Captain Andrew Strauss rallies his troops

Taking the lead: Andrew Strauss hit a magnificent 79 in England's innings

13 April 2012

Andrew Strauss let his bat do the talking as England responded to Friday's shambolic display with an emphatic nine-wicket win to square the one-day series at 2-2 with one game to play.

The England captain hit a superb unbeaten 79 from just 61 balls, including nine fours and a six, after heavy rain in Barbados saw his side's victory target reduced to 135 from 20 overs under the Duckworth-Lewis system.

After Kevin Pietersen's outburst last week, when the England batsman claimed to be "at the end of his tether" and desperate for the nine-week West Indies tour to finish, Strauss led from the front in Bridgetown last night.

Following his century in the first game of the series, his one-day form is mirroring his Test excellence, and he is determined to carry his hot streak into the English summer.

"As cricketers, the only way we can do our talking is on the pitch and I've got to keep doing that," said Strauss.

"I'm delighted with how I played and even more delighted to win. It should be an exciting finale to the series. It was a much needed win to be honest. We were always confident of chasing that score. Having it reduced to 20 overs probably helped us a little but we still had to score the runs and we did that well."

Pietersen was yesterday labelled a "rebel" by former England captain Nasser Hussain, who also warned the South Africa born star he needs to deliver on the field if he continues to shoot his mouth off away from it.

He is a doubt for Friday's decider in St Lucia after pulling up with a back spasm midway through West Indies' total of 239 for nine from 50 overs.

Andrew Flintoff also picked up a thumb injury attempting a tough return catch off a firmly struck drive from Dwayne Bravo.

"Kevin just has a back spasm and they can go as quickly as they come." Strauss said. "Freddie's thumb doesn't look like it's fractured but he will have to have further scans. We'll just have to see how they both go over the next few days."

Fortunately for Pietersen, his batting services were not required as Strauss and fellow opener Ravi Bopara set about the West Indian bowling with the sort of gusto more usually associated with their opponents in the series so far.

The England skipper set the tone with four successive fours off Lionel Baker's second over as England reached 41 without loss after just four overs.

Bopara was the only wicket to fall when he attempted one shot too many and was well caught by Nekita Miller in the deep off Kieron Pollard, but he had already played a vital supporting role in an opening partnership of 108.

The result means this Friday's decider is more likely to go ahead despite the West Indian players failing to find a resolution to their on-running pay dispute with their board.

West Indies captain Chris Gayle on Saturday back-tracked on an earlier claim that a strike was out of the question by admitting a boycott was being considered if a solution could not be found. But former Windies captain Sir Vivian Richards believes that because the game is now a live rubber it will prevent strike action.

"It is my understanding that if West Indies won then they would boycott St Lucia but I believe it will go ahead now," Richards said.

India, meanwhile, go into Friday's climax of their series with New Zealand 1-0 up thanks to a gritty draw in the Second Test in Napier. The tourists had resumed on 252-2, 62 runs behind after following on, but patience at the crease over the final two days ensured they finished on 476-4.

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Captain Andrew Strauss rallies his troops

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