Cricket: whitewashing West Indies
For England, this West Indies tour has been little more than “match practice”, said Josh Burrows in The Times. They won all three of their one-day internationals (ODIS) in the series, despite losing the toss every time; they won the final match last Thursday by 186 runs to inflict West Indies’ heaviest ever ODI defeat at home. It was a “handsome” win, with centuries for both Alex Hales and Joe Root – even if it is difficult to judge “where England’s ability ends and West Indies’ weaknesses begin”.
Against such weak opposition, Hales and Root “helped themselves” to the “scoring opportunities on offer”, said Scyld Berry in The Daily Telegraph. Playing for the first time since fracturing his hand, Hales scored a “highly meritorious” 110. It was his fifth ODI century, a tally he has reached faster than any England player before him. As a strong wind blew across the ground, he used his bat “as a rocket launcher”; he thrashed in five sixes. The bowlers, too, made “light work” of West Indies, said Ali Martin in The Guardian. Chris Woakes was named man of the series, with a total of seven wickets, and an unbeaten 68 runs in the second ODI; Liam Plunkett took ten wickets, at nine runs apiece. Three months away from the Champions Trophy, the second-most important ODI tournament, captain Eoin Morgan and the coaches took the opportunity to bed in their first-choice XI; the only source of concern was Jos Buttler, who has an average of just 12 runs this year. West Indies have far more to worry about, said George Dobell on ESPN Cricinfo. For the first time in their “proud history”, they were whitewashed by England at home. That did their prospects “no good at all”: ranked No. 9 in the world, they must break into the top eight to qualify automatically for the 2019 World Cup. On this evidence, they’ll have a mountain to climb.