Captain Alastair Cook scored 112 as England cruised to an eight-wicket victory over West Indies to clinch the one-day series with a match to spare.
Cook shared an opening stand of 122 with Ian Bell (53) and 81 with Jonathan Trott as the hosts chased down the tourists’ below-par 238-9 in 45 overs.
Put in to bat, the Windies failed to build on Chris Gayle’s explosive 53.
Dwayne Bravo top-scored with 77 off 82 balls but the innings fizzled out with only 19 runs in the last five overs.
Their total never looked enough on a true pitch and in bright sunshine, and Cook and Bell gave a masterclass in how to chase down a modest target, picking up singles off most balls and putting away any wayward deliveries for four.
Cook was marginally the more aggressive, taking a particular liking to the off-spin of Sunil Narine, who he cracked for successive fours on either side of the wicket in racing to a 51-ball half-century.
England were scoring at more than six runs per over when Bell, a centurion in the first match at the Rose Bowl, gifted his wicket to Darren Sammy with a loose drive to cover.
Cook marched on to reach his fourth century since taking over as one-day captain a year ago – and the sixth by an England opener in successive one-day internationals.
With Trott playing his usual game of steady accumulation, Cook steamed to three figures off 114 balls.
After 12 fours, he bludgeoned his first six off opposite number Sammy over long-on before falling trying to repeat the shot and ballooning the ball up in the air.
That left Trott, who finished 43 not out, and Ravi Bopara to steer England to a victory that was even more comprehensive than their 114-run Duckworth-Lewis win in Saturday’s series-opener at the Ageas Bowl.
“It was a really good team performance,” Cook told BBC Test Match Special.
BBC
