England win by 45 runs
They take a 1-0 lead in the three match series. The second ODI is on Sunday and will be played back on this very same wicket in Antigua. No doubt the anticipation is killing you. Bye.
Wicket! Gabriel c Buttler b Plunkett 0
Gabriel looks to flick into the on-side, gets all in a tangle and it loops up off the glove to the keeper.
47th over: West Indies 250-9 (Gabriel 0, Bishoo 11) Target 297 It looks like this match is still twitching and gasping, like the roadkill you thought was dead and can’t quite bring yourself to put out of its misery. Nurse thunders a full one from Woakes back over long-off for six ... ah no, then he’s out. Shannon Gabriel remains between England and a mighty triumph. Ahem.
Simon McMahon writes: “I met my wife on the OBO.” WAIT FOR IT ...
“She emailed in once to ask where I was.”
Wicket! Nurse lbw b Woakes 21
Full and quick from Woakes, Nurse plays around it and the review shows the ball just clipping leg stump.
Updated
Review!
Nurse given lbw, so he might as well review.
46th over: West Indies 244-8 (Nurse 15, Bishoo 11) Target 297 In theory, this is a nice shot from Nurse, backing away and trying to go inside out over extra cover. The only thing that’s out is the timing and as such he sends a looping edge down to third man on the bounce. After a handful of singles, Bishoo slogs a couple of ugly fours through the on-side. 53 from 24 needed.
Phil Sawyer is right, this place is a ladies magnet. I'm so rock n roll I'm off to bed @DanLucas86 This one's in the bag, after all.
— Guy Hornsby (@GuyHornsby) March 3, 2017
Rub it in.
45th over: West Indies 232-8 (Nurse 13, Bishoo 1) Target 297 Woakes is back for Plunkett. I guess Morgan wants to give Plunkett one of the final two overs, hence taking him out of the attack with one left in the bank. We might not get there though as Brathwaite doesn’t read Woakes’s slower ball and holes out. Nurse, on the other hand, reads the very next ball perfectly and slog-sweeps over mid-on for six. Next ball is launched high into the air but lands safely behind the bowler before Moeen can get to it.
A question from John Starbuck: “Given that it’s only three single days of meaningful play, does this qualify as an overseas tour? That’s if you measure it by the depth of tan for English teams.” When are the three days of meaningful play, John?
Wicket! Brathwaite c Root b Woakes 12
Slower and in the slot. Brathwaite slams it up in the air Root, stationed in the circle at mid-off, orders all other fielders out of the way and steadies himself under it.
44th over: West Indies 223-7 (Nurse 5, C Brathwaite 12) Target 297 Dismissive from Brathwaite, standing tall and clubbing it with the toe-end of the bat over mid-off for his first boundary. That’s all very well and good, but they need a few more like that and none are forthcoming in the rest of this over. “When you get to this stage, every ball’s an event” says Rob Key. None of this match has been an event, Rob.
Here’s ... look, Phil Sawyer, you’re the only one reading now. “‘I think we’ve even had a married couple meet on here before.’ Jeremy Theobald and Lynn Bashforth. Unwisely they even let me stay with them for a couple of OBO meets in that London. And Naylor was the guest of honour at their Sri Lanka wedding, Turns out the OBO IS the place to meet. Form an orderly one, ladies.”
43rd over: West Indies 215-7 (Nurse 3, C Brathwaite 6) Target 297 Finn has a big grin on his face and well he might: it was an excellent piece of footwork to get rid of Mohammed. Ashley Nurse is the new batsman with 87 from 48 needed, or 11ish an over, maths fans. These two don’t seem that fussed about the escalating required rate, mind, as they nudge and nurdle another five singles.
42nd over: West Indies 210-7 (C Brathwaite 4) Target 297 One. One. One. One. One. Out. More singles than there are swiping right on Phil Sawyer, then the big wicket as Mohammed’s excellent knock comes to a tame end. Stick a fork in this one, it’s about done.
Wicket! Mohammed run out (Finn) 72
Brathwaite drops it down and sets off for a quick single. It’s a race between Finn and Mohammed from the non-striker’s end and the bowler gets there first and kicks the ball into the stumps with the batsman short. Agüeroesque tap in.
Updated
41st over: West Indies 205-6 (Mohammed 69, C Brathwaite 2) Target 297 Now Carlos Brathwaite, average 13 but let’s all judge him on four balls, comes to the party. Just four singles from this over and it’s just nudging back England’s way.
“Tinder is full of women interested in middle aged men who have nothing better to do on a Friday night than email the OBO? Well colour me interested. Sorry to abandon you, Dan, but I’m off to engage with my admiring throng.” Believe it or not there was a time the OBO effectively was Tinder – I think we’ve even had a married couple meet on here before.
Wicket! Holder c Buttler b Plunkett 4
Plunkett gets his third for 30. Holder looks to be cute and run a slightly back-of-a-length ball down to third man. He can only feather it through though.
40th over: West Indies 201-5 (Mohammed 67, Holder 4) Target 297 Finn is on for Woakes as Morgan looks for another wicket to go in for the kill. Well, at least I assume that’s his thinking; not sure Finn is the right man for that job though. A slow, harmless leg-side ball is worked away for two to bring up the 200. Finn taking LCD Soundsystem’s advice here.
39th over: West Indies 196-5 (Mohammed 66, Holder 0) Target 297 Another half-hearted appeal for lbw against Mohammed when Plunkett raps him on the thigh pad. The batsman had both feet off the ground at the time though, so it was going comfortably over the top. No matter though, as he gets rid of the dangerous Carter a couple of balls later, ending the partnership at 82 from 83 balls. The new man is Jason Holder, who can hit a mean long ball himself. Mohammed gets four more with a well-placed back-foot cut through point. Rashid pulls off a good stop on the rope from the last ball and there’s very nearly a run-out as Holder was so, so late coming back for the second.
Wicket! Carter c Roy b Plunkett 52
What a catch this is! It’s a heaved hook into the wind form Carter and Roy comes haring in from the boundary, judges it perfectly and dives forward to take a catch just six inches off the ground!
Updated
38th over: West Indies 188-4 (Mohammed 60, Carter 52) Target 297 Mohammed looks to get in on the clubbing action, having a big old heave at a short ball from Woakes that followed him down the leg side. He doesn’t really get hold of it, but the ball lands out at deep mid-on between two converging fielders. Couple of runs there and five from the over, which makes it something of a minor relief for England.
