Read all about it with Simon’s report:
What an incredible innings from Root – intelligent, ruthless and easy, so easy, on the eye. He came in at 2-2 and carried England home with more than half the runs – an on drive for four popping the champagne.
Alzarri Joseph was magnificent with the ball – just a shame West Indies tailed off towards the end with the bat – and didn’t make more of England’s fielding mishaps – or the game could have been even tighter.
And as they start packing away in Cardiff, time for us to say goodbye too. Thanks for your company – we’ll be back for the last game in this series at The Oval on Tuesday, starting at 1pm BST. Have a great evening.
Captains' talk
Shai Hope: “We started a lot better with the bat, great to see Kacey doing well with the bat, really embraced that No.3 role. I thought we should have put on 30-40 more runs, just fell away at the end. The bowlers kept us in the game to the end.”
Harry Brook: “Root’s only getting better, he’s amazing to have in the side. It didn’t quite go our way in the field, I still think we bowled immensely well in the power play, it just didn’t go in the hand well.
“I’ve said to the boys I want players who can manipulate the field and Jacks has got that, he’s a proper batter and to have him at seven is amazing.”
Harry Brook is signing autographs for some little boys… and here is a tired-looking Joe Root with his magnum of sparkling champagne.
“From being two for two it was nice to be there at the end and finish it off, winning the series with a game to go. A tricky wicket in periods which made for a great game as well.
“ I though Alzarri bowled amazingly well, I thought the way Will Jacks played was exceptional to show that maturity in a position that he doesn’t play in a lot.
Next world cup?“As long as I’ve got that motivation, that fire in my belly, I hope I’ll make the cut.”
“I think the way that Harry has come in and put his stamp on things has been very impressive too. He sticks to his guns and you’ve seen exactly how that looks today and credit to him for doing that – the way he played got us off to a brilliant start. We all know what a great player is, and in time we’ll see what a great captain he is too.”
How do you praise Joe Root more? Eoin Morgan has a go “The manner in which he scores and the ease in which he scores speaks volumes and the impact it has on the people around him allows an air of calm. He just makes it look so easy. He is very diligent in his preparation.”
I think we know who the player of the match is.
Root takes his helmet off, handshakes all round, and leads the players off, walks up through the crowd to the dressing room where his captain Harry Brook is waiting.
England beat West Indies by three wickets and lead the series 2-0
48.5 overs: England 312-7 ( Root 166, Rashid 10) Target 309 West Indies have bowled too slowly so have to bring another fielder inside the circle. Seales with the penultimate over. Rashid loses a nasty short one and is made to dance. And Root brings it home with a gorgeous on-drive for four!
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Key event
48th over: England 304-7 ( Root 159, Rashid 10) Target 309 Root changes his mind mid-shot – just because he can. Then Rashid pulls a short pancake for four. West Indies review an lbw against Rashid, looks good but has grazed his bat. England need five from 12 balls.
47th over: England 298-7 ( Root 158, Rashid 5) Target 309 A stroke of relief, Rashid blazes Greaves though midwicket for four, and Root finishes the over by eyeing up the field and then pulling an easy-peasy four. England need 11 from 18.
46th over: England 288-7 ( Root 153, Rashid 0) Target 309 Rashid somehow survives the last three balls of Joseph’s spell, letting the last ball smack him in the chest. Somehow he forces a smile. An appreciative round of applause for Joseph, and so well deserved – ten overs, four for 31, the best bowler of the day.21 needed from 24 balls
WICKET! Carse c Seales b Joseph 2 (England 288-7)
A 90mph bouncer misses both groping Carse and keeper to go for four but, next ball, Carse wheels wildly at a steaming Joseph and is caught at short backward square.
150 for Root!
45th over: England 284-6 ( Root 153, Carse 2) Target 309 Carse gets some more chin music. But like a fine wine and all that – Root reaches his first ODI 150 by spotting the slowing ball, stepping back and smashing Forde over extra cover. 25 needed.
44th over: England 276-6 ( Root 147, Carse 0) Target 309 It was always going to be Joseph with the breakthrough and he polishes off his penultimate over with a brutish bouncer to Carse. It’s probably too late for a twist with only 33 needed…
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WICKET! Jacks lbw Joseph 49 (England 276-6)
Joseph powers one into Jack’s back pad. Up goes the finger – Root, who turns out not to be a very reliable review reader, tells Jacks to go upstairs. Umpire’s call it is, and Jacks goes for an excellent, restrained and pitch-perfect 49.
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43rd over: England 275-5 ( Root 146, Jacks 49) Target 309 Jacks pulls off his helmet and signals for a drink, he’s wearing no-mow-May down the middle of his head, shorn at the sides. Seales sends down a wide, and a no ball – though Root can only pick one from the free hit.
OBO master Tim de Lisle drops an email: “Root was on 90 off 96 balls, so his last 50 has come off 22. Now he needs to get out to make a series of it!” Not wanting to curse him, but he seems untouchable today. 34 needed.
