England battered in Barbados
Questions are being raised about Andrew Strauss' suitability as England one-day captain
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Friday, 27, Mar 2009 10:31
England have suffered a humiliating eight-wicket defeat to the West Indies in the third one-day international in Barbados.
In a match reduced to 44 overs because of rain, the tourists' nightmare tour continued as they were skittled out for 117. The
Windies chased down their revised target of 117 in less than 15 overs after an explosive innings of 80 from skipper Chris Gayle.
The result means the Windies lead the five-match series 2-1, and England need a vast improvement to stand a chance of coming back after a woeful display.
After being put into bat, England made their trademark pedestrian start with skipper Andrew Strauss dismissed for two off 18 balls.
Fellow opener Ravi Bopara (10) became Fidel Edwards' second wicket to leave the tourists reeling on 17-2.
Kevin Pietersen, who has confessed he wants to return home after a draining winter, reached three off 15 balls before a mistimed pull shot saw him dismissed by Dwayne Bravo.
Three wickets then tumbled for 12 runs with Owais Shah falling for another poor shot for 17, before Andrew Flintoff (0) and Paul Collingwood (6) were both sent back to the pavilion by Bravo.
The only batsman to provide some resistance was Dimitri Mascarenhas, who hit 36. But he was fast running out of partners with Matt Prior (7), Gareth Batty (17), and Stuart Broad (0) all failing to make a big impact.
Batty was the last man to fall, giving Bravo his fourth wicket as England were all out in 41 overs.
In reply, the home side showed their opponents how to set the tone for their innings with Gayle hitting 17 off the first over.
The skipper thrilled the crowds with eight sixes and five boundaries before he was bowled by James Anderson.
Broad, who conceded 31 runs from his 23 deliveries, dismissed Ramnaresh Sarwan for ten before Shivnarine Chanderpaul hit the winning runs to seal an emphatic victory.
Strauss admitted he was feeling embarrassed by his side's display.
"It wasn't good enough, there were very few positives," he said.
"There was some very poor batting early on and we paid the price."
With the fourth one-dayer coming up on Sunday, Strauss added: "We've got an opportunity in two days' time to put in a better performance and register a victory. We've got to take it on the chin and move on."