(ESPNCRICINFO) – Harry Brook had said at the toss that he “fancied a chase” in the second T20I in Bristol. Well, he was handed one all right, as West Indies obliged in trademark style, serving up a six-laden display of power-hitting that included five in a single 31-run over from Adil Rashid – the second-most expensive in England’s T20 history – and 75 runs off the final four overs of their innings.
Despite 15 blows over the ropes in total, and a stiff target of 197, even that was not nearly enough to rein in a newly liberated England batting line-up that responded with a salvo of cameos to hunt down their target with nine balls to spare.

Fresh from his matchwinning 96 on Friday, Jos Buttler was once again the top-scorer, with 47 from 36, while Brook led as he would wish to be followed with 34 from 20. However, the star turns came from the young guns Jacob Bethell and Tom Banton in the middle order, whose combined haul of 56 from 21 balls drove England to an unassailable 2-0 series lead with Tuesday’s final match in Southampton still to come.

WOOD BRINGS THE WHEELS
In a match marked by such formidable hitting, however, it was a bowler in his first international appearance since September 2023 who made the ultimate difference. Brook had wanted a “point of difference”, he said, in confirming Luke Wood’s recall. His left-arm pace is an attractive option at the best of times, but with a strong cross-wind cutting across the County Ground, the conditions were tailor-made for his inswinger to the right-hander.

So, Evin Lewis discovered with an Exocet of a first delivery – full, fast, tailing in at the toe, and extracting an immediate verdict from umpire Martin Saggers, even as Wood charged down the pitch in full celebrappeal mode. His follow-up to Shai Hope wasn’t quite as intended – a wild full-toss as the yorker slipped out – but two overs for four runs in the powerplay kept West Indies very much under wraps.

Brydon Carse’s introduction gave a more accurate reflection of the carnage to come, however. With England once again opting for just two frontline quicks, Carse’s more conventional angles were very much to Hope’s liking – with two fours and three sixes, each of them creamed over long-off as he opened his stance to take advantage of the short straight boundaries.