END OF OVER:5 | 16 Runs | WI: 44/0 | RR: 8.80
- Evin Lewis29 (20b)
- Shai Hope14 (10b)
- John Turner2-0-22-0
- Jamie Overton1-0-5-0
8.46pm With that, Jos Buttler accepts the series trophy and heads off to celebrate with his team. Jacob Bethell, England's Windies home boy, gets to pose with it at the front of the winner's banner. That's nice.
So, that's that. All a bit damp tonight, but that's cricket for you. This series was fun while it lasted, and the action won't be pausing for long. We've got a Test series in New Zealand hurtling up the rails... from Miller, Alan, Ranjith, Valkerie and the team, good night!
Presentations time
The Player of the Series is Saqib Mahmood, for nine wickets in the series, eight in the powerplay. "As a group we spoke about having the mindset of taking wickets, to get the rewards is nice. Nice to work my way back into the England team and to perform is pleasing. The crosswinds meant I'd have to work on my away-swinger, with Reece and Jofra swinging it back in from the other end. We've got a lot of fast bowlers, fit and healthy. To win that third game and win the series was the nicest bit."
Rovman Powell: "Tough series, a lot of credit to Jos and his team. We played good cricket in patches but not for long enough periods. We have a template to work with, it took us three games to wonder what was happening. As a bowling group we need to sharpen up in certain areas. As Caribbean cricketers we wander off and play for different leagues, we have to keep our communication and make sure we're ready to go. If we'd assessed earlier... but a lot of credit to Jos and his team."
Jos Buttler: "Delighted, we've had a few close calls out here, but we played some brilliant cricket early on. Powerplay wickets, Saqib set the tone, lots of guys chipping in, pleased for everybody. In all formats a nice stock of fast bowlers with their own varieties, exciting time for England men's cricket. I had more time to think in the field [without the gloves]. Got everything out of it I wanted to. We've got the winning habit back."
6.25pm Presumably there'll be some presentations shortly. Still watching highlights over here...
6.13pm It's over. All hope is lost, they've pulled the plug. England take the series 3-1.
6.08pm "They are making plans for post-match presentations, so think it's not too far away..." says Cameron... the TV crew are assembling, so this feels terminal.
RoSky: "Who would be the Player of the Series assuming this match doesn't continue?" I think it has to be Saqib Mahmood. He's been a game-breaker in the powerplay.
5.55pm Squelch. It is utterly utterly bleak out there. Standing water everywhere, yet more of it hosing down from the heavens. Futility reigns.
5.37pm Puddles forming now... uh oh. "We're done," says Cameron... that is not yet official, but it feels like only a matter of time now...
"He's just Pon-tificating," chimes in Alan Gardner, who is clearly itching to have a hit on this interminable rain-watch...
5.32pm Cameron P informs us it has got heavier, and the groundstaff have given up the ghost for now. No pretence at a clear-up at the moment...
Ed: "I'm ten minutes from the stadium and can see blue sky. But it's also hosing down. I don't see much of a chance this game restarting"
5.30pm There's no blue sky in prospect in St Lucia... but there is Bluesky over here... Might as well try to rebuild a social following while X, and this match, head down the gurgler...
5.17pm What's the latest then? Cameron Ponsonby is literally our boots on the ground. "Gone out and the outfield is actually alright, not squelchy. It's obviously just...well...wet. still grey from where the weather comes from and just a steady drizzle."
Well, there you have it. On we go. No official word yet, but the sense is that 7.56pm is the latest we can start the five-over thrash. So, a while yet. But we will be losing overs now.
Soham: "Nice little red inker for Hope and Lewis. Now the IPL teams will see slightly higher avgs for them when in the auction"
4.57pm Ram asks the hypothetical on everyone's lips: "What will be the DLS target if the match reduces to 5 Overs per side?" And our scorer Ranjith confirms it would be a tasty 69... but we have a lot of rain-stopping-and-mopping to get through before that can happen...
aidan : "Be brutally honest please. What's the likelihood of more play today?" Slim to non-existent?
4.52pm Wet. Wet. Wet. And love is not all around us.
Neil: "Is there any point, given this match gets called off, where WI can claim the moral victory? Perhaps by activating the toss loss moral compensation recredit schema?" Certainly worth a shot... yesterday's run-chase, specifically the first nine overs of it, was awesome. So it probably counts as two wins...
Tim: "Not really sure how a run chase in 19 overs is worth two wins but a run chase in 15 overs isn't" Because I am deeply arbitrary. Next!
4.37pm "That is wet rain," says Sir Alastair Cook in the TNT studio, and he's not wrong. This is quite conceivably cooked.
4.30pm Yeegads, that is minging. Properly torrential right now, and banks of cloud rolling in off the sea. We won't be back on in a hurry... and as mentioned previously, this outfield has been struggling to cope with the saturation in recent days.
mitch: "can I ask what "TFC" stands for as Mr Turner has been a bit rubbish today so far too - so just checking :)" Thanks For Coming... the standard gratitude uttered by a club captain to some randomer who has turned up to make up the numbers!
4.23pm We will have a concussion protocol, but it will be in the dressing-room because rain stops play. Bah. Those clouds have rolled across, hopefully they'll keep rolling on soon enough...
Shahid Majeed : "Where was Evin Lewis in past 3 four years he played very little international cricket?" One of the great mysteries. It's fair to suggest that Daren Sammy played a key role in luring him back to the side.