West Indies' Brandon King (left) congratulates teammate Keacy Carty on his century during the 3rd and final ODI match between West Indies and England at Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados, on Wednesday. — AFP

Keacy Carty and Brandon King's brilliant centuries led West Indies to an eight-wicket win over England in the third and final One-Day International in Barbados on Wednesday, sealing the series 2-1 for the hosts. England, batting first, managed a respectable 263-8 thanks to a fine 74 from opener Phil Salt, who helped the tourists recover from a shaky start of 24-4. A late burst of runs from fast bowler Jofra Archer (38 not out) further bolstered their total.

However, Archer's bowling performance was less impressive as Keacy Carty (128 not out) scored his maiden international century and King (102) notched his third ODI century, forming a second-wicket partnership of 209 that guided West Indies to victory. England will face West Indies again in the first of five Twenty20 Internationals at Barbados' Kensington Oval on Saturday, with white-ball captain Jos Buttler potentially returning from injury.

Liam Livingstone's maiden ODI century had helped England level the series 1-1 on Saturday, but the stand-in skipper's wicket was one of four to fall within the first 10 overs at Kensington Oval, with only 24 runs on the board. Salt's 70-run stand with all-rounder Sam Curran aided England's recovery, while Dan Mousley's maiden ODI half-century kept the tourists in the game. An injury to the hosts' Romario Shepherd provided England with an additional advantage, forcing Sherfane Rutherford into the bowling attack. England scored 57 runs off Rutherford's 3.5 overs, with Archer's powerful 38 from 17 balls, including three sixes, causing significant damage.

"We battled back really well (with the bat)," Livingstone told TNT Sports. "The boys in the middle put on a decent partnership and ended really well. Ultimately we didn't get enough runs." Disappointed with the end to the series but there have been a lot of good parts." West Indies captain Shai Hope expressed his satisfaction with his team's performance.

"We asked for consistency and discipline, and that's exactly what the guys did. The main thing if you want to be an elite team is that you've got to do things consistently," he added. "It's a big plus for us, the work is really showing. The guys are putting a lot of work in off the field. It's a great confidence booster, especially for the batting unit and going forwards I'm sure we'll have a lot more runs to come."

England struck early when Jamie Overton dismissed opener Evin Lewis for 19, but the partnership between King and Carty dashed the tourists' hopes. It was only the third time a West Indies ODI partnership had surpassed 200 on home soil. King was clean bowled by Reece Topley as the hosts neared victory, with Carty, who finished the series as the highest run scorer, hitting one final boundary to seal the win.

This marks England's third consecutive ODI series defeat since their disappointing World Cup performance in India last year.

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