ENG v WI, 1st ODI Preview: Windies at gun point; hosts calm and relaxed
It's a must-win scenario for the Windies as they aim for direct qualification into the 2019 World Cup.
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Windies will be combating one of the toughest situations in their cricket history as they gear up for the ODI series against England. They already faced the humiliation of failing to qualify for the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 and to intensify their misery, their World Cup qualification is under the scrutiny.
The 2-time World champions in 1975 and 1979 have been playing terrible cricket over the past half a decade, barring the T20 format. A lot of shuffling and gambling has been done with the squad but that didn’t provide any brilliant results. With every turning page, the history of Windies cricket has been deteriorating and the last thing they’d want to trigger is to play qualifying rounds of the World Cups.
On the other side, England has been playing breathtaking cricket over the past few months across all formats. They were a little clumsy during the T20I game a couple of days ago, but nothing has gone wrong for them in recent times in any format of the game. They are a side who will pose a serious challenge and for the Caribbean lads, this ain’t the greatest of times to lock horns with such a brilliant side.
Predicted XI
England
Alex Hales, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan (C), Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler (wk), Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid, Jake Ball, Tom Curran, Liam Plunkett
West Indies
Chris Gayle, Evin Lewis, Marlon Samuels, Shai Hope (wk), Kyle Hope, Rovman Powell, Jason Holder (C), Jason Mohammed, Alzarri Joseph, Jerome Taylor, Kesrick Williams
Focus will be on
Ben Stokes (England)
The second costliest player in IPL history, Ben Stokes manages to hog the limelight no matter where he goes, what he does. He is one of those star players who kids envy. With his ability to turn games on its head with the bat, ball and in the field, he is currently one of the best three-dimensional players around and maybe, one of the greatest of all time. His consistency often takes people by a surprise and if he can pull out even 75% of his best, he can win a game for his side.
Chris Gayle (West Indies)
He might not be a regular in the national side, but Christopher Henry Gayle is definitely one of the greatest of all time in every format. Closing in on 10,000 ODI runs, many felt he might not get an opportunity to add more runs to his current tally of 9221 runs, but he is a champion who never quits. Here he is, back in the side and he looks in decent nick as well, which means the Manchester crowd might be up for some blistering entertainment.
Playing combinations
England
The Englishmen will be playing their first ODI since their heartbreaking exit in the Champions Trophy in June. Nevertheless, their team looks no fragile and Alex Hales will be accompanied by Jonny Bairstow in the opening department. Joe Root, skipper Eoin Morgan, Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali and Jos Buttler will be comprising the middle order.
Jake Ball and Mark Wood will be taking up the new ball duties with Liam Plunkett being the third fast bowling option. Ben Stokes and Moeen Ali will be crucial as ever to the side with their all-round contribution and it’ll be interesting to see how Adil Rashid fares with the likes of Evin Lewis and Chris Gayle, who absolutely adore leg-spinners.
West Indies
With Evin Lewis and Chris Gayle opening the batting, there’s a lot of excitement around the fans to see how will they approach. Marlon Samuels will keep his place in the side and the in-form Shai Hope, Roston Chase, Kyle Hope, and Jason Holder will comprise the middle.
Alzarri Joseph and Kesrick Williams will be the fast bowling options available with the likes of Jason Holder and Roston Chase being the other new-ball probabilities. Devendra Bishoo will pose quite a challenge with the experience he has and he has another spinning companion in Ashley Nurse.
StatAttack
65 – Eoin Morgan needs 65 runs to become the second highest run-getter in English cricket history. He will surpass Paul Collingwood.
45 – Joe Root needs 45 runs to break into the top highest run-getters list in English cricket.
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