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42nd over: England 266-5 ( Root 141, Jacks 47) Target 309 Joseph. But too late? Threat, but no cigar. And four byes pass over Jacks head.
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41st over: England 256-5 ( Root 139, Jacks 42) Target 309 Root has the magic in his veins today – bang, Greaves disappears into the sightscreen. The target drops to 53 from 54 balls.
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40th over: England 245-5 ( Root 132, Jacks 39) The West Indies brains trust holds an urgent meeting. Root does the hot-shoe-shuffle and pings Chase past his head for four, and finishes the over by sweeping a leg side potato for four more. Time for some last-gasp Joseph? He still has three overs left.
39th over: England 234-5 ( Root 123, Jacks 37) Win Viz still gives West Indies a 53 per cent chance of victory – which seems generous as Root spins and pulls Greaves for four more. Jacks playing an excellent quiet hand here too. The hundred partnership comes and goes – off 91 balls.
38th over: England 226-5 ( Root 117, Jacks 35) Target 309 Chase bounces to the crease, Root reverse-sweeps him for four. Then reverse-dab-dinks for four more. ROOOOOooooot hoot the crowd. A third boundary as he gallops with intent and lofts over mid-off.
37th over: England 212-5 ( Root 104, Jacks 34) He bats, he sprints! Jacks calls Root for two and they make it easily. And the target falls below 100 – 97 needed.
A hundred for Joe Root!
36th over: England 206-5 ( Root 102, Jacks 30) Ping! Root’s eyes gleam, and he pulls Motie for six. Pong! He sweeps the next ball round the corner and along for four. He unpeels his helmet, blond hair stuck to his head with sweat, and raises his bat. Gets a hug from Jacks, a standing ovation from the balcony, and from the crowd. A little boy in a black anorak can’t stop grinning. Surprisingly, only his second hundred in six years in 50-over international cricket.
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35th over: England 192-5 ( Root 90, Jacks 29) Better from Forde, who only goes for three runs – after bowling his first five for 53.
34th over: England 189-5 ( Root 88, Jacks 28) A hankerchief of singles off Motie, but Root is nearly bowled round his pads.
33rd over: England 186-5 ( Root 86, Jacks 27) A smiling Root is flummoxed for once, done by Forde’s slower ball and left flapping at air, but cashes in soon afterward, squeezing four through deep third. England will ease to victory if these two stay in.
32nd over: England 178-5 ( Root 81, Jacks 24) Motie proving an expensive sixth wheel. Root sweeps fine to the rope, Jacks pulls with curled lip through midwicket.
31st over: England 169-5 ( Root 77, Jacks 19) Suitably quenched, Seales bowls a disciplined six balls.
30th over: England 167-5 ( Root 76, Jacks 18) A couple watch enthralled from the stands, the woman wrapped in an England fan, the man with a Lancashire tracksuit top. England tick along, five singles from Motie’s over. DRINKS!
29th over: England 162-5 ( Root 73, Jacks 16) Root greets Seales’ return to the attack by driving him, immaculately, in a velvet cloack,down the ground for four. Some energetic running between the wicket.
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28th over: England 153-5 ( Root 66, Jacks 14) Time for bit of left-arm spin from Motie, his first ball is a wide losener, and Jacks drives him with relief to the rope. Not what Dr Hope ordered, but Motie finds his mojo, and serves up four successive dot balls.
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27th over: England 147-5 ( Root 66, Jacks 8) Jacks is semi-jacknifed by Joseph, but gets a single. Root recieves a snorter that he contemplates pulling – beaten. Hoping we haven’t missed the drinks break, I’m gasping for a cup of tea.
26th over: England 143-5 ( Root 64, Jacks 6) Nurdle, gurgle.
”Hello Tanya !” Hello Tim Sanders. “Just to bring the news that Sir Jimmy has opened the bowling for Lancashire in their T20 game v Durham, at Chester-le-Street. Very decent Powerplay figures of 3-0-15-2. The road to the World Cup 2026 starts here !”
25th over: England 138-5 ( Root 61, Jacks 4) Hope gambles, and throws the ball to Joseph, to make the most of this chink of light. In he comes, languid long legs, accelerating with every stride. England deal with him ok, until the last ball which leaves Jack grasping uncertainly.
24th over: England 134-5 ( Root 60, Jacks 1) The weather doesn’t seem entirely clear what it is doing at Cardiff. The sun is out, the wind is blowing the players shirts, but the clouds building up behind the trees, in full glorious green, are grey. England too are in a betwixt stage –Bethell gone, and after Jacks comes Carse, and the start of a long tail. Nicely bowled by Chase.
WICKET! Bethell lbw Chase 17 (England 133-5)
Bethell sticks navy blue pad forwards and Chase hits him on it. Looks out, given out, but Bethell reviews, encouraged by Root. The review is wasted, the ball would have hit middle and leg , and he is on his way.
