England thrash West Indies by 238 runs in opening ODI clash
BIRMINGHAM: England thrashed West Indies by 238 runs in Harry Brook's first match in charge as full-time captain to snap a seven-match ODI losing streak and move 1-0 up in the three-match series at a sunny Edgbaston on Thursday.
Put in to bat, England piled up 400-8 as Jacob Bethell smashed a destructive 82 in 53 balls and Ben Duckett, Joe Root and Brook all helped themselves to half centuries against a ragged West Indies attack.
It was the highest score England had amassed at home against West Indies in the 50-over format and it proved far too much for the visitors who capitulated in feeble fashion.
Saqib Mahmood and Jamie Overton both took three wickets with Brook taking five catches as the West Indies reply crumbled to 162 all out with only Keacy Carty and captain Shai Hope scoring more than 20 before an entertaining but meaningless late cameo of 29 by number 11 Jayden Seales.
It was the perfect start to Brook's reign as white ball captain as England recorded their second-largest win in terms of runs, second only to the 242-run thrashing of Australia in 2018.
The 21-year-old Bethell, who shared a seventh-wicket stand of 98 from 44 balls with Will Jacks and also took a wicket, was named man of the match at his home ground.
'It's pretty special to play for the first time here for England and to top it off with a win like that,' he said.
'I enjoy batting in the middle order. Today was a pretty easy situation to come into. When I'm in, I can hit a lot of balls to the boundary.'
He struck eight boundaries and thumped five sixes against before falling short of a first senior century when edging a wide delivery by Seales behind to West Indies skipper Shai Hope.
Seales was the pick of the West Indies bowlers with Bethell being his fourth wicket, although he did concede 84 runs in nine overs.
England began in brisk fashion with openers Jamie Smith and Duckett setting the tone with 59 coming off the first six overs.
Smith, looking comfortable after being promoted to the top of the order, departed for 37 when he was brilliantly caught by Brandon King off the bowling of Alzarri Joseph.
Root joined Duckett and they continued to shred the West Indies attack until another magical catch, this time by Roston Chase who hung on to a ferocious Duckett (60) at backward point off of a ball by Justin Greaves.
Root made 57 and Brook 58 before Bethell grabbed the limelight with a sensational knock.
It looked a tall order for West Indies and when Greaves fell to Mahmood in the third over and King was caught behind in the fourth, the writing was on the wall.
Carty and Hope offered some resistance but Carty was out for 22 mistiming a pull off Mahmood and picking out Brook.
Hope (25) then fell to a super catch by a leaping Carse at deep square leg to give Mahmood his third wicket and leave West Indies reeling on 66-4.
Bethell showed his touch with the ball to give Brook another catch to remove Jewel Andrew and the rest was a formality as England got back to winning ways in style.
'That was a pretty phenomenal performance from the boys. Nice to get the series under way in good fashion,' Brook said.
The second match is in Cardiff on Sunday.
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Express Tribune
10 hours ago
- Express Tribune
Brook hails 'exceptional' Bethell in Eng win
Jacob Bethell's brilliant 82 off 53 balls in the first ODI against Windies marks the beginning of a promising career. PHOTO: AFP Harry Brook predicted Jacob Bethell "will be some player" after the 21-year-old rising star impressed in England's thumping victory over the West Indies in the first one-day international at Edgbaston on Thursday. There has long been talk over whether Bethell, recently returned from IPL duty, will go straight back into the Test side for the upcoming five-match series with India. And that speculation will only intensify following Bethell's expertly-paced innings of 82 from 53 balls that propelled England to a huge total of 400-8 on his Warwickshire home ground. Faced with trying to become only the second team in the 4,880-match history of men's ODI cricket to score over 400 to win, following South Africa's 438-9 against Australia at Johannesburg in 2006, the West Indies collapsed to 162 all out. Brook, speaking after launching his reign as England's permanent white-ball captain with a dominant 238-run win, said of left-hander Bethell: "He batted beautifully there. "When one of us gets going, most of the time it's hard to stop us and he showed that. He couldn't go on and get three figures but it was a match-winning innings and he's going to be some player. "He's a confident lad, I don't think he needs too much more bigging up, he knows he's a good player and we all know he's an exceptional player. He's going to have a very long England career if he keeps on batting the way he does. He brings so much to a side (because) he can bowl and field as well." Victory ended England's seven-match losing streak in ODI cricket and put them 1-0 up in this three-game series against the West Indies. Barbados-born Bethell's Indian Premier League commitments meant he missed last week's Test win over Zimbabwe, with England not having to decide whether to retain him at number three after he starred in New Zealand in December or restore vice-captain Ollie Pope to that position. Pope made a hundred at Trent Bridge but Test captain Ben Stokes revived the debate around Bethell by indicating the spin-bowling all-rounder could be back in the side to face India. Stokes later insisted he was only talking about Bethell returning to the squad for the first of five Tests against India, starting on June 20 at Headingley. But a relaxed Bethell told the BBC: "Not a lot has been said to me, to be honest. At the end of the day in Test cricket, those boys have their spots and whatever happens, happens. I'll just be happy with whatever." Bethell rounded off England's innings on Thursday following earlier fifties from Ben Duckett (60), Joe Root (57) and Brook (58), while every batsman in the hosts' top seven passed 35. "It was a pretty exceptional start from the boys," said Brook. "Hopefully we can top that. The tempo we batted with throughout the innings was pretty much spot on." Saqib Mahmood then rocked the West Indies with three wickets and fellow paceman Jamie Overton did likewise despite dislocating his finger in his first over. West Indies coach Darren Sammy, meanwhile, demanded an improved showing from the tourists in the second ODI in Cardiff on Sunday. "We were really outplayed -- that was just not good enough," insisted the former West Indies captain.
