Cricket News: Gayle does it again, scores 77 in 27 balls

Oshane Thomas tore England's house down, leaving Chris Gayle to build his castle on the demolition site and enjoy the view - king of a drawn series as West Indies won the fifth and final ODI by seven wickets with 227 balls to spare in St Lucia. England's total of 113 was their lowest in ODIs against West Indies and the defeat was their worst in terms of balls remaining in ODI history. So comprehensive was the defeat, West Indies wrapped things up before the the lunch break normally scheduled between innings. The match was astonishing but, in the context of a series in which every match has been full of record-breaking moments and breath-taking performances, it was another jaw-dropping installment of a contest which ended level at 2-2 after the third fixture, in Grenada, was a washout. Thomas took 5 for 21 in 5.1 overs - his maiden ODI five-for - to be named Man of the Match, claiming four of his wickets as England lost 5 for 2 in 21 balls to end an innings which lasted just 28.1 overs. Gayle looked like single-handedly overhauling the target, smashing 77 off just 27 deliveries, pummeling Chris Woakes and Mark Wood for a total of nine sixes and five fours along the way. Woakes looked to have Gayle out for 31 to a top edge caught at fine leg, but Gayle stood his ground and the delivery was ruled a no-ball by the third umpire for being too high. Gayle proceeded to smack Woakes's next delivery for a gigantic six which landed atop the pavilion roof. Gayle reached his half-century off just 19 balls, the fastest ODI fifty by a West Indies batsman, beating the 20-ball mark achieved twice by Darren Sammy and poetically broken by Gayle at the ground bearing Sammy's name. By the time Gayle was out, bowled by a Wood offcutter, West Indies' work was done at 93 for 2, the winning runs coming from a boundary by Shimron Hetmyer off Tom Curran's first and only ball of the match, the chase lasting just 12.1 overs. Gayle, who announced before the first ODI in Barbados that he would retire from one-day cricket after this year's World Cup, amassed 424 runs to be named Player of the Series, adding knocks of 162, 50 and 135 to his latest innings of 77 and hitting a total of 39 sixes to thrill all who watched him.