37th over: West Indies 183-4 (Mohammed 57, Carter 51) Target 297 Double change, in fact, and Plunkett is back. He strays down the leg side and Carter flips it down to long-leg for the four runs needed to bring up his 44-ball 50. In retrospect, he is able to lay bat on ball. Nine from the over is just what the doctor ordered. Time for drinks.
36th over: West Indies 174-4 (Mohammed 55, Carter 45) Target 297 Change of bowling, thank god. It’s Woakes for Root – Bumble suggests that Stokes might be carrying a knock, which is a good bet. He drops short and Carter absolutely monsters one out of the ground! He got underneath it and gave it a good full swing of the arms, hitting with the breeze and into the palm trees outside the ground. We’re going to have a delay while we get a new ball. Eventually they find one and Carter cuts it for a well-run two through point. 10 from the over and this is starting to get slightly interesting.
@DanLucas86 Is Phil Swayer a real person, or a Lankbot? And Hull is the city of culture 2017
— Chris Drew (@mesnilman) March 3, 2017
Here’s Phil Sawyer: “William Hargreaves offering grapes to the outfielders does give me a chance to revisit an outfielder anecdote (I may have offered this to the OBO before, so apologies if I’m repeating myself). I attended a Lanky pre-season match at Fenner’s several years ago with culinaryarts of BTL county blog fame. We availed ourselves of the ingredients for Bloody Marys on the way to the match. We were partaking of such close to the boundary when the very sadly early retired Lanky bowler Kyle Hogg noticed what we were consuming. ‘Are you lads drinking Bloody Marys?’ We replied in the affirmative, at which point his voice boomed out over the ground, ‘Ere! These lads are drinking fooking Bloody Marys!’. We offered him one, but despite the early April chill he declined, consummate professional that he was.”
Phil, get on Tinder. For your sake.
35th over: West Indies 164-4 (Mohammed 54, Carter 36) Target 297 Half a shout for lbw when Mohammed misses a sweep, but I reckon that was turning away from off-stump. Incidentally the 50-partnership came up in that last over, from 57 balls. A single brings Carter on strike and he too misses a sweep and is hit on the pad, but this was a googly that pitched outside leg stump.
34th over: West Indies 161-4 (Mohammed 53, Carter35) Target 297 This is a fifth over for Root. Ben Stokes hasn’t bowled yet. There’s flattering the new captain and then there’s this, Eoin. Carter, after surviving a rather bizarre appeal – it was incredibly muted – drives through cover for two then slogs a length ball on the up, straight back down the ground for the first six of the innings. Another two, then Carter reverse slogs through point for four more! That might be the end of Root.
Simon McMahon is still with us. “Dan, there’s nothing I like more on a Friday night than sharing emails about the colour mutations of 16th century carrots with people I’ve never met, whilst a shit cricket match plays out in the background. There’s not much live cricket in Dundee, so I call that livin’ the dream.”
Updated
Not out
It is a bump ball.
Review!
I think Carter is out here: he’s just absolutely smashed one back into Root’s midriff and the umpires are checking to see if it’s a bump ball, I think.
33rd over: West Indies 147-4 (Mohammed 53, Carter 21) Target 297 Given the number of dangerous hitters down the order for the West Indies, this is probably going to be a close, exciting finish. It’s a pretty damn dull middle though. Carter provides the highlight of this over by stepping a long way outside off and shovelling it to fine-leg for a couple. He has 21 from 29 despite my earlier assertion that he can’t hit a ball. Huh.
32nd over: West Indies 139-4 (Mohammed 51, Carter 15) Target 297 That’s a first ODI half-century for Jason Mohammed. It took 63 balls and featured six boundaries. In context – he came in after his side had lost three for three in 14 balls – it’s been a strong innings but he needs to step up a gear in a few overs’ time if his side is going to win this.
31st over: West Indies 134-4 (Mohammed 47, Carter 14) Target 297 There’s a huge appeal for a catch behind when Carter tries to cut a leg-break that’s turning back into him from near the top of off stump. That was a really poor shot to play to that ball but we won’t criticise too much, as he does pick up a couple of boundaries in the over. There was a sweep nailed aerially but safely through midwicket and then a late deflection that trickles agonisingly to third man.
30th over: West Indies 123-4 (Mohammed 46, Carter 5) Target 297 A return to the attack for Joe Root. I guess Morgan just wants to keep pace off the ball for as long as possible and let the required rate spiral. Carter cuts for two off the final ball but that’s it for the over.
Some crap cricket town emails. First Phil Sawyer: “‘Even Copestake and Naylor have better things to do tonight it seems, Phil.’. Thanks Dan. That makes me feel so much better about my life choices. Not sure about your suggested riff about worst town to watch cricket in, as any town with a cricket ground automatically improves it for me. However, as a naturalised (Lanky) Lincolnite nowadays, I’m obliged to point out that anyone who’s ever watched a cricket match in Hull probably wins that one hands down.”
William Hargreaves writes: “Is there a relationship between quality of cricket or town and quantity of beer consumed? A ground can have many distractions for the idle spectator. I remember my thrifty brother getting a cupful of condiments with his hot dog and then proceeding to consume all to the unmissable disgust of all around. On other occasions he would offer grapes to the deep outfielders, all at Trent Bridge. Great location: I just think we were wayward country boys intoxicated by the metropolitan delights of West Bridgeford.”
And Robert Wilson: “Live: Lisburn in Northern Ireland (less a town than a giant and disobliging police station). Screen: Full day’s play of an Australian Test in a leaky cattleshed halfway up the Alps where I discovered that the cows do actually have cowbells and that they don’t take them off if the cows sleep in the barn. Absolutely sensational (if mystifying) WiFi though,”
29th over: West Indies 121-4 (Mohammed 46, Carter 3) Target 297 I haven’t seen much of Carter but he looks to be a very inventive batsman. He has such a range of strokes, and looks very extravagant when reeling out the reverse sweep. He hasn’t hit a bloody thing with any of them.
28th over: West Indies 119-4 (Mohammed 45, Carter 2) Target 297 Like Mansun, extra cover is (in) a wide open space and Mohammed takes full advantage, creaming a half-volley up and over it for four runs. The required rate has gone up above eight now so he’s probably going to have to hit a fair few more of those.
27th over: West Indies 112-4 (Mohammed 39, Carter 1) Target 297 Jonathan Carter – wasn’t that also the name of Noah Wyle’s character in ER? – finally gets off the mark from his eighth ball with a push back down the ground for one.
