ENG v WI, 5th ODI Review: Another humiliation for the visitors as England complete a whitewash

England yet again managed to thrash their Caribbean opponents in all possible departments as they won the 5 match series 4-0. It was a clinical performance from the home side who were taken for a few runs in the final few overs whilst the Windies were batting, but with the willow in hand, they were ruthless and won the game by 9 wickets with 12 overs to spare.

With this enthralling exhibition of power hitting, the English summer came to an end and this has been one of the longest, if not, the longest. Batting first, Chris Gayle once again showed he has a lot left to offer his national side. He spanked a quick fire 41, which included 5 thunderous sixes and 1 four. That didn’t last for an eternity though as debutant Tom Curran sent him back.

Brothers Kyle Hope and Shai Hope stitched a decent partnership but the former hit one straight towards the bowler and Plunkett made no mistake catching it. Shai Hope and Marlon Samuels hung in for a while but the scoring rate came down drastically. Hope completed a decent half-century but Samuels found it really difficult to face the music.The duo played 101 deliveries together and scored just 57 runs and this halted the team’s progress in the innings.

They were going nowhere and Samuels was dismissed soon. Jason Mohammad, the stand-in skipper, tried to up the ante but he too fell at the wrong time. It was all chaotic till Shai Hope lost his wicket and Sunil Ambris and Ashley Nurse came together. This pair smashed the English bowlers mercilessly and collected a staggering 60 runs in the final five.

Ashley Nurse finished with 31 off just 12 balls whilst Ambris collected 38 vital runs. Windies finished at 288/6 in 50 overs and they had a decent enough total to get into the green room.

Openers Ruthless; visitors toothless

Ben Stokes and Alex Hales are currently in a predicament but this came in as a blessing in disguise for Jason Roy, who replaced Hales as the opener. After missing out on a hundred by fine margins in the previous game, he yet again missed out on a hundred, this time on much finer margins. Nevertheless, he made a statement of intent and now, selectors will have a problem of plenty.

Jason Roy was at his breathtaking best, so was Jonny Bairstow. The duo compiled all their ability together to create a havoc and plundered all the confidence the Windies had gathered during the final phase of their innings. Roy reached his fifty in the 12th over and Bairstow got there in the 18th over.

The partnership between these two was well over hundred and not one batsman was back in the gallery. This gave them the license to go full monty in the next few overs and Roy accelerated into the 90s in no time. But unfortunately for the youngster, Miguel Cummins managed to pick his wicket and he had to walk back after scoring 96 off just 70 balls, which included 11 fours and 1 six.

Joe Root accompanied Bairstow and the latter started spanking the ball with ferocity. Whilst Root kept picking singles, Bairstow was all over the bowlers and he reached his second ODI hundred, which also is his second in the series. Amidst all the competition going on, Bairstow made his mark as an opener and two centuries in a 5-match series is simply outstanding.

With a huge six towards the sightscreen, Joe Root clobbered the winning runs and England completed a 4-0 whitewash. The hosts made a mockery of a 289-run target, which was once a more than competitive total. Jonny Bairstow collected the player of the match award for his 141 off 117 balls and frankly, this was the best English summer in their cricket history.