Jos Buttler believes his inexperienced England side had a “good epiphany” after West Indies got into the picture in their T20 series by chasing 219 in St Lucia.
After taking an unassailable 3-0 lead on Thursday, England piled up 218 for five in the first of two dead rubbers thanks to Phil Salt’s 55 from 35 balls and Jacob Bethell’s 62 not out from 32 deliveries.
But Evin Lewis and Shai Hope made 136 in nine overs, which was all the more astonishing as the Windies pair claimed just five runs from the top two, with Saqib Mahmood even sending in a maiden.
With the openers and Nicholas Pooran dismissed in the space of three balls and England applying late pressure, the Windies cruised to a five-wicket victory with an over to spare.
Buttler praised the Windies after recording their most successful T20 chase in the Caribbean and the England white-ball captain hopes what happened will serve as a learning curve for his unfazed side.
“To get 219, whatever the conditions, the opposition has to play well,” Buttler said. “It’s credit to the West Indies, they did it. If we could have taken a wicket, the game might have been different.
“When you find yourself in conditions like these, it puts emphasis on your execution and your skill level. That’s what you expect against the best teams in international cricket: you get good surfaces and you have to compete on them.
“It opened our eyes to the standards we need to have for ourselves and the areas we need to improve.”
Bethell continued his eye-catching start to life as an England cricketer with a 22-ball fifty as the 21-year-old smashed five sixes, including three in a row off off-spinner Roston Chase, and four fours.
“He seems to have a good head on his shoulders, he seems very mature for 21, knows his game but he has so much room to improve and get better,” Buttler said.
“He’s just scratching the surface, so he’s definitely an exciting player for the future.”
Rehan Ahmed also impressed with the wickets of Lewis and Pooran, between Hope being run out, all in the space of three balls, while he then dismissed Shimron Hetmyer to finish with three for 43.
While Adil Rashid, England’s leading T20 wicket-taker, has been rested in the last two matches, Ahmed has been thrust into the role of the team’s opener and is rising to the challenge, according to Buttler.
“His greatest qualities are that he is confident, up for the challenge and always wants to rise to the challenge,” Buttler added. “He got us back in the game by being courageous, taking risks and using his variations.
“He did really well. It’s good to see him in the team without Adil and without being the main leg-spinner.
“Rash has been the most important member of our team, but we need to get people involved in some games. Not just for Rehan but for the rest of the bowling attack to feel what it’s like without Adil there.
“He’s always the guy you turn to and throw the ball to. Without him on the field, it gives other guys the opportunity to step into those scenarios.
There was a sense of end of term for the penultimate T20, but a sparse crowd was treated to an exhibition of big hits with 16 sixes apiece.
Seven of them came from Lewis alone in his 68 from 31 balls after Hope’s 54 from 24 deliveries started the Windies’ charge as they eclipsed their previous highest T20 run of 191 at home against the India in Jamaica seven years ago.
They did this by extending the trend of the team calling the toss correctly and winning the match to seven matches on this tour – three ODIs and four T20s.
“It’s one of the first times I’ve seen this in the Caribbean,” Windies captain Rovman Powell said. “It’s very difficult if that’s the case – it’s too biased to win the toss, win the match.”