More OBO Good Cause Dept.
The one and only Rob Smyth is off the booze for Bloodwise. You can support him here. Best of luck Rob!
26th over: West Indies 109-4 (Mohammed 37, Carter 0) Target 297 That wicket is a massive blow for the West Indies you would think. The partnership was going well and Hope looks like a very promising, talented batsman. Now Hope has gone (etc etc) you suspect there might not be enough depth in the batting lineup to take them home from here.
Here’s Marie Meyer: “I’m with Bumble. Until the 16th century carrots were pale yellow, looking like skinny parsnips. Dutch growers discovered a mutation that they nurtured into today’s much richer color. However, the word ‘orange’ as a color word was not yet part of our language. And so the color name ‘carrot red’ was born.”
I’m not having that. You’re winding me up.
25th over: West Indies 108-4 (Mohammed 36, Carter 0) Target 297 That that delivery from Rashid proved successful is a very poor advert for cricket. The new man is Jonathan Carter and he misses out with a couple of attempted sweeps. Wicket maiden.
Wicket! Hope c Finn b Rashid 31
This is atrocious cricket. The delivery is short, wide of off and uglier than your OBOer when his flatmate wakes him up at 4am. Hope doesn’t move his feet, swishes the bat in and edges to gully. Finn dives forward to take a good catch.
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24th over: West Indies 108-3 (Mohammed 36, Hope 31) Target 297 Ooh, after what I said in Moeen’s previous over he goes close to getting rid of Mohammed. The batsman celebrates his survival with a couple of fours; a deft cut past backward point and an agricultural slog into the wind but over midwicket.
Not out
It pitched on middle and leg, turned past the inside edge and was missing leg stump by a fair way. It looked close in real time but, it transpires, wasn’t, really.
Review!
Moeen thinks he’s got Mohammed lbw. Given not-out but it looked close. Think it’s going to be missing leg.
23rd over: West Indies 98-3 (Mohammed 26, Hope 31) Target 297 This is going to be a rubbish series, isn’t it? The TV commentators are playing Identify The Flag In The Crowd.
22nd over: West Indies 94-3 (Mohammed 23, Hope 30) Target 297 Moeen comes round the wicket and gets one past Mohammed’s outside edge. Given that the ball isn’t doing much and the wind is going in the wrong direction to bring it into the batsman from this end, I’m not sure round the wicket is the best approach.
21st over: West Indies 90-3 (Mohammed 21, Hope 28) Target 297 More like it between the wickets from this pair, as they run hard for two into the on-side. A few singles later and the 50-partnership is up, from 59 balls. It’s been a good one after the top order did its wet paper towel impression.
Robert Wilson is back: “Whilst I commiserate with Phil Sawyer’s tourist-jingle ordeal, I’m obliged to say Skegness-Schmegness. The poor lost tourism soul I met worked for an entity that had recently been renamed ‘Destination Chesterfield’. You try finding the haircut or the handshake that makes that a better thing to say to someone you’ve just met.”
Here’s a riff: the crappest town you’ve ever watched cricket in?
20th over: West Indies 84-3 (Mohammed 20, Hope 23) Target 297 Now it’s time for Moeen to lose his line and Mohammed heaves him away for back-to-back fours: the first behind square leg, the second out to cover where Billings misfields and reels it in while touching the rope. 10 from that over and the West Indies will need a few more like it.
“Oh, Dan, I’m afraid there is a certain kind of cricket tragic for whom the prospect of an OBO considerably enlivens their usual Friday night,” writes Phil Sawyer. Even Copestake and Naylor have better things to do tonight it seems, Phil.
19th over: West Indies 74-3 (Mohammed 11, Hope 22) Target 297 Another bowling change: it’s Adil ‘He’s No Joe Root Is He?’ Rashid and he starts with a couple of rank leg-side balls: the first is a wide and the second helped around the corner by Hope with a late sweep. There’s a bit of a breeze taking the ball that way but it’s still pretty poor bowling. Oh and there’s another leg-side wide.
I've got much love for the Windies, how can anyone not be? But we really have the makings of an outstanding ODI side @DanLucas86 #BELIEVE
— Guy Hornsby (@GuyHornsby) March 3, 2017
#GIVEASOLITARYONEABOUTTHISSERIES
18th over: West Indies 66-3 (Mohammed 10, Hope 17) Target 297 Moeen has Mohammed in a wee bit of discomfort with one that turns a bit more sharply than the batsman expected. Three singles and that’s drinks.
17th over: West Indies 63-3 (Mohammed 9, Hope 15) Target 297 That over happened. Meanwhile the good folk over at Guerilla Cricket have been in touch to point out they don’t have ministers doing PR exercises on their commentary. They do, however, sometimes have my voice, so every silver lining has a cloud.
16th over: West Indies 60-3 (Mohammed 8, Hope 14) Target 297 Here’s one of England’s actual spinners, Moeen Ali. Mohammed has a big swing at a smackable straight ball outside off but doesn’t get near it. A little bit of turn out there for Mo but it’s very slow. The required rate is up to near-as-dammit seven.
“Evening Dan,” begins Phil Sawyer, taking us to three emails in this innings and officially past what I expected on a Friday evening. “Anyone who thinks that the Tsar of the Chesterfield Tourist Board (9th over) has it bad has never been to Skegness. There was a jaunty little jingle on local radio here in Lincoln a few years ago advertising Skegness in which the main selling point of the pier was the fact that you could get burger and chips for 99p. I’d have thought the prospect of a burger and chips meal that only costs 99p is a good reason to run quite fast in the opposite direction.”
15th over: West Indies 58-3 (Mohammed 7, Hope 13) Target 297 Lovely from Hope, who leans into a very, very slightly overpitched ball and times it sweetly back past the bowler for four. As far as I can recall, that’s the first thing close to a poor ball – and it wasn’t really a poor ball – the Yorkshireman has bowled today. I still think he should be under consideration for the Test side this summer, but don’t think he will be.
Speaking of the Test side, this is a grand conspiracy theory.
@bbctms @DanLucas86 couple of overs for @root66? Reckon @Eoin16 is after a test spot!
— Rich Freeman (@rmnfreeman) March 3, 2017
14th over: West Indies 51-3 (Mohammed 7, Hope 6) Target 297 “They’ll be as red as carrots” says Bumble of some underdressed sunbathers in the crowd. Does... does Bumble not know what carrots are? Mohammed gets the first boundary in a while, rocking back and cutting nicely through point with both feet off the ground. Hope then nearly gets out in identical fashion to Braithwaite but drags it down short of Rashid at mid-on.
