West Indies 288 for 6 (S Hope 72, Gayle 40) v England
Live scorecard and ball-by-ball details
England have given themselves an opportunity to win the Royal London ODI series against West Indies 4-0 after a disciplined performance in the field at the Ageas Bowl.
Despite thrashing 115 from the last 12 overs of the innings, West Indies were restricted to a modest 288, at one stage going almost half their innings without hitting a boundary.
It might not have been exactly what the neutral spectator had in mind when watching modern ODI cricket but, after a week that might charitably be described as incident packed, this was a reassuringly low-key start to England’s afternoon of work.
But for a brief flurry from Chris Gayle – he thrashed 34 in six successive deliveries from Jake Ball at one point – West Indies were oddly passive for much of their innings bat and allowed England’s spinners – Moeen Ali and Adil Rashid – to bowl their 20 overs for a cost of just 78 runs. And, at one stage West Indies went more than 20 overs (from the final ball of the ninth over to the fifth ball of the 31st) without hitting a boundary.
The day started poorly for England. With Ben Stokes’ immediate future uncertain, the importance of Chris Woakes to England has grown further. So it was far from ideal that he reported some stiffness in his lower back after the match at The Oval and was, as a consequence, rested. There are currently no plans for a scan but England will be anxiously monitoring his progress over the next few days.
In his place, Tom Curran came into the side for an ODI debut and produced a quietly impressive performance. Most notably, he demonstrated admirable skill and composure in producing a perfectly delivered back of the hand slower ball to deceive and dismiss Gayle in full flow. It will prove a memorable maiden ODI wicket in a performance that may well have propelled him above Ball when it comes to future selection.
Ball found, like many before him, that bowling to Gayle in the Powerplay is no easy task. Despite starting with a maiden to Gayle – he didn’t get off the mark until his 15th ball – the final three deliveries of Ball’s third over were all thrashed – to say they were driven would hardly reflect the terrific force with which the ball was struck – for six by Gayle, while the first three of his fourth conceded two more sixes and a four to the same batsman. In all, Ball conceded six of the 10 sixes hit by West Indies during the innings.
Equally deserving of credit for the Gayle dismissal was Liam Plunkett. Keeping his eye on the ball while running back from mid-off, Plunkett clung on to an outstanding diving catch to capitalise on Gayle’s mis-timed drive. A few overs later Plunkett took an equally good reaction chance off his own bowling – pouncing low and to his left, he clung on to a mis-timed drive – to account for Kyle Hope, who came into the side in place of the injured Evin Lewis.
That wicket brought Shai Hope and Samuels together. And, while the pair were rarely troubled in adding 57, the fact that it took them 16 overs played into England’s hands. Samuels’s miserable series culminated in an innings of 32 from 60 balls with just one boundary and meant he finished the series averaging 15.25 at a strike-rate of 49.19. By the time he ran past one from Moeen that slid on, it was hard to gauge whether it was England or West Indies supporters who were happier.
Shai Hope, at least, eventually found his form. Having not hit a boundary for the first 77 balls of his innings, he then hit three in succession as he started to anticipate Curran’s variations.
Sunil Ambris, brought into the side in place of Jason Holder who returned to Barbados for the funeral of his uncle, also looked an accomplished, aggressive player. With Ashley Nurse (31 from 12 balls) he added some impetus at the end of the innings to compensate for the overs used up by Hope and Samuels. But, on another decent track, the West Indies total looked a little short of par.
Source: ESPN Crickinfo