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23rd over: England 130-4 ( Root 57, Bethell 17) I wasn’t able to watch the first ODI, but Ali Martin’s match report described Bethell playing very much as he is now. Slow and unhurried – and later suddenly accelerating. “Auditioning for Test cricket” says Vic Marks with a twinkle on TMS.
22nd over: England 126-4 ( Root 55, Bethell 15) Famous last words, but with Root at the crease, I trust England know what they are doing. They continue their calm accumulation game.
21st over: England 122-4 ( Root 53, Bethell 13 ) Bethell cuts a short fat pie from Greaves to the rope.
“Unlike the 9 dart finish or 147 break, which both seem almost commonplace these days, a hat-trick in international cricket stills seems like a genuine rarity.” writes Simon McMahon. “It wouldn’t be unlike me to be wrong, though. I’m sure the OBO hive mind could come up with the relevant stats about legs / frames / overs bowled.”
The last hat-trick I can remember wasn’t international, but did include international players – it was Jordan Clark, then of Lancashire, who dismissed Joe Root, Kane Williamson and Jonny Bairstow in a Roses match in 2018. But this is very much an anecdote not data answer.
Fifty for Joe Root
20th over: England 115-4 ( Root 51, Bethell 8 )Six singles from Chase’s first over – during which Root jogs through to his fifty – from just 52 balls – eight glorious fours.
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19th over: England 110-4 ( Root 48, Bethell 6) Greaves is getting some back of a length deliveries to lift alarmingly, Root looks suspiciously at the spot after being twice beaten. After a fabulous over, the sixth ball is a pinch too full and Root drives him straight back down the ground for four – because that’s just the kind of genius he is. Like staring at a rogue nasal hair on a perfect face.
18th over: England 105-4 ( Root 44, Bethell 5) Jospeh continues to pound in with menace. Bethell gets another nose-snorter, at 88mph, and bends his back once more.
Hello there Tom V d Gucht. “Having a quick glance at the run rate required, it looks like we’re entering the sort of territory bazballers have nightmares over... 30 overs of steady accumulation knocking around a couple of 2’s and a single each over with the occasional 4 will pretty much see you over the finishing line . Yet, the innate desire to dominate will no doubt rear its ugly head and England will be all out trying to scorch unnecessary boundaries...”
Time will tell! At the moment Bethell and Root are riding out this spell from Jospeh and accumulating quietly like good boys…
Root becomes England's leading ODI run-scorer
17th over: England 102-4 ( Root 42, Bethell 4) Greaves continues to keep it tight, three dots are enough to have Bethell swinging wildly, and missing. And with a single from the last ball, Root becomes England’s leading run-scorer in ODI cricket – with 6958 runs at 48.313, overtaking Eoin Morgan – and in 39 fewer innings.
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16th over: England 100-4 ( Root 41, Bethell 3) Root pulls awkwardly, blind, but the ball falls bisecting two fielders. A round of applause for England’s hundred, but Joseph keeps up the pressure, all around 90mph.
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15th over: England 96-4 ( Root 38, Bethell 1) Greaves must hold up one end while Joseph delivers firebolts at the other. And he does fine – three singles from the over
Afternoon Tanya. Hello Keith Channel.
“Quick observation relating to the West Indies innings...Mahmood gets 2 wickets in 2 balls but fails to get a hat trick with the next ball. From the crowd? Next to nothing. No loud, respectful applause as per tradition.
“I’ve never noticed this happening (or not happening!) before. Am I out of touch or is this not a thing anymore?”
Hello Keith, um, I’m not sure I know the answer to that and I wasn’t watching either at that point. No applause at all?
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14th over: England 93-4( Root 37, Bethell 0) Joseph is not a man for superfluous smiles. Silver chain round his neck, watch on one wrist, he celebrates Buttler’s wicket with some high fives and a nod. He leaves his calling card with Bethell, who gets a fierce snorter second ball – Bethell bends and sways.
WICKET! Butter b Joseph 0 (England 93-4)
An inside edge off the bone of the elbow skittles onto his stumps, which fly obligingly. Another deliciously nasty delivery from Joseph.
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13th over: England 92-3( Root 36, Buttler 0) Root toe-ends a four first ball. A jittery Buttler steps forward to Greaves, drives, misses. Six deliveries without scoring.
12th over: England 87-3( Root 31, Buttler 0) Joseph continues an excellent over, hurrying Butter with a nasty bouncer. He out-thought as well as out-bowled Brook there – “The line was the key” says Eoin Morgan. A wonderful cameo from Brook – 47 from 36 balls, in a partnership of 85 with Root.
WICKET! Brook c Seales b Joseph 47 (England 97-3)
Smart bowling by Joseph! Brook is beaten by the two previous balls and flays at the third, short-pitched, but doesn’t get the traction, or the direction, and is caught at fine leg.
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11th over: England 86-2 (Root 30, Brook 47) Seales continues – maybe an over too many as he over pitches and Brook leans forward and drives him, squarish and with disdain.
