England storm to T20 series win over West Indies with two matches to spare

:England sealed a Twenty20 series victory over West Indies with two matches to spare in St Lucia on Thursday after a nervy final-over win in their third T20 clash.

Following a lengthy rain delay, England seemed on course to cruise to an unexpectedly comfortable series success when play did get under way, reducing the hosts to 37 for five as the West Indies top order again failed to deliver.

A half-century from skipper Rovman Powell ensured West Indies could at least post a respectable 145 for eight from their 20 overs, a total England looked like they might struggle to chase down.

Wickets fell with regularity, but some late big hitting from Liam Livingstone helped England seal a first white-ball series success in the Caribbean since 2019, with two more T20s still to come at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground this weekend.

"A real collective effort to win the series which is really pleasing," England captain Jos Buttler said. "I've been so impressed with how we've set the tone in the powerplays in all three games so far.

"We're in a really strong place as a team. We've got really good competition for places too, when you consider the players who aren't here. I've really liked seeing different players step up at different times, throughout the whole series."

England followed their disastrous one day World Cup performance in 2023 with another below-par showing as holders in the T20 edition five months ago in the United States and Caribbean.

However, having already lost their ODI series on this tour, a youthful England, missing a host of their leading stars due to test team commitments, continued their turnaround in the damp St Lucian conditions.

When play started after a 50 minute rain delay, Powell's 73-run partnership with Romario