(Reporting and Photography by Akeem Greene in Barbados, compliments of News Room and E-Networks)
724 runs were scored in a One-Day International match, and, at the end of it all England were the happier side, having strolled to a six-wicket victory over Windies in the first match at the Kensington Oval, Barbados, on Wednesday. The commanding run-chase gave them a vital 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
What looked to be a challenging target of 361 was achieved with eight balls remaining, thanks largely to contrasting centuries from Man-of-the-Match Jason Roy and captain Joe Root. Their efforts were aided by sloppy fielding, being dropped a total of seven times.
England’s record target was placed in front of them after Chris Gayle made a majestic 135 off 129 balls, smashing a record 12 sixes, which led Windies to their highest score against the tourists.
It took Roy with his swaggering stroke play to belt his seventh century, an 85-ball 123, while Root lived a charmed life, although his 92-ball 102 was a graceful effort.
The pair added 114 for the second wicket to snuff the life out of the bowlers. Frustration from spilled catches and silly errors in the ground fielding meant when Roy departed in the 27th over, England already established a position of dominance, racing to 205.
Captain Eoin Morgan further nailed the bowlers to the cross with a free-flowing 65 from 51 and when he fell to Oshane Thomas, who bowled fast but lacked direction, England only needed 36 at a run-a-ball.
Root and Morgan, England’s premier batsmen, added 116 in 16 overs.
Both Johnny Bairstow and Roy pressed on the accelerator after the first over, delivered by leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo had no spin.
Anything short or fractionally full was disdainfully dispatched and captain Jason Holder had headaches even before the first Powerplay had ended. Apart from the express pace of Thomas, Holder and Carlos Brathwaite were military medium on a flat surface.
Holder got the vital breakthrough via Bairstow gloving a short ball, but after that it was all one-way traffic.
Ashley Nurse, who provided the lower-order impetus with an eight-ball 25 earlier in the day, virtually gift-wrapped those runs back to England with his butter fingers, accompanied by unpenetrative off-spin.
He went wicketless, conceding 69 runs, just a tad under his England counterpart Moeen Ali, who had 0-85.
Holder dropped a return catch, likewise Thomas running at third-man and Nicholas Pooran, who made a four-ball duck on debut.
Windies’ start was a stark contrast. Debutant John Campbell, just like in the Test series, showed he has the shots, but not the concentration, falling for an eye-catching 30 with the score on 38 in the ninth over.
Shai Hope, who had a stupendous 2018 in ODIs, looked a totally different player from the Tests where he struggled. The Barbadian’s first boundary was a sweetly-timed four down the ground, then a nonchalant clip off Mark Wood over midwicket.
Gayle, playing his final ODI home series, grafted through the aggressive plans by England. After Roy floored a simple chance with the Jamaican struggling on nine off 33 balls, his first boundary came four balls later when he carved Moeen meatily for a straight six.
The ‘Universe Boss’ then unleashed the ‘Gayle Force’. His first fifty came from 76 balls and then he took 24 more to reach his 24th ODI ton.
At the other end, Hope played a gem of innings with good fluency until a Ben Stokes ripper saw him skying a catch to third-man. The duo added 131, with Hope crafting an impressive 64 off 65.
Shimron Heymyer did not make the most of his promotion, but Darren Bravo showed he was up for the task, lower in the order, with a quick 40 from 30 balls. Just like Gayle had them sailing unto the roof the Greenidge and Haynes Stand, Bravo fancied his arms and got four sixes. They added 61 in just over seven overs.
Astonishingly, Windies smashed 23 sixes, eclipsing the 22 by New Zealand for the most in an ODI innings, but England had only six, and that was enough to secure a crucial series advantage.
The second ODI takes place on Friday from 11:00h, also in Barbados.