13th over: West Indies 43-3 (Mohammed 1, Hope 4) Target 297 In fairness to Jason Mohammed, his List A figures are decent: a 40+ average and a couple of hundreds from 48 matches. He is yet another player in single-figures for caps though, aged 30, which is probably a bad indicator for where this team is headed in the medium term. Hope cracks a drive through cover for two and the West Indies have got through an over without losing a wicket. They lost three for three in 14 balls before that.
12th over: West Indies 39-3 (Mohammed 0, Hope 1) Target 297 I don’t think Bumble is too impressed with the Antiguan minster for tourism’s commentary stint: he makes the point that at this time of year, the 5,000 Brits in Antigua probably didn’t need too much persuading. The new batsman is Jason Mohammed, not to be confused with BBC Final Score presenter Jason Mohammad.
Wicket! K Brathwaite c Rashid b Woakes 14
This is poor. It’s a short ball that’s begging to be hit, Brathwaite offers the most watery of pulls and toe ends it lamely to mid-on. I might be out of here before the rugby kicks off at this rate.
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11th over: West Indies 37-2 (K Brathwaite 13, Hope 0) Target 297 Here’s Liam Plunkett and there goes Kieran Powell. His first ODI for nearly two years ends after just five balls and one run. Hope for the Windies arrives in the form of Shai Hope. This is just the fifth ODI for the Barbadian wicketkeeper, who got a century in his second in November, albeit only against Zimbabwe. A wicket-maiden to begin with for Plunkett.
Wicket! Powell c Roy b Plunkett 1
Plunkett strikes with his second ball! Powell’s return is cut short when he tries to turn a straight ball into the on-side, gets a leading edge and it loops to point.
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10th over: West Indies 37-1 (K Brathwaite 13, Powell 1) Target 297 Woakes is back and strikes with the second ball, tempting Lewis and getting the batsman to fall into his trap all too easily. Kieron Powell enters the fray. He gets a single and then, with the last ball, Woakes thinks about asking for lbw but there was a good-sized inside edge.
Meanwhile, a tribute to the fallen batsman.
Wicket! Lewis c Billings b Woakes 21
Short, hooked and top-edged straight down the throat of Billings on the deep square leg boundary.
Updated
9th over: West Indies 36-0 (K Brathwaite 13, Lewis 21) Target 297 No more slips for Finn. Instead, Morgan has packed the off-side field, with Roy pretty much acting as a backstop at cover, behind his captain. It’s an effective tactic, as Lewis twice is denied off crunching drives in that very region. Billie Jean comes over the PA at the end of the over, which is nice.
“Daniel, Daniel.” Robert Wilson, Robert Wilson. “So the Antiguan Minister for Tourism is a touch dull, is he? You have to ask yourself quite how exciting or eloquent any Caribbean Tourism Minister needs to be? How hard is it persuade people that it might be nice to go on holiday there? I, on the other hand, once met the Tsar of the Chesterfield Tourist Board. Now that was a heartbreaking hard ask. Poor bloke, it was like something out of Gogol. But rainier.” Oh no I’m not saying he should entertain us, more that he shouldn’t be in a bloody cricket commentary box.
8th over: West Indies 34-0 (K Brathwaite 12, Lewis 20) Target 297 Root gets another over, for some reason. Lewis gives him half a charge and clubs it over extra cover, but it’s all muscle and no timing (as the Manic Street Preachers once sang) and doesn’t get to the rope. Two runs there and five from the over.
7th over: West Indies 29-0 (K Brathwaite 11, Lewis 17) Target 297 Finn continues. These two don’t seem to fussed when running between the wickets; there have been a couple of occasions when they’ve taken a comfortable single out into the deep when two could have been had from running hard. Root thinks he’s caught Lewis at slip but the batsman missed his pull completely and the ball looped up off the thigh pad.
This is a good read, if you can find the time after this thriller.
"Where are the voices from the working class Londoners?" On inequality and I, Daniel Blake with director Ken Loach: https://t.co/XKx5fMN7gB pic.twitter.com/jwjxN4MPbT
— theQuietus (@theQuietus) March 3, 2017
6th over: West Indies 27-0 (K Brathwaite 10, Lewis 16) Target 297 This is a funky one: England’s new Test captain is on for a very early bowl. If explosive impact from the surprise change is what Morgan was going for then it hasn’t come off: he’s milked for five singles from the first five balls and follows those with a dot.
5th over: West Indies 22-0 (K Brathwaite 7, Lewis 14) Target 297 A clip behind square on the leg-side ends a run of 10 successive dot balls. The minister is still doing his PR job on the telly. It’s impressively shameless – aside from mentioning the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium he didn’t say a single thing about the cricket.
Woakes & Finn have found a similar amount of swing early on (0.55° & 0.47°) but Finn has found more seam movement (0.47° v 0.33°) #WIvENG
— The Cricket Prof. (@CricProf) March 3, 2017
4th over: West Indies 19-0 (K Brathwaite 5, Lewis 13) Target 297 The Antiguan minister for tourism, investment and a bunch of other things has taken over commentary on the telly and is using the over to advertise the tourism industry. I am not good enough a liveblogger to convey quite how tedious this is. Woakes’ line is a bit wobbly but somehow he gets away with a maiden.
3rd over: West Indies 19-0 (K Brathwaite 5, Lewis 13) Target 297 Shot from Lewis! It’s a gimme from Finn, in the slot just outside off, but the bottom hand comes right through and smites the ball to the mid-off fence. Three more from the over come in singles.
2nd over: West Indies 12-0 (K Brathwaite 4, Lewis 7) Target 297 Chris Woakes from the other end, bowling to the left-handed Evin Lewis. He’s someone you’d describe as a cracking prospect if he wasn’t already 25. He gets a couple with a punchy drive through cover; expect to see him play that shot a fair bit if he stays in. Four more when Woakes drops short and, given how slow it was, sends down a ball that’s as hittable as David Haye.
Remarkably, if the West Indies win it will be their second-highest successful chase ever.
1st over: West Indies 5-0 (K Brathwaite 4, Lewis 0) Target 297 Steven Finn also has two slips for the right-handed Kraigg Brathwaite. There’s a wee bit of movement away from the batsman, which isn’t great when you start wide and send it wider. A wide. This isn’t much of a start from Finn, whose third ball is full, on the pads and tucked through square leg for the first four runs off the bat. Brathwaite’s figures aren’t great, averaging as he does 31 at a strike-rate of 57, albeit from just eight matches.