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10th over: England 78-2 (Root 28, Brook 40) Forde is removed from further punishment by Hope, after four overs for 46, and the ball is thrown to Alzarri Joseph. Brook shimmies him off his boots for four, and four leg byes add to West Indies troubles. At the same stage, West Indies were 56-1. England have comprehensively rebooted after losing both openers for nought.
9th over: England 67-2 (Root 27, Brook 35) When I said these two would nurdle, what I of course meant was flay the bowlers around the park. Another four for each batter – Brook a thick edge over the slips, Root cuts Seales on tip toes.
An email drops – hello there John Starbuck. “You may not know this one, but ‘tight lines’ is how anglers bid farewell to each other. It’s a good luck phrase and possibly extremely appropriate in the current game.” Why thank you, I did not know that! I have never been fishing.
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8th over: England 58-2 (Root 23, Brook 30) Smith and Duckett are watching on the balcony, Smith chewing his hand, Duckett behind a pair of purple shades. A crescendo of approval as Root sends Forde singing through extra cover for four. And now he cuts, cruelly, the ball flying over a leaping first slip. And another extra cover drive, even juicier than the first, and finally a midwicket clip for four more. Four boundaries in the over and a fed-up Forde wriggles his moustache and takes his cap.
7th over: England 41-2 (Root 7, Brook 30) And immediately, Brook is dropped by Hopoe– a diving effort but he can’t hold on. An excellent over by Seales follows – a maiden – and the bowlers are feeling hard done by.
6th over: England 41-2 (Root 7, Brook 30) That’s more like it! Forde delivers a juicy half tracker and Brook fires it for six, with the wind and added rocket boosters. Four more, as he leans back and pows one through mid-off . And a third successive boundary, with a delicate late cut running past where third man had just been loitering. A huge lbw shout against Root finishes the over – but it’s umpire’s call – just. Ooof, that was brushing the bails.
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5th over: England 25-2 (Root 6, Brook 15) A first boundary for Root, shuffled to the midwicket boundary, and the over finishes with a funny cartoon-like pull from Brook which goes up, and down, safe but not convincing.
4th over: England 16-2 (Root 1, Brook 11) Forde’s diamond (or diamond-like) studs glint in his ears as he runs in, muscular approach. Another boundary for Brook as he turns him off his hip; another wide - West Indies won’t want many more of those.
3rd over: England 9-2 (Root 1, Brook 6) Seales again, tight lines, not giving much away. Expect some accumulative nurdling from Root and Brook as they rebuild. A wide and a single.
2nd over: England 7-2 (Root 0, Brook 5) Brook comes in with the score 2-2 and is immediately off the mark with an ever-so-easy four through the covers. And then, just for a laugh, he calls Root for a single which – had there been a direct hit – would have sent Root back to the dressing-room. Root is not amused.
WICKET! Duckett c Seales b Forde 0 (West Indies 2-2)
Ben Duckett’s butter-fingered day gets worse when he launches into a gung-ho flay at a wide ball, which flies serenely to Seales at deep third.
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1st over: England 1-0 (Duckett 0, Root 0) Seales with the new ball, the wind pummelling the West Indies flag flying over Cardiff. If Kevin Pietersen is watching, he’ll surely approved of the KP emblazoning Jamie Smith’s sleeves – but five balls is all Smith is getting as he launches an over-anxious drive.
England innings - chasing 309 WICKET! Smith c Hope b Seales 0 (England 0-1)
Seales floats one away from Smith, who has decided on a fierce drive and, with feet of clay, can only kiss one behind. Seales is delighted.
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Thanks Jim! A bit of a mixed bag from England there, who fielded like your favourite elderly uncles the morning after a family wedding. But with the West Indies cruising at 205-2, Harry Brook will probably be happy enough with bowling them out for 308. A wonderful century from Keacy Carty, and handy innings from Brandon King and Shai Hope – they did however leave 15 balls out on the park.
I’m going to skedaddle but thanks for your company, Tanya Aldred will be along shortly to take you through England’s chase. Goodbye!
West Indies 308 all out
That’s yer lot! Shai Hope crashes a four through the leg side but then loses his shape looking to go big again, Harry Brook skirts round to take the catch and end the innings. West Indies have runs on the board but at 204-2 they might’ve fancied setting a target of 350 or above.
England were pretty terrible in the field, shelling five chances, fluffing a run out and even some calamitous fielding on the fence. They took ten wickets in the end and will be pretty happy that they managed to claw themselves back into the game but it wasn’t pretty at times.
Keacy Carty was the star man for the visitors – his fourth ODI century was very pleasing on the eye but he was given a couple of lives by England early on.
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47th over: West Indies 304-9 (Hope 74, Seales 0) Jayden Seales is the last man for West Indies. Shai Hope is still there, he’ll be farming the strike from here.
WICKET! Alzarri Joseph b Rashid 10 (West Indies 304-9)
Alzarri Joseph launches his first ball for SIX over mid-on and picks up four with his next with a meaty edge down to third! Rashid has the final word by knocking back the leg stump but West Indies will take the runs!
