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| | GEO Sports | | W.Indies grab 8-wkt win over England in ODI | Updated at: 0312 PST, Saturday, March 28, 2009
BRIDGETOWN: Captain Chris Gayle led West Indies to a crushing eight-wicket victory as the hosts matched England's feeble total of 117 in fewer than 15 overs in a rain-affected third one-dayer in Barbados on Friday.
Gayle smashed eight sixes and five fours as he scored 80 in43 balls to put his team 2-1 up in the five-match series.
Rain initially reduced the game to 44 overs per side before the West Indies target was later adjusted to 117 on the Duckworth-Lewis method. After being put in to bat England threw their wickets away with a succession of loose pull and hook shots as they slumped to 68 for eight.
After the top order failed to make an impression former captain Kevin Pietersen, who complained of homesickness in an interview on Thursday, swiped Dwayne Bravo's first ball straight to mid-wicket and was out for three.
Andrew Flintoff, back in action after a month out through injury, went for a duck when he hooked a simple catch to Fidel Edwards off Bravo.
The wickets continued to tumble and when Stuart Broad was caught behind for a duck England were 68 for eight, 18 short of their lowest one-day score of 86 against Australia at Old Trafford, Manchester in 2001.
However Dimitri Mascarenhas and Gareth Batty steadied the ship as they took the tourists past their previous worst score against West Indies, 114 on the same ground 23 years ago.
Both then fell in quick succession, Mascaren has top-scoring with 36, as England were bowled out in the 42nd over with all-rounder Bravo taking four for 19 and paceman Edwards three for 28.
Proof that bad batting rather than a bad pitch was behind England's paltry total was not long in coming as Gayle set about his task with gusto.
The left-hander took 24 off one Mascaren has over, including three huge sixes, as West Indies raced to 84 for nought off eight overs.
Gayle was eventually bowled by James Anderson and Ramnaresh Sarwan was bowled by Broad for 10, leaving Lendl Simmons and Shivnarine Chanderpaul to knock off the last few runs. The fourth match in Barbados is on Sunday. |  |
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