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Times
an hour ago
- Entertainment
- Times
Joe Root rescues England and seals series with sublime century
One-day internationals can come and go, gone from the memory banks as quickly as some of the balls fly to the boundary, but sometimes they can linger. Sometimes an individual's brilliance, particularly when it goes against the grain of most modern thinking and hitting, will make a lasting impression, and that will surely be the case here after Joe Root's match-winning innings. It was that special; a magnificent unbeaten 166 (off only 139 balls), his 18th century in ODIs and 54th in total in international cricket, that, with its class and character, rescued England from a perilous position. It was clearly one of his finest innings, but all he would say was: 'It was good fun, I enjoyed it.' The 34-year-old went on to praise England's bowlers for restricting West Indies to 308 when 350 had looked likely at one stage. He had some luck early on, but the crispness and touch of his strokes — a back-foot punch and on drive, both off Jayden Seales, stand out most — and the calmness of his decision-making as the pressure grew were a joy to behold. We really are lucky to be able to watch a player of such greatness; such orthodoxy that can find its metier amid the muscle and the mayhem. And, given Root's age, we should cherish every moment of it. Root was superbly supported by Will Jacks, who is clearly revelling in his new role at No 7, in a partnership of 143 that helped England to an unassailable 2-0 series lead, ensuring tomorrow's finale at the Oval will be a dead-rubber match. 'The way that Jacksy played was exceptional,' Root said. 'In a position in which he has not batted a lot, to show the maturity, skill levels, calmness and clarity he did was really impressive.' It was the highest chase in an ODI at Cardiff and was scant reward for Keacy Carty's fluent fourth ODI century, but, without wishing to be too harsh and it was indeed pleasing to see West Indies competitive after Thursday's mauling at Edgbaston, Carty summed up where West Indies erred. Having been inserted on what turned out to be a good pitch, they really should have got so many more. They were bowled out with 2.2 overs of their innings remaining, and Carty will know that, with just under 15 overs of the innings left, he should then have gone for the kill rather than tamely being stumped off Jacks's off spin. It was hard too on Brandon King and Shai Hope, the captain, who both made half-centuries, as well as Alzarri Joseph, who bowled with pace and hostility. AP And England were actually poor in many areas. They were horribly sloppy in the field, dropping catches for fun, and, for all the excellence of Saqib Mahmood and Adil Rashid with the ball, they missed the injured Jamie Overton when attempting to intimidate West Indies with the short-ball ploy that had worked so well in Birmingham. With the bat they began horrifically and, though Harry Brook, the captain, sparkled briefly, it required something special from Root to take them to victory. The inexperienced West Indies opener Jewel Andrew got a duck but thereafter Carty and King put on a run-a-ball partnership of 141 that laid a solid foundation for the visiting team. Brydon Carse snared Andrew and could have had more immediately too but Ben Duckett failed to take two difficult catches at second slip, while Mahmood dropped King on 42 off Jacob Bethell. England could also have run either of Carty or King out when they were stranded mid-pitch after a mix-up, but Duckett chose the safe option of an underarm throw to the wicketkeeper from mid-on and, sadly, it was more of a lob and King made his ground. Inevitably it was the ever-reliable leg spinner Rashid who broke the partnership, persuading King to hit him to Carse at long-off. Shimron Hetmyer was trapped leg-before by Rashid and Justin Greaves went when Duckett at last had some success in the field, taking the catch at long-off to give Bethell a wicket. Brook took a brilliant tumbling catch to dismiss Matthew Forde and Roston Chase edged the next ball from Mahmood behind, and the end then came swiftly for West Indies, even if there was another fielding howler as Root dropped Hope before catching Gudakesh Motie the next ball off Rashid. Joseph slogged merrily, going six, four, out to Rashid, whose four wickets cost 63, before Hope was the last man out to Mahmood, who finished with three for 37. GETTY In reply England made the worst possible start, losing both openers for ducks, Jamie Smith edging a good ball from Seales in the first over, and Duckett completed a miserable day by slicing Forde to third man. And it could have been a third duck, as Root would have been a long way out from a direct hit when Brook called him for a single. And, on seven, Root was so close to being leg-before to Forde. The review just, and only just, fell in Root's favour. Next ball Brook, on 30, was dropped behind off Seales and Root could have been run out again on 30, before Brook top-edged Joseph to long leg. And a third duck did come, and it was a sketchy seven-ball one for Jos Buttler, bowled off his back elbow by Joseph. Root passed Eoin Morgan as England's leading runscorer in ODIs (he would take his record tally to 7,082) and made fifty from only 52 balls, but Bethell could not repeat his Edgbaston heroics, leg-before to Chase, and from the last 20 overs England required 142 with five wickets in hand. It was a tough ask, but Root pulled Motie for six to go to 96 and went to his hundred off 98 balls with a swept four next ball. Still 105 runs were needed, though, but three fours in a Chase over, including two reverse-sweeps, soon reduced that. With ten overs left, England, with Root on 132, required only 64. Root went to his highest ODI score (previously 133 not out) with a straight six off Greaves. 'It's a sign you're getting old,' he said afterwards with further typical modesty. West Indies seemed to delay Joseph's return to the attack too long, because, when he did reappear, he trapped Jacks leg-before for 49, with 33 still to win. On Root surged, though, passing 150 off 129 balls. Carse was bounced out by Joseph, who bowled a wicket maiden to finish off a valiant effort, but Root found further assistance from Rashid and, fittingly, the great man hit the winning runs, with seven balls remaining, with another beautiful on-drive. Simple and perfect.
