

The home side win the toss and opt to bowl first, with captain Rovman Powell eyeing a track that is typically good for batting and well-suited to a chase.

TNT Sports customers who want to stream live sport content, including this series, the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, Premiership Rugby, MotoGP, UFC, Boxing and WWE, are encouraged to download the discovery+ app at the earliest opportunity. 

The toss is still a few minutes away in Trinidad so that gives us a bit of time to cast our eyes across at the IPL Auction which was held earlier today and impacted quite a few of the players on show here.

For England, Harry Brook was picked up on a bit of a bargain deal by Delhi Capitals and can expect to be a first-team option, and Chris Woakes and Gus Atkinson were also both picked up.

But Adil Rashid missed out on a deal and so did Phil Salt, whose century efforts the other day didn’t persuade any teams to fork out for him.

It’s time for match number four in this superb T20I series as England look to continue their comeback and set it up for a decider on Thursday.

The two squads have travelled to Trinidad for these final two matches, where the impressive Brian Lara Cricket Academy will host two of the most explosive batting lineups in the game.

Harry Brook’s heroics in the very last over helped England sneak victory in the third T20I against the West Indies in Grenada.

After the Windies had set a strong 223 in their opening innings – Nicholas Pooran’s 82 was their highlight – it seemed as though the Three Lions would struggle to eclipse the tally.

Phil Salt racked up an impressive century after eight fours and four sixes in his personal innings, but his mastery with the bat would be overshadowed by Brook’s brilliance in the final two overs.

The 24-year-old smashed 31 off just seven balls, including a four and three sixes in the final over for victory.