ENG vs WI 2017: West Indies Miss Out on Direct Qualification for 2019 World Cup

Dec 31, 2018 at 1:56 PM

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ENG vs WI 2017: West Indies Miss Out on Direct Qualification for 2019 World Cup

The worst fears for any Windies fan indeed came true last evening, as England cruised home in a relatively easy run chase. Entering Manchester, the goal for West Indies was to ensure a 4-0 or a 5-0 series win to have any hopes of securing a direct qualification for the 2019 World Cup, in this very part of the globe.

However, right in the first game of the series, all those chances vanished into thin air, as England continued being their ruthless self in the ODI’s. Comeback man Chris Gayle, playing his first ODI in 30 months, looked decent as he hit a flurry of sixes, to begin with. His in-form partner Ewin Lewis though, couldn’t convert his success T20’s to ODI’s as his agonising knock ended at 11.

Gayle was dismissed on 37, as Joe Root took an absolute blinder on the bowling of Chris Woakes to remove the danger man. Once the brawny Jamaican was back, there was no real recovery for the Windies as none of the partnerships could flourish.

A steadying knock from skipper Jason Holder lower down the order saved some grace for the visitors, as his 41 runs turned out to be crucial. For England, Adil Rashid stood out with the ball, picking up two for 31 in nine overs. Ben Stokes carried on with the ball from his form in the Test series, as he took three wickets to derail the Windies.

In reply to the target of 210 in 42 overs, England began with an air of aggression, as new opener Jonny Bairstow relished his opportunity at the top, at the expense of Jason Roy. Bairstow was flamboyant in his way, as along with Alex Hales, he formed a lethal opening combination. Joe Root chipped in with yet another half-century at number three, and by the time England got to the target in 30 overs, Bairstow had brought up his three figures.

Bairstow was also the Man of the Match for his fabulous knock, and in all probability, he could be England’s opener along with Alex Hales for a while now.

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