Netherlands vs West Indies: Brandon King stars as Windies secure ODI series with match to spare

A superb unbroken sixth wicket partnership of 118 between Brandon King and Keacy Carty steered the West Indies from potential embarrassment in Amstelveen to a five wicket victory over Netherlands in the second one-day international on Thursday. The two came together with the West Indies in serious trouble at 99 for five, chasing what appeared to be a relatively straightforward target of 215. King was the more vigorous of the pair, clubbing three sixes and nine fours in his unbeaten 90-ball 91, while Carty played the anchor role, accumulating 43 from 67 balls. With four needed to win and 28 balls remaining, he hammered a short ball from Duff high over midwicket to register his only six and seal the win that gives the West Indies an unassailable 2-0 win in the three-match series. The Dutch, who won the toss and chose to bat first, had started the match in impressive fashion as Vikramjit Singh (46) and Max O’Dowd (51) added 101 for the first wicket. Once they both fell – O’Dowd the first of four victims for left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein (4-39) – the rest of the batting struggled. Scott Edwards, who came in at three, battled hard and was last out for 68 but even he found it difficult to get the bowling away, mustering but a single boundary in his 89-ball knock. The Dutch bowlers settled well to their task of defending such a small total and were buoyed by the early dismissal for 18 of Shai Hope who made a century in Tuesday’s seven-wicket win. Logan van Beek picked up two wickets and, at 99 for five, it looked as though Pieter Seelaar’s side might steal the match and square the series but King decreed otherwise. The series concludes in Amstelveen on Saturday.