5 days ago
England v West Indies: third men's cricket ODI
Update:
Date: 2025-06-03T11:22:34.000Z
Title: Preamble
Content: Hello and welcome to the third and final ODI of the series between England and West Indies from The Oval.
Harry Brook's England side are sitting pretty having secured the series already, largely thanks to one of the most sublime fifty over centuries you are ever likely to see courtesy of Joseph Edward Root.
Sophia Gardens shimmered under Root's batting spell on Sunday, 166 runs of the highest order as England chased down 308 runs without really getting a bead on. Don't just take my word for it, Jonny Liew felt compelled to dip his quill about what he calls Root's 'greatest white ball innings.'
The winning moment is perfect. Perfect in concept, in balance, in execution, in placement, in flourish. The ball disappears through mid-on, and before it has even reached the boundary the lid is off and the smile is unsheathed, and for some reason it matters a great deal that the stroke to complete a towering one-day chase of 309 is not a wallop or a swipe, but an artful on-drive for four.'
The series may be in the bag but Captain Brook has spoken a lot about wanting his side to be 'ruthless', he'll want his side to make it a clean sweep in the ODI series before the T20 portion of West Indies' tour gets underway in Durham on Friday.
Also – whisper it - but England's fielding also left a lot to be desired on Sunday, dropped catches, fluffed run outs and mis-fields in the deep showed they still have plenty of work to do before they become slicker than a Brylcreem'd BP salesman and transform into a well drilled winning machine.
Shai Hope's side put up a much better display in Wales than the first game capitulation in Birmingham, Keacy Carty continued his excellent form to rack up his fourth ODI century and they'll be desperate to get a win under their belts on this tour.
Play is due to get underway at 1pm but there is some weather around here at The Oval, fingers crossed the grey clouds lift and we get a game in. As ever, drop us a line if you are tuning in.