Business Recorder
a day ago
- Business Recorder
England thrash West Indies by 238 runs in opening ODI clash
BIRMINGHAM: England thrashed West Indies by 238 runs in Harry Brook's first match in charge as full-time captain to snap a seven-match ODI losing streak and move 1-0 up in the three-match series at a sunny Edgbaston on Thursday. Put in to bat, England piled up 400-8 as Jacob Bethell smashed a destructive 82 in 53 balls and Ben Duckett, Joe Root and Brook all helped themselves to half centuries against a ragged West Indies attack. It was the highest score England had amassed at home against West Indies in the 50-over format and it proved far too much for the visitors who capitulated in feeble fashion. Saqib Mahmood and Jamie Overton both took three wickets with Brook taking five catches as the West Indies reply crumbled to 162 all out with only Keacy Carty and captain Shai Hope scoring more than 20 before an entertaining but meaningless late cameo of 29 by number 11 Jayden Seales. It was the perfect start to Brook's reign as white ball captain as England recorded their second-largest win in terms of runs, second only to the 242-run thrashing of Australia in 2018. The 21-year-old Bethell, who shared a seventh-wicket stand of 98 from 44 balls with Will Jacks and also took a wicket, was named man of the match at his home ground. 'It's pretty special to play for the first time here for England and to top it off with a win like that,' he said. 'I enjoy batting in the middle order. Today was a pretty easy situation to come into. When I'm in, I can hit a lot of balls to the boundary.' He struck eight boundaries and thumped five sixes against before falling short of a first senior century when edging a wide delivery by Seales behind to West Indies skipper Shai Hope. Seales was the pick of the West Indies bowlers with Bethell being his fourth wicket, although he did concede 84 runs in nine overs. England began in brisk fashion with openers Jamie Smith and Duckett setting the tone with 59 coming off the first six overs. Smith, looking comfortable after being promoted to the top of the order, departed for 37 when he was brilliantly caught by Brandon King off the bowling of Alzarri Joseph. Root joined Duckett and they continued to shred the West Indies attack until another magical catch, this time by Roston Chase who hung on to a ferocious Duckett (60) at backward point off of a ball by Justin Greaves. Root made 57 and Brook 58 before Bethell grabbed the limelight with a sensational knock. It looked a tall order for West Indies and when Greaves fell to Mahmood in the third over and King was caught behind in the fourth, the writing was on the wall. Carty and Hope offered some resistance but Carty was out for 22 mistiming a pull off Mahmood and picking out Brook. Hope (25) then fell to a super catch by a leaping Carse at deep square leg to give Mahmood his third wicket and leave West Indies reeling on 66-4. Bethell showed his touch with the ball to give Brook another catch to remove Jewel Andrew and the rest was a formality as England got back to winning ways in style. 'That was a pretty phenomenal performance from the boys. Nice to get the series under way in good fashion,' Brook said. The second match is in Cardiff on Sunday.
Business Recorder
2 days ago
- Business Recorder
Smith to open for England in ODI series opener against West Indies
LONDON: Jamie Smith will open the batting for England in Thursday's ODI against West Indies at Edgbaston, captain Harry Brook confirmed on Wednesday ahead of the three-match series. 'He's got the strength to do so – the technique to be able to face the swinging ball,' said Brook, who takes charge of his first match since replacing Jos Buttler as captain. Smith, who will open alongside Ben Duckett, batted at three during England's disappointing Champions Trophy campaign, averaging a meagre eight with a top score of 15. He comes in at seven for the Test team. 'Baz (head coach Brendon McCullum] and I have this desire that he could be an unbelievable white-ball opener,' Brook said. 'I am not saying he has cemented his spot but he is going to get a good crack. He is such an immense player and can play the moving ball, as we have seen in Test cricket. There is no reason he can't bang it as an opener.' Former captain Buttler and all-rounders Jacob Bethell and Will Jacks are all in the side after returning from the Indian Premier League (IPL) while Joe Root is slated to come in at three with Brook at four. Pace bowlers Jofra Archer, Mark Wood and Gus Atkinson are all missing because of injuries but Brydon Carse has recovered from a toe issue and will be joined by Saqib Mahmood and Jamie Overton in the pace attack. Smith back at three as England rejig batting order for Australia clash England were de-throned as ODI world champions and then suffered a dire Champions Trophy within the space of nine months and Brook said it was time to begin a new chapter. 'Hopefully we can bring a lot of energy, competitiveness and lot of fun out there,' Brook said. 'We want to engage the crowd as much as we can and try to get some wins under our belt. I know lads have sometimes said that we don't care about winning but that's not true. Everybody hates losing.' England are ranked eighth in the ODI standings with West Indies ninth and with only the top eight, excluding hosts South Africa and Zimbabwe, earning automatic qualification for the 2027 World Cup, there is plenty at stake in the series. The second match takes place in Cardiff on Sunday with the third at the Oval on Tuesday.