The players are back out. West Indies need 297. Steven Finn has the ball.
An email! “Evening Dan,” begins cocktail-enthusiast Simon McMahon. “Am with you all the way about Mr Hannon. Saw him in Glasgow last year and he’s coming back in the summer too. Sweet. Also, I see the other half of The Duckworth Lewis Method, Thomas Walsh, is releasing a new album with his band Pugwash later this year. They’re very underrated. The Moeen Ali to Divine Comedy’s Ben Stokes, if you will.”
He’s also a lovely man – I had wine with him last summer. He’s a very funny man, as you’d expect from someone who brilliantly wrote the line “I’m the Catcher in the Rye / I’m the twinkle in her eye / I’m Jeff Goldblum in The Fly”.
OBO Good Cause Dept.
Guardian Sport web editor/my boss James Dart is running a half-marathon in Reading to raise money for the National Coastwatch Institution. As Darty puts it:
The National Coastwatch Institution (NCI) is an entirely voluntary organisation, helping keep a supportive visual watch around UK shores. And there’s a lot of coast to keep watch over: the Ordnance Survey records the main British Isles as having 11,073 miles of coast alone. As the NCI says:
‘Each station assists in the protection and preservation of life at sea and around the UK coastline. Currently 50 NCI stations are operational and manned by over 2,000 volunteers keeping watch around the British Isles. NCI watchkeepers provide the eyes and ears along the coast, monitoring radio channels and providing a listening watch in poor visibility. They are trained to deal with emergencies. Over 240,000 hours of organised coastal surveillance were completed in 2015 alone, all at no cost to the public.’
This specific fund-raising drive is to help raise money for the station at Charlestown in Cornwall, and it’s important to me as a place where I was fortunate enough to grow up and spend hour after hour around the coast. Any small donations you are able to give would be hugely appreciated.
If you have a couple of quid kicking around then he would appreciate your generosity. You can donate here.
Thanks Vish. England will, of course, be grateful to their captain although perhaps not as grateful as I am: for 40 overs that was horrible to watch. A real trudge on a pretty dire wicket and to get up to nearly 300 is a heck of an effort from England’s middle order batsmen. The wheels might easily have come off when Billings and Buttler went in quick succession but Morgan and Stokes bided their time before going all Logan on the bowlers (go and see Logan; I went last night and it’s excellent).
In 2017 Morgan has scored 280 ODI runs at an average of 70.00 and a strike rate of 104.86. #WIvEng
— Freddie Wilde (@fwildecricket) March 3, 2017
The hosts will begin their chase shortly. How will it go? Have England picked the right attack for this pudding of a pitch? Email me here or tweet me here with the answers to these questions/indie music puns. In the meantime, here’s some music from renowned cricket-lover Neil Hannon. I saw these last week and they were a whole bundle of fun.
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Most ODI hundreds for England: 12 Trescothick 9 Morgan, Pietersen 8 Gooch, Root 7 Gower
— Simon Wilde (@swildecricket) March 3, 2017
WEST INDIES REQUIRE 297 TO WIN
50th over: England 296-6 (Ali 31, Woakes 0) Handy score, that. Considering the nature of the bounce – particularly the wickets of Jason Roy and Joe Root – and the big outfield, that is a thoroughly impressive total that England have posted. They put on exactly 100 in the last 10 overs. Eoin Morgan imperious. That’s all from me – I leave England’s hopes in the hands of Dan Lucas who will be with you shortly. Bye!
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WICKET! Morgan run out Brathwaite 107 (England 292-6)
A fine innings comes to an equally fine end. Brathwaite bats down a drive into the ground from Moeen Ali. The bowler then gathers his own rebound and throws down the stumps at the nonstriker’s end, with Morgan a few feet out of his crease.
49th over: England 288-5 (Morgan 107, Ali 23) Ton in the bag, Morgan decides to swing from the hip and flays a boundary over the off side for a change. The rest of the over is better from Holder, who realises width to a man with 100 to his name isn’t a good idea.
A CENTURY FOR EOIN MORGAN!
48th over: England 277-5 (Morgan 101, Ali 19) Gabriel’s overs done – he finishes with two for 58 from his 10 – so Brathwaite returns to finish things off. Pace off the ball means Morgan and Ali have to make do with singles on either side. You can sense the frustration, but, crucially, there aren’t dots. AND BOOM, SIX OVER MIDWICKET FOR MORGAN’S HUNDRED! Cleared the front leg, went big and brought up 100 from 112 deliveries. A brilliant innings, especially considering he had just nine off 32 balls...
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47 overs: England 265-5 (Morgan 92, Ali 17)
Morgan's been involved in 8 of the 23 100-partnerships that Eng have made since the '15 WC. Only Root (11) has been involved in more #WIvENG
— The Cricket Prof. (@CricProf) March 3, 2017
Quality from Morgan, putting the pressure on Bishoo first ball with a reverse sweep for four. That was a bit of a throwback to the Morgs of old. Fast hands, slick wrists, post-shot swagger. Moeen Ali plinks two to midwicket but responds with a proper shot down the ground for four.
46 overs: England 249-5 (Morgan 87, Ali 8) Moeen has brought his drives out to the West Indies, which is great news for everyone. A couple of flowing ones allow him and Morgan to take nine runs, as Gabriel nails a few yorkers.
45 overs: England 240-5 (Morgan 86, Ali 1) Good stuff from Bishoo, who is brought on to change the pace and is rewarded with a wicket. Credit to Holder for the bowling change, too.
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WICKET! Stokes c Holder b Bishoo 55 (England 239-5)
Stokes aims for a fourth six but can’t quite get everything behind a flighted delivery from Bishoo... Holder takes a few steps in from long on and catches easily.
STOKES BRINGS UP HIS FIFTY
44th over: England 235-4 (Morgan 85, Stokes 52) A third six from Stokes and this one doesn’t need a helping hand from the field. Gabriel doesn’t looked to have dropped that short but Stokes manages to get right under the ball, giving it the full flow of the bat and sending it way, way, way over the midwicket fence. Two more give him his ninth ODI fifty. The hundred partnership comes up thanks to a run and a no ball – it’s taken 110 balls – before Morgan signs off the over with a clean six down the ground. 20 from the over!
43rd over: England 215-4 (Morgan 78, Stokes 40) A good over from Holder sees just three taken from it. England have had a few big overs but they’ve not really stitched them together.
