England stand-in skipper Moeen Ali said that his side didn’t adapt well to the playing conditions against West Indies during the fifth and final T20I here at the Kensington Oval on Monday.
Jason Holder’s fifer and Akeal Hosein’s four-wicket haul helped West Indies defeat England by 17 runs in the fifth and final. With this win, West Indies won the five-match series 3-2.
“I thought West Indies were the better team tonight. We didn’t adapt well to the conditions, we played well but fell short in the end. It’s something we need to work on, thought we bowled reasonably well today, but Powell and Pollard played some superb shots, we will come back better though with the experience. It seemed like that, the new ball came nicely, and was difficult when it became softer.
But they were really good at adjusting to those,” said Moeen Ali after the game. “It’s been a great lesson, these are the conditions we want to get better, we’re good when the pitch is flat. Reece Topely was fantastic with the new ball and Adil Rashid was so good throughout the series. It’s great fun as a captain, but Morgs is a brilliant captain, I did enjoy it though,” he added.
Chasing 180, only James Vince got going for England with the bat as he played a 55-run knock from 35 balls. Sam Billings also chipped in with a 41-run inning, but it did not prove enough as West Indies kept on taking wickets at regular intervals. Holder and Hosein were the standout performers and the duo ensured that the hosts end up winning the series.
Earlier, Kieron Pollard and Rovman Powell played unbeaten knocks of 41 and 35 to help West Indies post 179/4 in the allotted twenty overs. For England, Adil Rashid and Liam Livingstone returned with two wickets each.