LONDON – England sealed a commanding 3-0 series whitewash against West Indies with a seven-wicket victory by the DLS method in the rain-affected third One Day International (ODI) in England at the KIA Oval on Tuesday.
Chasing a revised target of 246 in 40 overs, England stormed to victory with 10.2 overs to spare, thanks to a blistering 64 off just 28 balls from opener Jamie Smith, who announced himself with a scintillating maiden ODI fifty.
Before the toss was even spun, there was high drama as both sides had trouble getting to the venue due to traffic issues in London.
Some members of the England team had to ride bicycles to the ground, while the West Indies team took close to two hours before getting to the KIA Oval by bus.
With the inclement weather further delaying the toss, England made no bones about bowling after winning the toss, and once again, the regional sides’ batting failed to click on what seemed to be a very good batting wicket.
After a couple of early boundaries, both Windies openers, Evin Lewis 8 and Brandon King, 16, perished in quick succession to leave the visitors in early trouble at 27 for two.
It would get worse for the regional side, as captain Shai Hope fell for a first-ball duck, attempting a hook off pacer Saqib Mahmood.
Sherfane Rutherford, fresh from his IPL stint, then joined the inform Keacy Carty, and they took the score to 90 before Carty, on 29, became the first of three wickets for Adil Rashid.
Despite wickets falling around him, Rutherford would not be perturbed and went about his business as he had done in the past. The Guyanese left-hander got himself to a half-century after facing 44 balls.
He would go on to top score with 70 from 71 balls with nine fours and two sixes. His dismissal saw the Windies facing another paltry score at 154 for seven, but Gudakesh Motie and Alzarri Joseph had other ideas.
The pair added 91 runs for the eighth wicket, with Motie going on to score his highest ODI score of 63, which came off 54 balls.
His swashbuckling knock saw him hit five fours and three sixes to help the Windies to 251 for nine in their allotted 40 overs. Joseph weighed in with a valiant 41 from 29 balls as Rashid finished with 3-40.
Chasing a revised target of 246 in 40 overs, England stormed to victory with 10.2 overs to spare, thanks to a blistering 64 off just 28 balls from make-shift opener Jamie Smith, who announced himself with a scintillating maiden ODI fifty.
Smith’s explosive knock, featuring nine fours and three sixes, propelled England to close to 100 inside seven overs.
Smith would eventually fall to Motie, but Ben Duckett with a dogged 58 and Joe Root’s resolute 44 provided steady support. New skipper Harry Brook, 26 not out and former captain Jos Buttler, with an unbeaten 41, fittingly closed out the win, with the latter sealing it with a towering six.
CMC
Summarised scores
WEST INDIES 251-9 in 40 overs(Sherfane Rutherford 70, Gudakesh Motie 63, Alzarri Joseph 41; Adil Rashid 3-40, Saqib Mahmood 2-48) vs ENGLAND 246-3 in 29.4 overs (Jamie Smith 64, Ben Duckett 58, Joe Root 44, Jos Buttler 41 not out, Harry Brook 26 not out; Roston Chase 1-19). England won by seven wickets under the Duckworth-Lewis Stern (DLS) method.
