WI V ENG 2nd ODI: Root, Woakes to the rescue; England clinch series

Photo: AFP North Stand, Antigua: Joe Root and Chris Woakes averted a collapse by sharing a 102-run undefeated partnership as England beat West Indies by four wickets in the second one-day international on Sunday to clinch the series. The pair came together with England on 124/6 at the midway point of its innings after a mini-collapse saw four wickets lost for only 16 runs. Root and Woakes stayed together to the end as England finished on 226/6 off 48.2 overs in reply to West Indies' 225 all out. Root was 90 not out off 127 balls, while all-rounder Woakes smashed 68 off 83, including five fours and two sixes. Opener Jason Roy had scored 52 at more than a run-a-ball to give England a good start. Ashley Nurse took 3/34. Earlier, West Indies won the toss, chose to bat and was dismissed with a wasteful 13 balls left in its innings. Jason Mohammed was top-scorer for West Indies, hitting 50 from 73 balls with two fours and a pair of sixes. He was caught by Adil Rashid off Liam Plunkett, who was England's most successful bowler with 3-32. West Indies lost two quick wickets at the start, stumbling to 21/2 and 46/3, but the innings stabilized when opener Kraigg Brathwaite (42) shared a 72-run partnership for the fourth wicket with Mohammed. Apart from Mohammed, Jonathan Carter was the only other West Indian to hit a six in an unimpressive performance by the hosts. Carter was out for 39 off 36 balls. England won the opening ODI by 45 runs on Friday at the same Sir Vivian Richards Stadium and has an insurmountable 2-0 lead in the three-match series. The third ODI is on Thursday in Barbados. CLICK HERE FOR SCORECARD AND COMMENTARY