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England reboot on the rocks as Windies sense uncommon ODI sequence win

Big image – England in a rum spot (once more)

Talk about one other bloody day in paradise. England arrived in Antigua trying to launch a brand new chapter for his or her one-day cricket, after the frustration of the World Cup, however have been as an alternative given a reboot up the bottom by a feisty West Indies batting show, led by Shai Hope’s scintillating, MS Dhoni-inspired hundred and ably supported with unfettered contributions from the likes of Alick Athanaze and Romario Shepherd.

Not for the primary time, issues have not gone to script for England within the Caribbean – and immediately it appears like there may be extra of an edge to this ODI sequence, with two matches nonetheless to play. West Indies, who misplaced to Zimbabwe, Netherlands and Scotland throughout their abject World Cup Qualifier earlier within the yr, have loads of floor to make up in the event that they to return to the massive time in 2027, however there was sufficient about their efficiency to counsel that they nonetheless have the expertise to compete.

This crew, in any case, was lacking probably key personnel – with Nicholas Pooran and Jason Holder sitting out the format for now – and noticed the build-up overshadowed by one other predictable row about choice. Once the motion obtained underway, they recovered from a poor begin with the ball to forestall England getting away fully, after which staged one other spectacular revival from 213 for five within the thirty ninth over – nonetheless needing 113 from 68 balls.

West Indies nonetheless had Hope, although, and are available the tip the glory, too, after pulling off their second-highest profitable chase in ODIs. Already the crew’s star batter, Hope has taken his sport to a different degree since being appointed captain, however he spoke afterwards solely of West Indies successful and studying learn how to again up their performances.

England, in the meantime, nonetheless have a lot to ponder in a format that has all of the sudden slipped out of their clutches, like an inflatable picked up by a gust of wind on the seashore. Jos Buttler extolled the positives in defeat however got here throughout trying just like the bowler-hatted canine within the “This Is Fine” meme; greater than three months after England started their ODI World Cup preparations in opposition to New Zealand at Chester-le-Street (three days after Buttler’s Manchester Originals have been overwhelmed finalists within the Hundred), he’s starting to seem like a person who may do with some precise seashore time.

Not that there weren’t one or two causes for encouragement from an English perspective. Phil Salt and Will Jacks lit the royal blue touchpaper to present the innings a blistering begin, and have now placed on 219 runs from 178 balls in three opening stands collectively (a scoring-rate far in extra of even their most belligerent forebears). Harry Brook, one of many World Cup survivors, appeared in good contact for his third ODI fifty and there was a reminder of the worth of lower-order batting depth as Sam Curran and Brydon Carse helped add greater than 80 runs for the final three wickets.

There was additionally a show stuffed with nous from 19-year-old Rehan Ahmed with the ball, however that was one of many few shiny spots of the second half of the sport. Buttler, coming off one other failure with the bat, couldn’t marshal an efficient response from his bowlers on the demise – not helped by Curran, the senior-most member of the assault, having an all-timer of an off day, his 0 for 98 the worst evaluation by an Englishman in ODIs.

Another shoddy show on the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium will see the sequence concluded early – and provides West Indies their first bilateral ODI success over England since 2007. There can be the small matter of the ICC rankings, which with the scrapping of the Super League will decide qualification for 2027. England, in sixth, nonetheless have a small cushion from the groups beneath them however the current development has been down; West Indies have to elevate themselves from tenth to keep away from additional Qualifier indignities down the road.

This sequence can be England’s final ODI dedication till September 2024, by which era – put up T20 World Cup – we could be speaking in regards to the reboot to the reboot. Buttler, particularly, must really feel the solar on his shoulders and the wind at his again. As ever, such issues cannot be taken without any consideration by an English cricketer within the Caribbean.

Form information

West Indies WLWLL (final 5 accomplished ODIs, most up-to-date first)
England LWWLL

In the highlight – Alick Athanaze and Jos Buttler

England’s openers have been in celebration temper from the outset nevertheless it was Alick Athanaze who finest mixed aggression with endurance to place the West Indies chase on observe, scoring the lion’s share of a 104-run first-wicket stand with Brandon King. Athanaze took some time to transform the promise of being the main run-scorer on the 2018 Under-19 World Cup – simply forward of Shubman Gill, no much less – into an opportunity at senior worldwide degree, however together with his flowing cuts and pulls he definitely appeared the half in his fifth ODI look. Now, within the phrases of his captain, it is about producing huge top-order runs persistently, “not just a one-off to show the world you can do something”.

Jos Buttler has spent a lot of his profession within the highlight – however these final couple of months he has felt the glare like no time earlier than. Quite aside from England’s stuttering performances as a bunch, his personal returns are starting to look untenable (or they’d be have been he not maybe his nation’s biggest limited-overs batter ever). Out for a scratchy 3 on Sunday, caught off the glove enjoying one in every of his trademark reverse-sweeps, Buttler has now gone 13 innings with out an ODI fifty – a rut with out priority, exterior of his stop-start type in Tests. “It’s never as bad as you think it is and it’s never as good as you think it is,” Buttler mentioned earlier than the sequence, reflecting his sense of perspective. But now could be a great time to show the primary half true.

Team news – Few adjustments anticipated

West Indies might want to persist with a successful XI, with virtually everybody contributing within the first match – though younger allrounder Matthew Forde may push for a debut.

West Indies (possible): 1 Alick Athanaze, 2 Brandon King, 3 Keacy Carty, 4 Shai Hope (capt & wk), 5 Shimron Hetmyer, 6 Sherfane Rutherford, 7 Romario Shepherd, 8 Yannic Cariah, 9 Alzarri Joseph, 10 Gudakesh Motie, 11 Oshane Thomas

England went for batting depth and Liam Livingstone delivering a full quota of overs, solely to see their three seamers all go at greater than a run a ball. The uncapped John Turner has reportedly bowled with tempo within the nets, whereas Tom Hartley provides one other spin choice.

England (possible): 1 Will Jacks, 2 Phil Salt, 3 Zak Crawley, 4 Ben Duckett, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Jos Buttler (capt & wk), 7 Liam Livingstone, 8 Sam Curran, 9 Brydon Carse, 10 Rehan Ahmed, 11 Gus Atkinson.

Pitch and circumstances

The floor for the primary ODI belied North Sound’s slow-and-low popularity, with extra runs scored in an ODI on the floor than ever earlier than – and that regardless of some variable bounce and help for spin. The second match, a day-night fixture, can be performed on a recent strip, with a forecast for heat and humid circumstances.

Stats and trivia

  • England’s 325 all out was the best ODI whole on the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium – till it was bettered by West Indies of their chase.

  • Hope is 86 runs shy of overtaking Gordon Greenidge and transferring into the highest ten of West Indies males’s ODI run-scorers.

  • Buttler wants 36 runs to additionally attain 5000 in ODIs. However, he has handed that whole simply as soon as in his final 10 innings.

    • Quotes

    “There was a lot to be proud of. Some things we can do better moving on to the next one.”
    Jos Buttler, England’s captain discovered the positives in defeat after the opening match

    “Any time you cross the line, the main focus has to be to win. Every time you play cricket for West Indies, it’s so much more than just development. Yes, it’s a big thing for us, especially now, but we want to win this series, we’ve got a great chance to win this series.”
    Shai Hope is worried about one factor solely

    Alan Gardner is a deputy editor at ESPNcricinfo. @alanroderick

    Source web site: www.espncricinfo.com

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