WI vs ENG: Hetmyer, Cottrell lead Windies' fight back to level series in 2nd ODI

Windies batting first posted 289 for six on the board. Opener Chris Gayle laid the foundation with a solid 50 off 63 balls. But, it was 22-year-old, Hetmyer, who played a flamboyant knock that included some powerful improvised strokes as well as sensible accumulation.

Barbados: Riding on Shimron Hetmyer's blitzkrieg 104 off 83 balls hosts Windies defeated England by 26 runs in the second One-Day-International (ODI) to level the series 1-1 at Kensington Oval.

With this win, the hosts ended a 10-match losing streak in the 50-overs format against England.

This was Hetmyer's fourth ODI hundred and his form suggested that he could be a player to watch out for in the upcoming World Cup in England and Wales.

In reply to 290 runs target, the visitors got off to a poor start. However, their middle order made sure they recovered from the early hiccups as captain Eoin Morgan made 70 and they needed 62 to win from 61 balls with six wickets remaining before West Indies skipper Jason Holder removed Ben Stokes (79), Jos Buttler (34) and Tom Curran.

Left-arm seamer Sheldon Cottrell picked up five wickets for 46 runs in nine overs to put Windies on the brink of victory. In his second spell, Cottrell picked up the wickets of Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid- celebrating with his trademark military salute.

Carlos Brathwaite got the final wicket when Liam Plunkett as England were dismissed for 263 to the delight of the Kensington Oval crowd.

In the post match press conference, captain Holder heaped praise on his men.

“I am really pleased, credit to Hetty (Hetmeyr), he set it up on a sticky wicket, and credit for the way we defended it, led by Sheldon Cottrell,” he said. “When I came back I knew we needed a wicket, I got two in the over and had England under pressure. You need options in this day and age, Cottrell added variation, I love his energy, he’s one for the future,” added the West Indies captain.

Morgan felt his team should have done better “A game is never won until right at the end. We thought 290 was well without our capabilities. We made mistakes and it hurt us, and West Indies deserved to win,” he said.

“Collectively, we need to chase a total like that in partnerships, but we failed to nail it down," Holder signed off.