England seal T20 series win over West Indies as Charlie Dean takes four wickets in Barbados | Cricket News

Charlie Dean continued her form with a four-wicket haul as England clinched a T20 international series win over West Indies at the earliest opportunity with a sixth straight victory on tour.

A 17-run success in Barbados put England 3-0 up with two to play in the T20 series after they had swept West Indies 3-0 in the preceding one-day international leg of the tour.

Off-spinner Dean followed figures of 3-22 in Wednesday’s second T20 with 4-19 in the third as West Indies were limited to 140-8 in reply to England’s highest-ever total in the Caribbean of 157-6.

Sophia Dunkley (44 off 31) and Lauren Winfield-Hill (24 off 28) put on 60 for England’s first wicket, while skipper Heather Knight (43 off 27) also impressed, hitting her side’s sole six.

In T20 it’s all about trying to find the boundaries and playing to your strengths and I felt on that wicket that my strengths were being a bit funky and hitting square of the wicket. It was nice to contribute to a team win and nice to feel in good form.

West Indies were 63-1 after seven overs in reply but then lost Hayley Matthews (35 off 31) and Shemaine Campbelle (0) in the same Dean over – Matthews stumped and Campbelle bowled during a double-wicket maiden – before stumbling in the final six overs from 103-3 once Trishan Holder (21) was out to Sophie Ecclestone.

A 13-run 17th over, bowled by Nat Sciver, left West Indies needing 30 from 18 balls but Dean castled Kycia Knight (12) in the next over and the home side’s hopes of keeping the series alive were extinguished in the 19th when Ecclestone conceded just one run and trapped top-scorer Rashada Williams (38 off 29) lbw.

Dean was named Player of the Match after starring in just her third T20 international, with the wickets of Matthews, Campbelle and Knight following her having Aaliyah Alleyne (3) caught by Dunkley in the third over of West Indies’ run chase.

The fourth T20 takes place on Sunday evening with the final match of the series on Thursday, which will be England’s last before February’s T20 World Cup in South Africa.

‘England not too far away from knowing best team’

England captain Heather Knight…

“It’s all been a bit of a factfinding mission and getting to know a few people and how they work in slightly different places. I don’t think we’re too far away from knowing what our best team is and knowing potentially what that T20 World Cup squad looks like.

“On the bowlers, we’ve obviously mixed up the team a little to offer opportunities and work out a bit about a few different players and someone like Charlie Dean has really come in and grasped hers. We’re so lucky we’ve got such depth in the spin department.

“I think the way Sophia [Dunkley] started us was a great tone-setter for the innings. She was so composed, knew her options really well.

“It is always nice to get off to a flier – it means you don’t have as much work to do down the order and you can keep going hard throughout the innings.”