Audacious Banton turns tables on West Indies to seal series for England

The drought continues for the West Indies men. A total of 196 looked serious enough to end a sequence of nine consecutive away defeats against England, a run going back to the bio-bubble Test series of 2020. With the hosts requiring 71 off 39 balls, Jos Buttler and Harry Brook gone, the game looked up. Then came Tom Banton, a first-ball six and a change of tune, the final summary a four-wicket victory to secure an unassailable 2-0 lead in the Twenty20 international series.

The Somerset right-hander is usually a top-order man but was dominant in the middle alongside Jacob Bethell as the pair put on 43 off just 15. Banton pummelled Gudakesh Motie’s left-arm spin while Bethell struck Alzarri Joseph for three monstrous sixes. The left-hander’s failed ramp on 26 mattered little as Banton remained, his own audacity including a reverse-flick for four off Jason Holder. He finished on 30 off just 11, steel to go with the tricks, nine balls left to spare.

A golden glow over Bristol turned grey just before the start of play, a breeze for Luke Wood to embrace, the left-arm quick bowling in his first England appearance since September 2023. He was appealing within seconds, the first ball of the match a swinging toe-bruiser that trapped Evin Lewis in front.

Wood’s first couple of overs cost just four, but there was less comfort for England from the other end. Brook opted for just two seamers in his lineup, a repeat of the template used in the Durham series opener. But this was a bold call on a smaller ground as Liam Dawson’s first two overs went for 20, the amount he had conceded across four in his comeback game.

Shai Hope, like Brook, is a newly appointed captain trying to state his own authority. The No 3 was tough on Brydon Carse, thumping sixes over long-off as he advanced rapidly to 49, only to be undone by Adil Rashid’s old-world mastery. The tossed-up leg-break drifted into the right-hander, the sharp turn away followed by an even sharper stumping by Jos Buttler. Rashid puckered his lips, a quiet acknowledgement of his own brilliance.

Brawn lies across this entire West Indies lineup, even in the absence of Nicholas Pooran, one of the best in the world but rested for this series after playing at the Indian Premier League (an apt summary of the sport’s power balance). While Sherfane Rutherford perished quickly and Johnson Charles finished on 47 off 39 balls, Rovman Powell tucked into Dawson on his way to 34 off 15.

View image in fullscreen Rovman Powell hits out during a strong West Indies batting display. Photograph: Gareth Copley/Getty Images

Holder was even more brutal with a nine-ball 29. Rashid was entrusted with the penultimate over and the all-rounder began with three consecutive sixes, the final blow caught by the diving Banton but beyond the long-on rope. A single brought some quiet but Romario Shepherd marmalised a couple down the ground to make it a 31-run over. A first-ball six by Roston Chase closed the late show.

Holder’s damage continued with the ball as Jamie Smith skied him to mid-off for four, but that only granted Buttler more time to settle. The former England captain repeated the blows of his 96 two days previous, embracing the straight hits as he put on 63 with Ben Duckett inside seven overs.

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Buttler should have perished on 43 to Joseph, but Charles mis-juggled in the deep. Another misfield from Charles minutes later added to his misery but redemption followed in the next over. Akeal Hosein, who landed in the morning after visa troubles had delayed his arrival, had Buttler caught by Charles at deep third for 47.

Brook could not carry much forward, dismissed by Chase for the second consecutive game in a row, the equation leaning towards the visitors. But Banton, who ventured out to the middle and immediately swept the off-spinner for six, was not having it.

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