Friday 19 / April / 2024
London: That defeat against Pakistan was a mere aberration. England put up a stunning all-round performance against West Indies, with Joe Root starring with both bat and ball, to win their ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2019 clash by eight wickets on Friday, 14 June.
The result pushed England above India and Australia to No.2 on the table, just a point behind first-placed New Zealand, and suffices to say that, for the No.1-ranked one-day international side, things are going swimmingly in their home tournament. Those who had flashes of World Cups past after that loss to Pakistan needn’t have concerned themselves.
Opting to field, England had West Indies bundled out for 212. Twice, the Windies batsmen put up strong fightbacks. Each time, England broke through when it mattered most. First, Chris Gayle and Shai Hope put on a fighting 50, accelerating in the second half of the first Powerplay to take control. But, after surviving an engaging battle with Jofra Archer, Gayle fell to Liam Plunkett for a 41-ball 36.
Then, after two quick wickets, Nicholas Pooran and Shimron Hetmyer put up another fightback – their 89-run stand helped revive West Indies, but having seen off England’s array of quality pacemen, their partnership was broken by the part-time off-spin of Joe Root, who saw off both Hetmyer and Jason Holder, ending with figures of 2/27.
Archer (3/30) then ran through the middle-order as West Indies were shot out in 44.4 overs. The only worrying news for England were the injuries to Jason Roy, who didn’t bat, and Eoin Morgan, the captain.
As it turned out, England didn’t need them on the day. The 95-run opening stand between Jonny Bairstow (45) and Root laid the foundation, and despite the former’s dismissal by Shannon Gabriel, Root went on to score his second century and third 50-plus score of the tournament.
Chris Woakes promoted to one-drop given the circumstances, more than held his own in a 54-ball 40, and with the pair putting on 104, it was an easy day out for the home side.
