Root, Roy hit centuries in warm-up win

Barbados: Joe Root and Jason Roy hit centuries as England cruised to a 171-run win in their only warm-up match before the one-day series in the West Indies.

Root made 114 off 81 balls while Roy retired out for 110 off 82 in England’s 371-7 against a University of West Indies Vice Chancellor’s XI.

The hosts managed only 200 in reply at the Three Ws Oval in Barbados.

England’s five-match one-day series against West Indies starts tomorrow at the Kensington Oval in Barbados.

Roy shared an opening stand of 129 with Jonny Bairstow, who made 46, and 57 with Root after England lost the toss.

West Indies beat England 2-1 in the threeTest series. The one-day series is followed by three Twenty20 matches starting on March 5.

-BBC Sports as he comes back from a knee injury.

“It was great,” Astle said yesterday. “Coming back from a knee injury in the UAE, it was nice to be back and prove to myself again I could do it at that level in front of friends and family, and nice to get the win as well.”

The 32-year-old has endured a frustrating summer after the injury ruled him out of the ODI and test series against Pakistan in November but the wisdom that comes with age has allowed him to show patience with his rehabilitation.

Astle will get the chance to build on Saturday’s performance in the third ODI against Bangladesh in Dunedin tomorrow and with the series already won the game will be seen by many as a World Cup trial.

-Stuff