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WICKET! Gudakesh Motie c Root b Rashid 18 (West Indies 294-8)
Rashid to bowl out, can he keep a lid on Shai Hope. Nah! Hope frying pans down the ground for SIX, the ball soaring over the stands and into the River Taff. Hope goes again and doesn’t get it, Root settles underneath it and DROPPED. Ah, that’s a goober from Joe. Hope takes the single on offer but he should be back in the sheds. GONE! Root clings on to a steepler the very next ball but barely celebrates, Motie is on his way but dangerman Shai Hope is still there. England have been extremely poor in the catching and fielding department today.
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46th over: West Indies 287-7 (Hope 67, Motie 18) Motie picks up consecutive fours into the leg side, the first courtesy of some poor fielding by the recently garlanded Saqib Mahmood and the second flicked behind square with ease. Lovely! Gudakesh Motie is playing a fine cameo here, he goes down on one knee and Dil-scoops over his own head and that of Jos Buttler’s for four more and then punches off the back foot into the gap behind point to make it four fours off the over!
45th over: West Indies 271-7 (Hope 67, Motie 2) Mahmood fluffs his lines with the hat-trick ball, serving up one on leg stump that new batter Gudakesh Motie clips away with ease. Nevertheless, two wickets in the over causes a headache for Shai Hope, West Indies need more runs but are winning out of wickets!
WICKET! Chase c Buttler b Mahmood 0 (West Indies 268-7)
Mahmood on a hat-trick now after Chase nicks off first ball!
WICKET! Matthew Forde c Brook b Mahmood 1 (West Indies 268-6)
Mahmood back into the attack with two overs up his sleeve and he picks up Forde cheaply! A hoick from Forde sends spliced top edge to cover where Harry Brook takes a well-judge catch stumbling backwards. England chipping away in the final ten…
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44th over: West Indies 268-5 (Hope 66, Forde 1) New batter Matthew Forde is nearly sent on his way swiping across the line by Bethell but the DRS review for an LBW stays with the umpires decision of not out on the line of impact. SIX! Shai Hope closes out the over with something of a shonky smear down the ground but the boundaries are so small straight that it still clears the rope comfortably.
WICKET! Justin Greaves c Duckett b Bethell 22 (West Indies 258-5)
Caught in the deep, Bethell has his first and Greaves is on his way with West Indies needing more in Cardiff.
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43rd over: West Indies 243-4 (Hope 57, Greaves 22) Potts comes back into the attack and is greeted by Shai Hope pongoing him back down the ground for SIX! The bowler responds with a searing yorker but Hope manages to dig it out and squirt it behind square for another boundary. Potts can’t believe it, he thought that had snuck through for a second. Hope goes to a 28th ODI fifty, he’s some player.
43rd over: West Indies 243-4 (Hope 46, Greaves 21) Greaves slaps a flighted ball from Rashid to the fence with real force. Mahmood save a couple of runs with a diving stop at backward point but Greaves is in the mood now, flaying Rashid up and over midwicket for four more. Twelve off the over, Eoin Morgan thinks West Indies should have been aiming for 350 but might have to settle for 310.
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41st over: West Indies 231-4 (Hope 45, Greaves 10) England continue to squeeze, Jacob Bethell peels off an over for just four runs and Shai Hope is visibly champing at the bit, he know his side need to make the most of this foundation and are spluttering a bit to get out of gear at the moment.
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40th over: West Indies 227-4 (Hope 43, Greaves 7) Ten overs remaining and the run rate has slowed down with a couple of wickets in the last ten overs. Time for some humpty I reckon.
39th over: West Indies 220-4 (Hope 42, Greaves 3) Rashid gets in and out of another over cheaply, just four funs off it. Apologies if I said Jamie Smith was behind the stump earlier on – it is of course Jos Buttler. England’s former captain described Rashid as the most indispensable member of the ODI team when he presented the leg-spinner with his 150th ODI cap on Friday. It’s been another fine performance from Rashid – he has 2-34 from his eight overs so far.
38th over: West Indies 216-4 (Hope 40, Greaves 1) Just four off Carse’s ninth over, West Indies looking to put their foot down but just being kept quiet by England at the moment.
37th over: West Indies 212-4 (Hope 37, Greaves 0) Justin Greaves is the new man and Brydon Carse returns to the attack with two overs left in the can.
WICKET! Shimron Hetmyer lbw b Rashid 4 (West Indies 212-4)
Rashid strikes! Pins Hetmyer in front of all three and DRS confirms it was stone dead.
36th over: West Indies 209-3 (Hope 35, Hetmyer 3 ) Love this, Shimron Hetymer swaggers out to the middle sans helmet. He can cause some real damage if he gets going. Gets off the mark with a couple of flicks into the leg side.
WICKET! Keacy Carty st Buttler b Jacks 103 (West Indies 205-3)
Gone! Keacy Carty wants to get in on the action but ends up trotting past a flighted ball from Jacks – Buttler does the business behind the stumps and a fine knock comes to a close.
