Gayle breaks world record
inked in too. In a tight race with Sodhi, Astle’s batting gets him over the line as the selectors covet multi-skilled players.
What did we learn from the Bangladesh ODIs? The top-five looks a lot more secure with Nicholls and Guptill at the top, and Tim Southee will push Henry hard to be Boult’s new ball partner in the top XI.
The likely 6-7-8 axis of Neesham, Colin de Grandhomme and Mitchell Santner could be the difference between another semifinal berth and heading home early.
Neesham and de Grandhomme are the key batting finishers with a platform. They need to really hurt opposition Veteran West Indies star Chris Gayle has smashed 12 sixes off England’s meagre bowling attack to break Shahid Afridi’s world record.
On his way to a knock of 135 from 129 balls, Gayle surpassed Afridi’s record of most sixes in international cricket and now stands alone at the top with 488 sixes, 12 ahead of the former Pakistan captain.
New Zealand’s Brendon McCullum is third on the all time international sixes list with 398.
In Barbados yesterday, Gayle, who recently announced he’ll retire from this form of the game after the World Cup, helped West Indies reach a huge total of 360-8 off their 50 overs.
It is the West Indies’ biggest total on home soil and also their highest ODI total against England.
However, it wasn’t enough as Jason Roy and Joe Root scored centuries as England clinched a record-breaking victory.
Roy made 123 and Root 102 as the visitors scored 364-4 to win with eight balls to spare and take a 1-0 lead in the fivegame series in front of a near-capacity crowd at Kensington Oval.
England’s highest successful run chase in one-dayers was aided by some sloppy bowlers at the death.
With the ball New Zealand need to find ways to strike in the middle stages, via the all-rounders, spinners and Lockie Ferguson with his pace and yorkers. A worrying trend developed against India and Bangladesh, who were let off the hook after inroads from the new ball duo.
It’s been an up and down buildup for New Zealand, who at least have their key men in form. We won’t know how they’re tracking for another three months, then hope they don’t slip on any cup banana skins in the form of Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Afghanistan in their first three very winnable matches before the big ones loom. West Indies fielding and several dropped catches.
As well as the 12 sixes Gayle hit, there were 11 more from his team-mates, to break another world record.
It was Gayle’s 24th ODI century and as he reached that mark he dropped to his knees, then raised his bat, with his helmet placed on top of it.
Gayle was playing in his first ODI match since July last year as he prepares for the Cricket World Cup.
It was a day England’s Moeen Ali will want to forget quickly as the spinner went for 85 runs from his 10 overs without claiming any wickets.