42nd over: England 212-4 (Morgan 77, Stokes 38) Four leg byes start the over and, third ball, the fielder at deep midwicket loses his bearings and, essentially, takes the ball over the rope for another six to Ben Stokes. Kraigg Brathwaite’s the guilty party. That was some good old-fashioned boundary incompetence, far from the nimble quick-thinking we’re used to seeing. All for it!
41st over: England 199-4 (Morgan 76, Stokes 31) Bishoo returns for his fourth over and concedes just three. West Indies haven’t been especially reliable at the death, so 300 isn’t totally out of the question. Would still take something special...
40th over: England 196-4 (Morgan 74, Stokes 30) Ooooooof – first six of the innings and it’s worth the wait! Ben Stokes drops to one knee and obliterates Jason Mohammed down the ground, into the second tier and straight into the hands of a Nottinghamshire fan. Well struck, well held.
39th over: England 187-4 (Morgan 72, Stokes 23) Runs off all but one ball. But it’s still only six taken from the over. While England have some decent hitters in the shed, these two would need to do the brunt of the back-end work given how difficult this pitch is for new batsmen.
38th over: England 181-4 (Morgan 70, Stokes 19) A chance! At first glances, it looks like Shai Hope has missed a stumping, as Morgan dances down the track. But the replays show that the England captain nicked the ball, hence why Hope was unable to gather cleanly. I did wonder why he was bowling ahead of Bishoo, but Jason Mohammed is doing work, here.
37 overs: England 179-4 (Morgan 69, Stokes 18) Fifty partnership between Morgan and Stokes, from 63 deliveries. This is good stuff from Brathwaite, who is starting to run his fingers along the ball, ensuring there’s little pace to work with.
36th over: England 176-4 (Morgan 67, Stokes 17) Wayward from Mohammed and Morgan can drop back and cart him over midwicket for his ninth boundary. More swinging needed, you’d think, especially with the extra pace of Gabriel and Holder to come at the death. Speaking of Gabriel swingers, here’s an offering from Janet Stevens
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35th over: England 169-4 (Morgan 61, Stokes 16) Another five runs to England from that over, as Brathwaite does well to ensure that nothing is in the batsman’s arc. So, 15 overs to go and you’d think England need about 120 more to feel comfortable...
34th over: England 164-4 (Morgan 58, Stokes 14) A second over for Jason Mohammed and, disappointingly, it’s actually not that bad. No comic relief from this part-timer. Five runs from it as Morgan and Stokes get a wiggle on.
33rd over: England 159-4 (Morgan 56, Stokes 11) Ridiculous shot from Morgan! Basically a forehand smash brings four down the ground. He walked into it, too, like Federer pouncing from the baseline. Just a thought given the variable bounce: we’ve not seen too many cutters from the West Indies. Something for England’s battery of quicks to think about? Excellent work from Carlos Brathwaite saves two runs as Stokes drives down the ground. And that’s drinks.
32nd over: England 151-4 (Morgan 51, Stokes 9) Part-time spin now, with the offies of Jason Mohammed. Chance for these two to cash in? Not right now – two from the over, as Morgan and Stokes take a single each.
Eoin Morgan for England since he should never have been picked again for being an Irish coward: 28, 102, 43, 51, 17, 40, 50*
— Dave Tickner (@tickerscricket) March 3, 2017
EOIN MORGAN GOES TO FIFTY!
31st over: England 149-4 (Morgan 50, Stokes 8) A 32nd ODI half-century for Morgan, who gets there with his 67th ball, getting a single in the leg side off Jason Holder. Both Morgan and Stokes want to come down the wicket, so Holder bowls a few further back to catch them off guard. Stokes, in particular, adjusts well and manages to scamper two.
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30th over: England 145-4 (Morgan 49, Stokes 5) Nurse finishes his allocation strongly, with just two conceded from his 10th over.
Glorious stuff on TMS @Vitu_E. Curtly didn't start bowling until 20 (!) & his mum used to ring a bell every time he took a wicket. Superb.
— Guy Hornsby (@GuyHornsby) March 3, 2017
That’s outstanding. I think I started eating olives when I was 20.
29th over: England 143-4 (Morgan 49, Stokes 3) Slight delay as Gabriel rushes Morgan and lands a telling blow on the England captain’s bonce. Once the interlude is over (Morgan is fine) Gabriel bowls another snorter that explodes off a good length and nearly takes Morgan’s fingers through to the keeper! Wouldn’t fancy chasing a score in excess of 275 on this deck...
28th over: England 141-4 (Morgan 49, Stokes 2) Vintage Morgan, right there. Having thumped another four to midwicket, leading Jason Holder to bring up the man at mid off in order to give him cover on the leg side, he goes down the ground for four through the recently vacated region. Holder reacts by dropping mid off back again and bringing in point from the fence.
27th over: England 131-4 (Morgan 39, Stokes 1) Pace back on the ball with Gabriel. Presumably, this will be the first of two overs, allowing him to bowl his remaining three overs at the death. Stokes aligns well against him, working a single to midwicket to get off the mark and keep the strike.
26th over: England 129-4 (Morgan 38) Big wicket for West Indies as Buttler, sent in early, falls cheaply. He’d looked to be just getting into things: running hard between the wickets and finding the middle of the bat with a series of ones and twos. Sadly, it was not to be.
WICKET! Buttler c Carter b Nurse 14 (England 129-4)
There it is – that natural variation from Nurse. Buttler is drawn forward to a ball that goes on with the arm and finds the edge. There’s work to do at first slip, but Jonathan Carter does it exceptionally – diving to his right and taking an excellent one-handed catch.
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25th over: England 123-3 (Morgan 36, Buttler 10) Another short ball from Bishoo, another four to Morgan. This time, he picks his spot in front of square on the leg side. There’s a very strong breeze coming in from Morgan’s leg side at this end, meaning anything he hits too high will get held up. As such, he’s persisted with hitting flat. Apart from to the final ball, which he sweeps fine, lofting it over the head of short fine leg.
24th over: England 110-3 (Morgan 28, Buttler 7) Smart over from Nurse, giving the ball a good rip while also aware that a bit of natural variation will give both batsmen something to think about. Buttler is beaten on the outside edge after reverse sweeping for a couple.
23rd over: England 107-3 (Morgan 28, Buttler 4) Pishoo from Bishoo, as he starts the over with a half-tracker that Morgan clubs away to square leg. Given Morgan’s issues outside off stump, you’d think maybe going around the wicket and threatening both edges of the bat would tie him down.
