by Liam Livingstone lamented the significance of the toss after England slumped to a fifth consecutive series defeat in the Caribbean as West Indies cruised to an eight-wicket triumph in the ODI decider.
After Livingstone called incorrectly in Barbados, England stumbled to 24 for four on an initially difficult-to-hit pitch, offering tennis-ball bounce and lateral movement to the Windies seamers.
England recovered to 263 for eight but batting conditions improved considerably as the reply began under lights, with the tourists having to contend with evening dew as Brandon King and Keacy Carty put on centuries to bring the Windies home and were doused with seven overs to spare. .
As the hosts celebrated a 2-1 victory, England stand-in captain Livingstone pointed out that the team that won the toss had won the match every time, with the team that had to bat in first in two ODIs in Antigua and one here in a match. obvious disadvantage.
“The conditions were not very favorable to the team playing second,” he said. “It’s not an excuse, we didn’t get enough points, but at the end of the day, if we had had 350, I don’t think it would have mattered.
“The pitch went from so slow at the start to absolutely soggy at the end. Both balls were soaked, we changed them halfway through and they were also soaked in record time.
“I’ve played a lot of cricket around the world and I don’t think I’ve ever played in a match where the conditions changed so much from one innings to the next.
“It’s no surprise that the team that managed two draws in the series won. At this time of year it is quite difficult to beat first and defend a score.
Will Jacks and Livingstone, fresh from their match-winning 124 and not out in Antigua this weekend, were both caught behind attacks aiming for deliveries that went a fraction wide and took the upper hand.
There was little Jordan Cox could do after giving a glove to a crude weightlifter from Alzarri Joseph, while Jordan Bethell was well caught by Roston Chase as England went four points ahead on the power play.
Phil Salt struck against type as he curbed his attacking instincts to record a 74 from 108 balls while Dan Mousley collected his first international fifty with 57 from 70 deliveries.
Jamie Overton, with 32 off 21, and Jofra Archer, 38 not out from 17 balls, made explosive appearances at the back, but England’s bowlers were largely ineffective and put to the sword by King and Carty.
England lost both white-ball series last year, as well as the Tests and T20s in 2022, while it was a 13th setback in 20 ODIs for a team that gave a chance to youth and inexperience during this visit.
“We are disappointed,” Livingstone said. “We have a lot of young boys on this trip who have hopefully learned a lot about international cricket. Hopefully this will be very useful to us.
“I feel like we’ve taken another step forward in the way we want to play cricket and we’ve got a lot of people coming back to this team in the future.”
Livingstone was initially dropped ahead of an ODI series against Australia in September, only to be recalled and he has since breathed new life into his 50-plus career with some stunning knocks.
“I think (his ODI career) was pretty much dead three months ago,” added the 31-year-old. “I’m enjoying my cricket, I feel like I’m playing really well with the bat. That’s all I can do.
“I am now at an age where I no longer control my career. If I am selected to play I will do my best to try and win games for England. If I’m not selected, I won’t be selected. I have proven in the last two series that I am good enough to be part of this team.