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Will Jacks into the attack and Shai Hope is going to target him – plants the foot and slaps down the ground for SIX!
35th over: West Indies 198-2 (Carty 103, Hope 27) Delightful way to go to a century! Keacy Carty plays a deft late cut off Bethell and he’s timed it behind point for four! Fantastic knock, he had some luck early on after being spilled by Duckett and Mahmood but has played a classy innings full of sparkling drives and cuts.
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34th over: West Indies 188-2 (Carty 97, Hope 24) Something’s gonna give… Shai Hope is getting frustrated as he unfurls some brutal shots but they go straight to the fielders in the ring. Just three runs off Potts and Carcy’s wait for a ton continues.
33rd over: West Indies 185-2 (Carty 97, Hope 21) Jacob Bethell returns, he’ll need to bowl plenty of the remaining overs along with Will Jacks. A decent start after drinks, just three off it and a play and a miss induced from Carty who is one boundary away form a fourth ODI century.
32nd over: West Indies 182-2 (Carty 96, Hope 19) Brook rotates through his seamers, Potts is called up on and bangs the ball in on a good length, the ball flying through at head height to Buttler behind the sticks. Three off it and time for a drink.
31st over: West Indies 179-2 (Carty 95, Hope 17) Shot! Carty spanks Mahmood through the leg side on the pull, Jacob Bethell dives full stretch at short midwicket but can’t get to it. Carty is approaching what would be a fantastic century and will be giving Ben Duckett a wink at some point later on after Duckett spilled him in single figures a couple of hours ago.
30th over: West Indies 172-2 (Carty 90, Hope 15) Rashid rattles off another into a firm Welsh breeze. West Indies can target 350 and more from this position.
29th over: West Indies 168-2 (Carty 88, Hope 13) Mahmood back for another spell – he starts with a miserly over that is right on the button – just a single off it. He has 0-23 from his seven over so far as England burn through their seam options with more than twenty overs still to go. Harry Brook feeling the pressure for the first time in his tenure as captain, he’s been buzzing around to try and lift his side but rather resembles an over-zealous best man on the Sunday of a heavy-stag doo weekend, his men aren’t really giving him much back.
28th over: West Indies 167-2 (Carty 87, Hope 13) Rashid nearly gets out his fifth over cheaply but Shai Hope shows his quality with a languid drive for four that threads the needle in the covers.
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27th over: West Indies 161-2 (Carty 86, Hope 8) Brydon Carse looked lethal with the new ball but has started to leak runs towards the end of his allocation. He chunters all the way back to his mark after Shai Hope whips down the ground for four. A single brings Carty on strike and a bouncer is gloved well safe of Jamie Smith behind the stumps and brings another boundary. Harrrumph.
26th over: West Indies 150-2 (Carty 80, Hope 1) West Indies captain Shai Hope is the new man. Two aesthetically pleasing players at the crease for the visitors, can they capitalise on this healthy position?
WICKET! Brandon King c Carse b Rashid 59 (West Indies 147-1)
Rashid gets the breakthrough and England were very much in need. King tries to plonk him down the ground for six but finds the safe hands of Brydon Carse at long off. Partnership broken, King is on his way after a fine innings.
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25th over: West Indies 146-1 (King 59, Carty 77) Keacy Carty is opening the shoulders now, quite literally as he plays a forearm smash down the ground to Carse that Pete Sampras would have been happy with. Carse goes short again and Carty slams another pull through the leg side for four more! Eleven runs off the over, West Indies are half-way through their innings and have a solid foundation on which to post a challenging total. England have been well off the pace, time for a verbal rocket ‘Arry?
24th over: West Indies 135-1 (King 59, Carty 66) Rashid into his third over, no dice for him and five singles worked off it with no alarms for West Indies.
23rd over: West Indies 130-1 (King 57, Carty 64) Will Jacks is summoned. Carty rocks back and nails a punch behind point for four. More pain for England, plenty of it has been of their own making.
22nd over: West Indies 122-1 (King 55, Carty 58) Carse returns and King greets him with a one bounce for from a powerful pull shot! England then fluff another chance and it’s Duckett again! He initially does well to intercept the ball at mid-off but then floats an underarm throw to Buttler with both batsmen stranded mid pitch. The ball comes down with snow on it and King and Carcy had made their ground by the time Buttler could collect and take off the bails. Sloppy stuff from England.
21st over: West Indies 116-1 (King 50, Carty 57) King goes to a well made fifty with a punch through cover but there is some shonky running out in the middle, Carty wanted a quick single but was sent back by his partner, he then face-planted the floor as he dived for his crease. Chops full of dirt and not even a single to show for it.
20th over: West Indies 115-1 (King 49, Carty 57) King drives Potts down the ground for four and then Carty bookends the over with another four, this one is a beauty – holds the pose as he drives with real authority through extra cover. These two have played really well and England have been flatter than a Lincolnshire pancake in the field today.