22nd over: England 98-3 (Morgan 22, Buttler 2) Billings goes and Buttler comes in, ahead of Ben Stokes. Smart move from England. This pitch needs a bit of getting used to, so why not send in your most destructive batsman in early to allow him ample time to build.
WICKET! Billings c Brathwaite b Nurse 52 (England 96-3)
Oh Sam. Having done the hard work, Billings tries and fails to beat the man at midwicket. It was well struck, but just too close to Brathwaite’s bucket-hands.
FIFTY FOR SAM BILLINGS!
21st over: England 94-2 (Billings 51, Morgan 21) Well batted, Sam. Scratchy to start off, starved of the strike inside the first 10 overs, but he has caught up superbly well to bring up that half-century – his 2nd in ODIs – off just 53 balls. Devendra Bishoo is the new bowler and he’s causing both a bit of discomfort. Morgan tries to hit a delivery out of the island but is beaten between bat and pad with a sharp bit of spin.
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20th over: England 90-2 (Billings 49, Morgan 21) Sound the alarm – Morgan’s finally got hold of one. Nurse drops short and, with mid off up in the circle, the left-hander moves back and clubs over the top for four.
This is boring. Should give the batsmen bigger bats imo.
— Dave Tickner (@tickerscricket) March 3, 2017
19th over: England 83-2 (Billings 48, Morgan 16) Slower ball from Brathwaite and Billings muscles it down the ground for four. Morgan tries to get in on the act but falls victim to the slow outfield and has to run three when he thinks he has four. That brings up the fifty partnership between these two, from 68 balls. Billings very much the dominant partner.
Billings played and missed 4 of his first 9 balls. Since then, he has put on bat on ball to every delivery he's faced #WIvENG
— The Cricket Prof. (@CricProf) March 3, 2017
18th over: England 73-2 (Billings 42, Morgan 12) The torment goes on for Morgan as, first ball, he watches on as Nurse bowls a pie that Billings slaps to square leg for four. What he wouldn’t give for that kind of freebie.
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17th over: England 66-2 (Billings 36, Morgan 11) Brathwaite continues after drinks, as Morgan tries to untangle himself from this web of his own making. A couple of the penultimate ball takes him into double figures.
16th over: England 63-2 (Billings 35, Morgan 9) Both these batsmen aren’t keen on hitting Nurse down the ground, which makes sense given how up-and-down the pitch is. Instead, they’re getting cute and hitting behind the wicket. Billings gets away with a reverse sweep which nearly clips onto his stumps... drinks.
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15th over: England 59-2 (Billings 32, Morgan 8) Like Billings a few overs ago, Morgan is battling. He’s currently eight from 27 balls. Lancashire fan Phil Swayer emails in, regarding my thoughts earlier on that a fair few county players will be getting their first caps this summer, as England look to manage a heavy workload: “I fear the county raiding that may take place this year. As well as young Haseeb Hameed, who I fear will only be making the odd guest appearance for Lancashire for the next 15 years, Liam Livingstone appears to be in decent early season form for the Lions, with centuries in each innings in the last test against Sri Lanka A. And Lanky really, really, really don’t need their batting weakening any further.” Thank god you’ve signed 42-year-old Shiv Chanderpaul!
14th over: England 57-2 (Billings 31, Morgan 7) Nurse isn’t getting much from the pitch – or himself, truth be told – and Billings reverse sweeps him twice in succession for two boundaries through fine leg. England take 11 from the over, as Billings looks to catch up to “balls faced”.
Nurse getting the treatment
— Ali Martin (@Cricket_Ali) March 3, 2017
(plenty more where that came from)
13th over: England 46-2 (Billings 21, Morgan 6) It’s taken him some time, but it looks like Billings has got the measure of this pitch. The tell is a classy flick through midwicket that is more timing than force, which races away to the boundary.
12th over: England 41-2 (Billings 16, Morgan 6) Ashley Nurse, leading wicket-taker in West Indies’ domestic 50-over competition, comes into the attack. Like Gabriel, he looks like he can handle himself, but he deals in twirlers rather than grenades. Morgan is able to get under one, dabbing it around the corner for a couple.
11th over: England 38-2 (Billings 15, Morgan 4) SHELLED! Carlos Brathwaite’s first ball of the match is angled across Morgan, drawing him into a drive, that is edged to first slip. Kieran Powell watches it all the way and, even with the added distraction of keeper Shai Hope diving across him, should take the catch. Morgan tries to put him off his line by charging down the wicket and flailing about like a bolshy kid who has just realised he’s on TV, but misses, twice. Maiden.
10th over: England 38-2 (Billings 15, Morgan 4) A second boundary for Billings, as Gabriel drops short and is whipped over square leg for four. The outfield is pretty big, meaning most of the shots that have made it to the boundary keep the fielders interested. Not that one. Finally, a good strike from Billings.
9th over: England 34-2 (Billings 11, Morgan 4) Billings jumps across to the off side to manufacture a single to leg. Shot of the over goes to Morgan, though, who drives Holder on the up through cover for four.
8th over: England 29-2 (Billings 10, Morgan 0) The replays show that, while the ball did keep a touch low, it nipped in off the seam, too. Special bit of bowling from Gabriel, who has been very impressive. Eoin Morgan joins Billings. England on the ropes.
WICKET! Root b Gabriel 4 (England 29-2)
Oh wow... what a delivery that was! Might have kept low, but Gabriel rushes one right through Root. Stumps splattered. Goneski
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7th over: England 28-1 (Billings 9 , Root 4) Four from the over, as Root finds three with a flick through midwicket before Billings pinches back the strike, almost running Root out in the process! It’s not been pretty or particularly dynamic from Billings, but he can show he’s got a different side to his game if he comes out of this with a score of note.
6th over: England 24-1 (Billings 8, Root 1) Finally, Billings feels substantial bat on ball, getting four down the ground with a thwack that’s more farm boy than Loughborough graduate. England’s new Test skipper Joe Root is out at number three.
WICKET! Roy LBW Gabriel 13 (England 23-1)
No second chance for Roy! A straight ball, just on a length, doesn’t get above shin height and pins Roy right in front of all three. LBWs don’t get LBW-er.
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5th over: England 16-0 (Roy 13, Billings 1) A maiden, but it could have been much better for the West Indies... Roy bunts the final ball back to Jason Holder, who reacts well in his follow-through but can’t cling on. Looks like Holder has hurt himself and will leave the field for treatment...
