Matt Prior’s one-day international best of 87 set up England’s 58-run win in the third and final match of their series against the West Indies at Edgbaston on Tuesday.
Victory saw England win the series 2-0 after a six-wicket win in Bristol on Sunday following Thursday’s washout at Headingley.
Wicketkeeper Prior’s innings was the centerpiece of England’s imposing total of 328 for seven in their permitted 50 overs. West Indies were then bowled out for 270.
PHOTO: AFP
Prior has not been selected for next month’s World Twenty20 in England, with James Foster the hosts’ specialist wicketkeeper.
But the Sussex gloveman, who has been struggling with a right ring finger injury, was not too disappointed.
“I’m actually quite looking forward to having time off to get the finger right,” man-of-the-match Prior told reporters.
However, he added: “It’s a World Cup in your home country, of course you would be gutted to miss out.” “But there are a huge amount of positives to have come out of the last month. I couldn’t have wished for a better Test series and to get the opportunity at No 3 [in the one-dayers] was fantastic,” he said.
The defeat completed a miserable tour for the West Indies, who suffered a pair of heavy losses in their preceding 2-0 Test series loss to England.
Prior put on 149 for the third wicket with Owais Shah, who made an entertaining 75, after Windies skipper Chris Gayle had won the toss and chose to field.
Prior saw his innings better the 52 he made against the West Indies at Edgbaston in 2007.
Gayle fell for just 11 when he miscued a pull off Stuart Broad to Ravi Bopara at mid-on.
And when England captain Andrew Strauss held a brilliant one-handed catch in the covers off Stuart Broad to get rid of Ramnaresh Sarwan, the West Indies had slumped to 22 for two.
Shivnarine Chanderpaul steadied the ship with an innings of 68 and put on 82 with Denesh Ramdin (45).
But the run-rate was always against them and when they both fell in quick succession, Ramdin departing after a diving one-handed catch by Prior off James Anderson, the West Indies were 189 for six and the game all but over.
England openers Strauss (52) and Bopara (49) had made a solid start.
The fifty came up in 62 balls and Bopara continued to find the boundary with some superb square-cuts and drives in a spell of four fours in nine balls.
But Bopara was one short of his fifty whe he played on to Dwayne Bravo.
Strauss did get to 50, off 65 balls, but his next ball saw him stumped by Ramdin off Sulieman Benn.
Shah completed a run-a-ball fifty in flamboyant fashion with a pulled six off Bravo that also brought up a century partnership with Prior.
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