ENG vs WI 2025, 3rd ODI Review: England follow Bazball approach in white-ball to clean sweep West Indies
Jamie Smith was the Player of the Match for his quick-fire half-century.
England whitewashed West Indies in the three-match ODI series, after winning the final match by seven wickets, marking a comprehensive start to their debacle post the Champions Trophy 2025. The match was played at the Kennington Oval, London, where the home team laid their hands on the trophy.
Despite having a disappointing Champions Trophy campaign, the Englishmen came back in action with some outstanding players in the team, this time under a changed leadership. On the other hand, the West Indies looked weak in all the matches as they lacked a balance in the team, despite several notable individual performances.
It was the hosts' decision to bowl first after the English captain Harry Brook won the toss. West Indies lost early wickets and were 154-7 in 27.2 overs. The top order batters failed to give a good start to the game, followed by the unnecessary wickets of the middle order batters. Meanwhile, the English bowlers were on a roll. They maintained their line and length and disturbed the batters. However, Sherfane Rutherford (70 off 71) and Motie (63 off 54) formed a 91-run partnership and helped the team score 251 in 40 overs.
Notably, the match was reduced to a 40-overs-per-side due to rain interruptions. For England, Adil Rashid was the star bowler, claiming three wickets in his full eight-over spell. Saqib Mahmood, Brydon Carse, and Matthew Potts took two wickets each. When England came to bat, the top order looked in a whole different form.
Jamie Smith and Ben Duckett formed a first wicket partnership of 93 runs, which gave the perfect base to England's innings. Later, the momentum was converted by the rest of the batters. Despite losing three wickets, the hosts were well within their comfort zone as they completed the match within just 29.4 overs. Joe Root scored 44 runs off 49 balls, while Jos Buttler scored 41 runs off 20 balls.
The players kept the rain aspect in mind and played fast to avoid further disturbances. For a magnificent batting performance, Smith won the Player of the Match award.
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