News.com.au
7 hours ago
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
Melbourne Renegades boost chances at another WBBL crown with star signing
The world class West Indian is back. The Melbourne Renegades have boosted their chances of another WBBL title with the commitment of dynamite all-rounder Hayley Matthews. Matthews, the Windies national captain, was a key part of the Renegades' remarkable run from cellar dwellers to champions last summer. The 27-year-old said the tight-knit nature of the 'Gades and the quality of the WBBL prompted her to return in 2025-26. 'I think it attracts all the main stars for that reason, specifically,' Matthews said. 'Obviously, Australia being the No.1 ranked team in the world – and you can definitely see why when you look at the competition like the WBBL. 'The quality and the standard is so high, I feel like for me personally, having the opportunity to play in the Big Bash from about 17 years old, I have seen the competition grow and get better every year. 'I think for me as an athlete I have had an opportunity to grow and get better with the competition, which is something I like to use a lot too. 'We obviously don't have the best domestic circuit in the West Indies where I am from, so being a part of a competition like the WBBL definitely does help my game grow and get better as well.' The upcoming campaign will be Matthews' fourth consecutive stint at the Renegades. Matthews didn't have the most damaging first two seasons but proved her worth in the back-end of last summer with a string of strong showings. She said her form during the latter part of the season was her 'repaying' the Renegades' faith in her. 'I obviously didn't have the best Big Bash seasons in my first two years at Renegades, so I think for me as well it shows that they definitely put a lot of faith and trust in me,' she said. 'Which was massively appreciated, I am just really glad I was able to repay them, get some runs and get some wickets and be a big part of that winning season. 'It feels like it was me repaying their faith of me over the three years of me being there.' Matthews felt the Renegades 'slipped under the radar' as a team no one thought could go all the way. She expects teams to do their homework on the reigning champions and come hunting. 'As defending champions teams are definitely going to have us rated highly. I think before we probably slipped under the radar a little bit,' she said. 'Teams are certainly going to be coming hard this year and certainly going to be taking the squad seriously. 'People are going to want to play their best cricket against the Renegades, so we're going to have to come up against people really fighting. 'As a team I think it's about sticking together, we want the same goal as well, planning ahead to see how we're going to get there.'
BBC News
8 hours ago
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Test Match Special Root masterclass sees England win thriller
Simon Mann, England Ashes winner Steven Finn, and former England batter & West Indies Roland Butcher react to Joe Root's vintage 166 in a thrilling victory for England against West Indies which sees them win the ODI series with a game to spare. Root discusses his best ever ODI knock, whilst captain Harry Brook runs out of superlatives to describe Root. Plus, West Indies captain Shai Hope reflects on a game which got away from his side.