4th over: England 16-0 (Roy 13, Billings 1) George Rogers has some thoughts on Jonny Bairstow: “Is it fair to say that, given he’s not been a first choice member of the ODI squad and his ever presence in the Test team, he’s not had much of a chance to show what he can do in ODI over the last two years? My memory is more anecdote than fact, but when Jos Butler broke his finger and Bairstow was drafted in against New Zealand, he was the only English batsman to come away from that game with any credit. Scoring 83 not out from 60 balls. And if I’m not mistaken he was dropped the next time they played. Feels harsh to say he hasn’t scored a century since 2014 when the only thing which stopped him there was everyone else getting out. Personally I think he’s probably a better long term pick for the No.4 spot in the ODI squad than Morgan is. Even if Morgan has the more compelling ODI record.”
Oh I was merely presenting Bairstow’s stats rather than having a go at his record. And I think you’re right about his future potentially being at number four, especially as the man touted for that spot, Sam Billings, is currently labouring on one off nine deliveries...
3rd over: England 15-0 (Roy 12, Billings 1) “So, what did happen to the Windies over the past couple of decades?” asks Andrew Benton. “They were once unbeatable, but now all too beatable (hopefully).” The T20 side beg to differ. It is something they are keen to address. As Ali Martin has written this week, the WICB are looking to address the “player drain” from ODI and Test cricket. Back-to-back fours for Roy, both through midwicket, heavy on the wrists.
2nd over: England 5-0 (Roy 3, Billings 0) Two LBW shouts for Shannon Gabriel, against both openers. Both turned down, both yielding leg byes. Good pace from Gabriel, who looks like he spends his spare time ruling the underground boxing scene. One slight stray and Roy lands a jab through square leg for a couple. Billings is looking a bit tetchy....
1st over: England 1-0 (Roy 1, Billings 0) Jason Holder opens up from the Curtly Ambrose Stand end. As it happens, Curtly is perched inside as part of the BBC TMS team for this tour.
We may be broadcasting from the end bearing his name, but Sir Curtly still needed to have his pass checked! pic.twitter.com/n12Ez5j4Xa
— Henry Moeran (@henrymoeranBBC) March 3, 2017
One from the over: a delivery on leg stump that Roy works away behind square on the leg side to get off and running...
Play due to start at 2pm, with no overs lost. Feel free to get in touch over email (vithushan.ehantharajah.casual@guardian.co.uk) and on Twitter (@Vitu_E).
A quick thank you to Steve Pye for sending me this piece on the time Mike Gatting got his nose rearranged by Malcolm Marshall...
WEST INDIES WIN THE TOSS AND BOWL
Moisture in the air and in the pitch – Jason Holder, playing in his 50th ODI, wins the toss and decides to chase. “It feels like a fresh start,” says Holder. Eoin Morgan reckons it’ll be tricky early on and a bit tacky to start. He confirms that Jason Roy and Sam Billings will open the batting.
West Indies: E Lewis, KC Brathwaite, KOA Powell, SD Hope†, JN Mohammed, JL Carter, JO Holder*, CR Brathwaite, AR Nurse, D Bishoo, ST Gabriel
England: JJ Roy, SW Billings, JE Root, EJG Morgan*, BA Stokes, JC Buttler†, MM Ali, CR Woakes, AU Rashid, LE Plunkett, ST Finn
NEWS
Will Macpherson brings news of another to depart South Africa for county cricket – 26 year-old quick, Marchant de Lange.
Seven recent internationals have already joined counties as Kolpaks this close season, but De Lange is not eligible to play as one, because he has played an insufficient amount of international cricket in the last two years. Kolpak registrations require the player to have played one Test match or 15 limited overs internationals in the 24 months before signing. In that period, De Lange has played just one ODI and one T20i.
Instead, pending the awarding of a visa and ECB approval, he will be registered as a local player as his wife has a British passport.
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Shades of 2009, when an England Test was moved from this ground to the old Antigua Recreation Ground because of an unfit outfield.
Mike Selvey’s seethe at the time is worth revisiting
Toss delayed...
The latest rain has set us back a bit so the toss is going to be delayed. Perhaps of more concern is the bowler’s run-up. The groundstaff are using the roller to press dry soil into an area that looks badly affected by the weather. It seems that they were left open overnight which, given it has been raining on-and-off since 3am, is a tad concerning...
For those that don’t remember, the last time England were in the Caribbean for a one-off ODI series was back in 2014. Then, they used the tour as a warm-up for their T20 squad ahead of the World T20, which was held in Bangladesh. England didn’t make it out of the group, winning just one game and losing to the Netherlands in their final match. But the series did bring some joy to Michael Lumb. Making his debut in the first ODI, he rattled off 106 in a failed chase, opening the batting alongside Moeen Ali, also on debut. That World T20 would be the last time Lumb represented England.
Oh and it’s started raining again. While we wait for it to pass, let’s have some Rahkeem Cornwall...
Afternoon!
Hello all – welcome to coverage of England’s opening ODI of the definitely-not-a-waste-of-time-series against West Indies. So begins a packed schedule that leads into two ODIs against Ireland, three versus South Africa and then theChampions Trophy. Four Tests against South Africa follow, as do another three against West Indies, a solitary T20 and five more ODIs, taking us to September 29th. All this, by the way, in the lead-up to an Ashes series. Don’t be surprised if the county cupboard is raided for some stand-ins for the last part of the summer. Might be worth keeping your phone on, too.
England have opted against changing things up for this tour: barring an injury to Alex Hales (who joined the touring party a few days ago), expect them to name a first-string batting line-up at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium. In lieu of mixing things up, it seems that Sam Billings will get the nod at the top of the order, despite Jonny Bairstow’s form. Bairstow’s an intriguing one. It has not really happened for him in white-ball cricket, yet. He has two List A hundreds, the last of which was scored in a series against New Zealand A, back in 2014. In fact, Bairstow has scored more List A runs for England representative sides – Lions or XIs – than he has for Yorkshire, from 12 fewer innings. Considering how he has turned around his Test career, you’d imagine he’s capable of addressing whatever it is that is holding him back in the other formats.
While I was going to malign bringing you this OBO from gloomy west London instead of the Caribbean, it is actually drizzling in Antigua. Should clear up in time for the 1:30pm start, though. In the meantime, here’s Ben Stokes being Ben Stokes:
Wow, @benstokes38. Just Wow. pic.twitter.com/03pySEt1lh
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) March 3, 2017