19th over: West Indies 106-1 (King 44, Carty 53) Rashid drags down and is mown away for four by Keacy Carty who then raises his bat for a well made fifty. He’s in great nick and has played some sublime shots, elegant and powerful. Hundred up for the visitors.
18th over: West Indies 99-1 (King 44, Carty 49) A change of ends for Matt Potts but West Indies are happy to nudge the ones and twos. Potts is frustrated, giving it some double-teapot action at the end of the over. Here come’s Rashid…
17th over: West Indies 94-1 (King 43, Carty 45) Gah! Mahmood drops a sitter! England’s digits have been dripping in Trex today. That’s the third missed catch and the easiest of the lot. Bethell fires in at the leg-stump and Carty slaps a simple chance square to Mahmood, he misses the initial grab and then fails to take the rebound too. Seven off the over and Windies approaching the hundred mark, England need a wicket. Adil Rashid is warming up.
16th over: West Indies 87-1 (King 42, Carty 39) Three off Mahmood’s sixth over, he’s been frugal today – no wickets but only 22 runs scored off him.
Gary Naylor is not happy with the empty seats on display at Cardiff.
“I’m all for taking the England and Wales Cricket Board’s team to all corners of the realm, but I fail to understand why they cannot price seats so that they sell out. The capacity is about 15,000, so Sophia Gardens is hardly the Maracana. An empty seat is also a drink unsold at the bar, a kid at home playing Minecraft and not inspired to play sport and an atmosphere diluted. Just be smarter!”
Hard agree, this is something that those that run the game keep getting wrong. There’s a cost of living crisis on for FFS, how are families - or most people for that matter – supposed to afford tickets at north of a hundred pounds? It’s a school day anyway but Under 16 tickets for the final game of this series on Tuesday at the Oval are 40 quid and the adult tickets are 100, 120, 140 pounds a pop. I imagine they were a bit cheaper for Cardiff today but not by much.
It’ll come back to bite them in the summer when everyone is watching Oasis at Wembley…
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15th over: West Indies 84-1 (King 41, Carty 37) Jacob Bethell does indeed come on for a twirl put he doesn’t get it right in his first over, twelve runs from it as King helps himself to two fours on the leg side as the youngster doesn’t get his line right.
14th over: West Indies 72-1 (King 33, Carty 34) Ouch! Mahmood slams down a nasty bouncer that spits like a tobacco chewin’ cobra and has King hopping at the crease, the ball hitting the forearm on the way past. That’ll need some arnica later.
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13th over: West Indies 71-1 (King 33, Carty 33) Potts is flayed away outside off for four by Carty. Jacob Bethell is warming up, he’s either giving his captain a big tell or he’s got the nod and will be bowling his off-spin darts soon.
12th over: West Indies 62-1 (King 32, Carty 25) A change of ends for Mahmood and he uses the wind to get a ball to beat Carty on the outside edge. Three singles for West Indies, they’ve been much more compact today compared to Edgbaston.
11th over: West Indies 59-1 (King 31, Carty 23) Potts scuds one on to King’s pads but it was headed down the leg side and the appeal was duly muted. Eoin Morgan and Michael Atherton are discussing when ‘cricket was cool’ during the summer of 2005. Easy now fellas. Then again, every time I see the footage of the bus parade and Trafalgar Square it blows my mind.
Taha did a lovely piece on 2005 and all that last week. Where have the last twenty years gone?
10th over: West Indies 57-1 (King 30, Carty 21) Carse probes away and there’s just a couple of runs off his over, a leg bye and a single from Brandon King poked past point.
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9th over: West Indies 54-1 (King 29, Carty 21) Potts tightens things up for England who know have just one slip in place. Just a single off it and the last ball is play and miss from Carty who nibbles outside off at a decent outswinger. Good contest so far in Cardiff.
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8th over: West Indies 53-1 (King 28, Carty 21) Carse is flicked off the pads by Carty for four and then a regal drive sees Carty hold the pose as he sends the ball skimming to the fence. This is brilliant batting from West Indies and Carty, the sun has come out and England have been a bit wayward with the ball and in the field.
Carty plays another uncomplicated drive for for four and follows up with a delicious drive through mid-on for the fourth boundary of the over. Carse grabs his cap and mutters a few expletives that are picked up by the stump mic. Ooooh Pardon!
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7th over: West Indies 36-1 (King 28, Carty 5) Matthew Potts replaces Mahmood and Brandon King takes a shine to the Durham seamer. A short ball is dispatched for four through square and then a rasping drive sends a half volley pinging through the covers.
6th over: West Indies 25-1 (King 19, Carty 3) DROP! Duckett again! A thick edge from King off Carse and Duckett can only palm it over the bar in the slips. He’s usually a very safe pair of hands but he is a bit too short to be in the slips, sorry to all the little guys out there, but that would have been swallowed by anyone over 5ft9. Am I being short-ist? Will I get cancelled. A bit of frisson for a Sunday morning. England and Duckett have shelled two regulation chances this morning.
King rubs salt in the wound by swivelling a pull for four in some style.