France 24
9 hours ago
- Sport
- France 24
Hundred hero Root 'still got a lot to give'
England's pursuit of 309 in Cardiff on Sunday was in dire straits at 2-2, with the hosts in fresh trouble at 133-5. But Root's ODI best of 166 not out off 139 balls sealed a three-wicket win an an unassailable 2-0 lead with one to play at the Oval on Tuesday. His innings at Sophia Gardens also saw star batsman Root become England's highest run-scorer in ODI cricket, surpassing retired World Cup-winning captain Eoin Morgan's tally of 6,957 "It's a sign you're getting old, having played as many games as that," said the smiling 34-year-old after becoming the first England batsman to go past 7,000 ODI runs. But Root, also England's record Test run-scorer and the top-ranked batsman in that format, was adamant he remained as run-hungry as ever. "I want to give as much as I can for England for as long as I can," he said. "I've still got a lot to give and a lot more runs in there and hopefully, an innings like that shows that. "Until that desire, that want to get better every day, want to add to the group and want to be not out at the end of a chase like that, when that's not a burning desire any more, it will be time to stop. "It doesn't feel like that's anywhere near the case at the moment and I'll keep just trying to do my part in helping us win games and series down the line." Brook's 'cricket intelligence' Harry Brook has overseen England's first ODI series triumph since September 2023 after taking over as white-ball captain from Jos Buttler, who rarely had a full-strength squad to choose from during his time as skipper. "I've played a huge amount of cricket with Jos and almost felt guilty that I wasn't able to be there for him throughout a lot of his tenure," said Root, who played just 19 ODIs between England's 2019 World Cup triumph and their woeful 2023 title defence as priority was given to the Test side. He added: "I want to play as much as I can for England. If I'm going to make the team better, then absolutely." West Indies, capitalising on some slack England fielding, were all set for a huge total at 170-2 after 30 overs, with Keacy Carty making a fine hundred. But they were held to 308 all out off 47.4 overs, with leg-spinner Adil Rashid taking four wickets and fast bowler Saqib Mahmood three. Root, while saying Brook is an "idiot" beyond the boundary, praised his fellow Yorkshireman's tactical nous on the field after England won with seven balls to spare. "As much as he's an idiot away from cricket –- and I can say that because I've known him forever –- he's very cricket intelligent," said Root. "He understands the game exceptionally well."
Yahoo
9 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Hundred hero Root 'still got a lot to give'
England's Joe Root on his way to an ODI-best 166 not out during a three-wicket win over the West Indies in Cardiff (Paul ELLIS) Joe Root insisted he has "still got a lot to give" after yet another record-breaking display in his celebrated career guided England to a one-day series win over the West Indies. England's pursuit of 309 in Cardiff on Sunday was in dire straits at 2-2, with the hosts in fresh trouble at 133-5. Advertisement But Root's ODI best of 166 not out off 139 balls sealed a three-wicket win an an unassailable 2-0 lead with one to play at the Oval on Tuesday. His innings at Sophia Gardens also saw star batsman Root become England's highest run-scorer in ODI cricket, surpassing retired World Cup-winning captain Eoin Morgan's tally of 6,957 "It's a sign you're getting old, having played as many games as that," said the smiling 34-year-old after becoming the first England batsman to go past 7,000 ODI runs. But Root, also England's record Test run-scorer and the top-ranked batsman in that format, was adamant he remained as run-hungry as ever. Advertisement "I want to give as much as I can for England for as long as I can," he said. "I've still got a lot to give and a lot more runs in there and hopefully, an innings like that shows that. "Until that desire, that want to get better every day, want to add to the group and want to be not out at the end of a chase like that, when that's not a burning desire any more, it will be time to stop. "It doesn't feel like that's anywhere near the case at the moment and I'll keep just trying to do my part in helping us win games and series down the line." - Brook's 'cricket intelligence' - Advertisement Harry Brook has overseen England's first ODI series triumph since September 2023 after taking over as white-ball captain from Jos Buttler, who rarely had a full-strength squad to choose from during his time as skipper. "I've played a huge amount of cricket with Jos and almost felt guilty that I wasn't able to be there for him throughout a lot of his tenure," said Root, who played just 19 ODIs between England's 2019 World Cup triumph and their woeful 2023 title defence as priority was given to the Test side. He added: "I want to play as much as I can for England. If I'm going to make the team better, then absolutely." West Indies, capitalising on some slack England fielding, were all set for a huge total at 170-2 after 30 overs, with Keacy Carty making a fine hundred. Advertisement But they were held to 308 all out off 47.4 overs, with leg-spinner Adil Rashid taking four wickets and fast bowler Saqib Mahmood three. Root, while saying Brook is an "idiot" beyond the boundary, praised his fellow Yorkshireman's tactical nous on the field after England won with seven balls to spare. "As much as he's an idiot away from cricket –- and I can say that because I've known him forever –- he's very cricket intelligent," said Root. "He understands the game exceptionally well." jdg/pb
