England hold off West Indies by one run

England have withstood a late blitz from Akeal Hosein to win their second T20 international against the West Indies by one run.

The tourists were hammered by nine wickets in the series opener 24 hours earlier but, having set the Windies 172 to win, Moeen Ali took format-best figures of 3-24 while Adil Rashid snared the key wickets of Kieron Pollard and Darren Bravo.

That left the West Indies reeling at 7-65 and should have been decisive.

However, some formidable power hitting from Romario Shepherd and No.10 Hosein in an unbroken 72-run stand from just 29 balls frayed English nerves.

The equation came down to 30 runs from the last over and, while England ensured their 8-171 could not be overhauled without a no-ball or wide before the climax, Hosein closed the show with three successive sixes.

He finished on 44 not out from 16 balls in a sensational late cameo, while highly-rated allrounder Shepherd was also unbeaten on 44 (from 28 balls) as the hosts claimed more than a shred of comfort from defeat.

Jason Roy top-scored for England with 45 from 31 balls - more than half his runs coming from one Fabian Allen over - while Moeen added a sketchy 31 and Chris Jordan a cameo 27 on the ground where he spent a lot of his childhood.

With the five-match series at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown level at 1-1, game three will be played on Wednesday.