5th over: West Indies 17-1 (King 11, Carty 3) Mahmood peels off a tight over for just two runs. He’s unhappy with some of the footmarks though so the groundstaff hurry out with a mallet and get thwacking. Carty nudges and sprints a quick single, West Indies have to rotate the strike and pick up waht they can. It’s tough out there at the moment.
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4th over: West Indies 15-1 (King 11, Carty 2) Keacy Carty is shelled by Ben Duckett! A length ball is poked to the pint sized Notts man at second slip and he chooses to go with one hand when he could haver grasped it with two. It was a decent height and very catchable – Duckett will be annoyed he didn’t take that. Brydon Carse certainly is.
Carse then slips King a yorker that misses the off stump by a gnat’s eyebrow. What a ball, late swing taking it away from an emphatic clean bowled at the very last second. Another brilliant over from the impressive Carse.
3rd over: West Indies 14-1 (King 11, Carty 1) King unfurls a princely cover drive for four off Mahmood. That whistled across the Sophia Gardens baize. Eeeesht! The bowler responds with an absolute peach that angles in and decks away late, leaving the batter hoping and praying there’s no edge.
2nd over: West Indies 6-1 (King 4, Carty 0) Keacy Carty is the new batter for West Indies. He’s been in good form of late, peeling off a couple of centuries on the recent tour of Ireland.
WICKET! Jewel Andrew c Jacks b Carse 0 (West Indies 6-1)
Oh no! After giving him the big build up the teenage sensation Jewel Andrew is on his way for a duck. Brydon Carse get some bounce and hits the splice, Andrew guilty of playing with hard hands in front of his body and a simple catch is looped to Will Jacks close on the off side. England have their first and Carse peels off an impressive wicket maiden to start.
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1st over: West Indies 6-0 (King 4, Andrew 0) Saqib Mahmood struggles with his line in the first over, shonking two balls down the leg side. He then over-corrects and a wide ball is splayed away through the off side by King to open up the Windies account. Ooof! two beauties from Mahmood to end the over – angling in and then jagging away late, beating the outside edge on both occasions. Looks to be a bit in the wicket, England on the hunt for early wickets with two slips in place.
Righto, here come the players. Brandon King and 18 year old Jewel Andrew to open up for West Indies. Andrew is another precocious talent who is setting tongues wagging with his batting skills. He’ll be the youngest opening batter for West Indies in ODIs.
“The world will be amazed by his talent” Shai Hope told me last week in an interview for today’s match programme. Plenty to look forward to then, let’s play!
Ian Bishop and Michael Atherton have been discussing Jacob Bethell on Sky, Bishop knows his dad well from years ago and he admits that there is a pang of regret that the Barbados raised kid is playing for England. There’s a lot of noise about Bethell, remember he is yet to score a century in professional cricket but is already an international cricketer in all three formats and has been rubbing shoulders with Virat Kohli in the IPL. I’m not one for hyperbole but five minutes of watching him bat and you can see he has something special.
Teams:
England: Jamie Smith, Ben Duckett, Joe Root, Harry Brook (c), Jos Buttler (wk), Jacob Bethell, Will Jacks, Brydon Carse, Adil Rashid, Matthew Potts, Saqib Mahmood
West Indies: Brandon King, Jewel Andrew, Keacy Carty, Shai Hope (c & wk), 5 Shimron Hetmyer, Justin Greaves, Roston Chase, Matthew Forde, Alzarri Joseph, Gudakesh Motie, Jayden Seales
Shimron Hetmyer comes in for Amir Jangoo for West Indies.
Their captain Shai Hope is in Judge Dredd shades and knows his side need a big response today.
“It’s a three-match series and we need to turn it around, come out and be positive. We have to be smarter, got to find a way. Ready to go today.”
England win the toss and will bowl!
Shai Hope calls incorrectly and Harry Brook has no hesitation in inserting the visitors. It’s breezy and bright in Cardiff.
“There’s a bit of grass so we should get a bit out of the pitch early on.” Says Brook. “Potts is banging on the door in all three formats, but a shame Jamie (Overton) has gone down… we want to keep smashing away, be more ruthless.”
Smashy and No-more Nicey.
Preamble
Hello and welcome to the second ODI between England and West Indies from Cardiff. Harry Brook’s tenure as the new white ball captain got off to a barnstorming start at Edgbaston on Friday as the batters racked up 400 runs and then skittled Shai Hope’s West Indies for just 162 runs.
The weather is set fair at Sophia Gardens and we’ll have the toss and team news imminently, we already know England’s XI - Jamie Overton is ruled out with a finger injury and Matt Potts comes in to the pace attack.
Jacob Bethell put the cat further amongst the pigeons on Friday with a scintillating knock that further backed up those who are calling him a generational talent. Anyone else reminded of the situation with Kevin Pietersen in 2005 (Bethell has got a penchant for a dodgy barnet too…) JUST GET HIM IN!
Play starts at 11am. Do get in touch if you are tuning in.
