England begin Brook era by hammering West Indies

Edgbaston’s first one-day international

England 400-8 (50 overs): Bethell 82 (53), Duckett 60 (48), Brook 58 (45), Root 57 (65), Seales 4-84

West Indies 162 (26.2 overs): Overton 3-22, Mahmood 3-32

England won the three-match series by a score of 1-0 thanks to a 238 run victory.

In their first one-day international at Edgbaston, England defeated West Indies by a score of 238 runs to officially begin Harry Brook’s reign as captain.

Jacob Bethell, who struck 82 balls out of 53, was the most notable player to score half-centuries for Brook, Ben Duckett, and Joe Root.

England reached 400-8 after being asked to bat, which is their highest total in three years and best result against a Test-playing nation since they won the World Cup in 2019. This is their sixth consecutive ODI victory.

West Indies had made three outstanding catch attempts, and they would have conceded many more.

The West Indies top order ran through Saqib Mahmood for 3-32, but the second half of the game was largely a procession.

The highlight was West Indies captain Shai Hope’s stunning catch off Mahmood’s deep square leg, which Brydon Carse captured. In 26.2 overs, the tourists were conned out for 162.

England, who were desperate for any sort of victory after a miserable 18 months of white-ball cricket, will not care about the lack of spectacle.

In Birmingham, England is currently in good shape for a white-ball rebirth. They made 400 for the first time against New Zealand, which was on this ground ten years ago, and they started the quest for glory in 2019.

Although it is far too early to say that this England squad is on the verge of world dominance, and this West Indies team are nowhere near the New Zealanders of 2015, Brook’s tenure should begin with this kind of performance.

England found the batting tempo they haven’t found in recent one-dayers in beautiful conditions for run-scoring. The top seven players in the series have now reached 35 and the highest total without an individual century for the first time in all ODIs.

The West Indies were filthy. Some of the field settings were perplexing, and their bowlers sprayed it. Even the numbers on the backs of the tourists’ iconic maroon shirts and jumpers were a random mix of yellow and blue until one overthrow eventually resulted in five leg byes. England increased to 400 on the final ball of the innings thanks to four byes.

England’s excellent catching and disciplined bowling continued their batting. Jamie Overton, who dislocated his finger after leaving the field and then returned to claim 3-22, was able to recover and set the tone.

Brook couldn’t have asked for more from his rejigged top seven, bar someone who would go on to earn three figures and more.

In his first innings as the one-day opener, Jamie Smith, who was dropped on one, was aggressive for 37. Duckett, arguably the best all-format opener in the world, made 60. For his 57, Root was typically unfussy.

Brook’s move through the gears set the standard for England. The captain turned the switch with two sixes and finished with 58 off 45 after making 13 of 19 balls. With a 37 off 32, Joseph Buttler made an appearance at his former self after being freed from the captaincy.

The show was stolen by Bethell. The 21-year-old was still in the news despite missing the previous week’s Test against Zimbabwe. The boy from Barbados entered the West Indies attack with a Caribbean flair in his first international on his home soil.

When Alzarri Joseph struck Bethell on the helmet, he only had 11 balls, total. He was jolted into dreamy off-drives and quick-handed pull shots. His sixes were swatted over the legs four times, and one fell over in the middle.

If Mahmood hadn’t been injured severely in his backs in 2022 and 2023, he might have won more than his two Test caps. In his first home one-day international for four years, he showed he can lead the new-look England by largely rebuilding his career in white-ball cricket.

England has had a difficult time playing pace bowling, and injuries have left them with a lot of options. They are undoubtedly a bowler light in this side with Overton as the third seamer.

With so many runs on the board and Mahmood tearing into the Windies’ bat, it didn’t matter much.

When Justin Greaves popped the same bowler to mid-off, he already had overturned being caught behind off Mahmood. After having foot issues, Carlos returned to work and Brandon King was nearly caught up in a playable away nip.

Before Carse’s moment of magic, Mahmood switched ends to make a mistaken impression of Keacy Carty following Overton’s injury. Hope teamed up with Mahmood, Carse, and backpedalled to create a copy of Ben Stokes’ famous grab at the Oval during the 2019 World Cup.

When I’m in, I can hit a lot of balls to the limit, I tell myself. Dot balls are bad for a batter’s mental health. I make an effort to hit powerful shots and start hitting singles early.

Harry Brook, England’s captain, said, “That was a pretty amazing performance from the boys.” Nice to start the series off on time.

Nobody turning their runs into centuries worries me, “I’m not concerned.” We got 400 runs! We can look at that and have been discussing it. Four of us received scores greater than 50. One of us kicks on, and that is a flawless performance.

Shai Hope, captain of the West Indies, said, “We didn’t achieve our goals.” You’ll always find yourself playing catch up if you don’t.