Shai Hope’s brilliant century propelled West Indies to a thrilling four-wicket victory over England in the first of three one-day internationals on Sunday at North Sound.
Set a target of 326, West Indies captain Hope anchored the response and then unleashed some savage hitting to guide his team home with seven balls remaining, finishing on 109 not out.
Hope hammered three sixes off Sam Curran’s penultimate over to reach three figures and secure victory.
It was the West Indies’ highest-ever ODI run chase against England, exceeding their previous best of 286 at Lord’s in 2004, and their second most against any opponent.
England was expecting to put their World Cup loss behind them, and when West Indies crumbled to 213-5 in the 38th over, they appeared to be in command.
But Hope, together with the explosive Romario Shepherd, turned the game on its head by putting up 89 runs in 51 balls for the sixth wicket.
Shepherd was ultimately out for 48 after hitting three sixes, but Hope was well and firmly in the groove by then.
The West Indies had earlier started brightly in their pursuit, with Alick Athanazen (66) and Brandon King (35) putting on a century for the first wicket, but England responded with Rehan Ahmed getting two wickets for 40 runs in 10 tight overs.
England’s bowlers performed a good job of holding the West Indies at bay, but Curran took a hammering, allowing 98 runs, the most ever for England in ODIs.
“I’ve played a lot of ODI cricket, always back myself to win in any position,” Hope was quoted as saying. “(Shepherd) was incredible, one of those guys you can rely on.” We won, and we want to finish the series on a strong note.”
England skipper Jos Buttler won the toss and chose to bat on a two-paced pitch, and openers Phil Salt and Will Jacks hammered 77 in 8.2 overs for the first wicket.
They did not fully capitalise on such a strong start, with a number of batsmen getting set but unable to score, with the exception of Harry Brook, who made 71.
Buttler was dismissed for three runs off 13 balls, while Zak Crawley was run out for 48.
Curran and Brydon Carse put up 66 for England’s eighth wicket as they passed the 300-run mark.
Gudakesh Motie was the standout of the West Indies bowling, taking two for 49, while Oshane Thomas and Shepherd also got two wickets on an encouraging day for the hosts.
There were some hopeful signs for England, but Buttler indicated they would need to learn some lessons.
“I thought it was a fantastic batting performance.” “I really liked the intention, and they set the tone at the top,” he added.
“Fantastic game, props to Shai and Romario, some fantastic sixes, and we’ll learn a lot.” Rehan bowled quite well, and there was much to be proud of.”
The next game is scheduled on Wednesday.