Jos Buttler and Dawid Malan scored backs-to-the-wall centuries but it was Jofra Archer’s stunning return of six for 40 which led England to a consolation victory by 59 runs in the final match of their ODI series at the Diamond Oval on Wednesday night.
Having made an unlikely 346 for seven thanks a record stand of 232 between the England captain and Malan, the hosts refused to be cowed, despite Archer’s brilliance, but they were once again left contemplating the possibility that they could miss out on automatic qualification for the World Cup in October despite winning the series 2-1.
Lungi Ngidi claimed a wicket in each of his first three overs as England crashed to 14 for three when Jason Roy (1) drove to mid-off, Ben Duckett (0) wafted to the keeper and Harry Brook (6) inside-edged to gloveman Heinrich Klaasen.
Malan paid scant attention to runs for a full 10 overs, aware than another wicket inside the first 15 overs would make a difficult recovery close to impossible.