West Indies vs England Match Preview, 1st ODI

Hosts West Indies (WI) take on the visiting side England (ENG) in the first ODI of the three-match series, at the renowned Sir Vivian Richards Stadium, North Sound, in Antigua, on Thursday, October 31.

The Caribbean side is coming into this series on the back of a challenging white-ball tour of Sri Lanka, where they played three ODIs and as many T20Is against the Lankan Lions. Rovman Powell-led West Indies lost the T20I series 1-2 before Shai Hope's contingent was defeated by a similar margin in the ODI rubber.

The West Indies batters' batting techniques on spin-friendly tracks were put to the test. Some of the weaknesses that hampered their progress were the inability to rotate strikes against the spinners and converting starts into substantial scores.

After losing the first two games comprehensively, Evin Lewis' spectacular century on his ODI comeback gave the Caribbean side a consolation win in the final encounter. However, the game was shortened due to rain as the West Indies needed 195 to win in 23 overs. They managed to do so with eight wickets and an over to spare. The reduction of overs played into the hands of the West Indies as they are more comfortable in the shorter formats of the game instead of building the innings and setting things up for the backend, which is generally the trend in 50-over cricket.

It was a series to remember for Sherfane Rutherford, who scored half-centuries in each of the three matches. He aggregated 204 runs at a strike rate of 107.37. Meanwhile, Gudakesh Motie was particularly impressive with the ball as he bagged four wickets from three matches at an average of 21.50 and an economy rate of 3.91.

Meanwhile, England's last assignment was a three-match Test series in Pakistan, which they lost 1-2. However, not many players from that squad will be featuring against the Windies. The Three Lions' most recent ODI series was against Australia at home. It turned out to be a riveting five-match affair, which saw the two-arch rivals battling it out to gain bragging rights.

The Aussies won the first two games before England bounced back to square things up at 2-2. The tourists won the final ODI to break English hearts. However, the fact that a relatively inexperienced England squad took the ODI World Cup champions to the limit deserves a lot of praise.

Harry Brook led England in the series against Australia. Brook and Ben Duckett were the leading run-getters in the series against Australia but both of them will not be featuring in this series. Liam Livingstone will take up leadership duties as Jos Buttler continues to recover from his calf injury.

The onus will be on the likes of Will Jacks and Phil Salt to make an impact at the top of the order for England. The bowling department will be led by Jofra Archer and Adil Rashid, who were disappointed against the Aussies. Reece Topley will have a key role to play with the new ball for the Brits.

Also Read: West Indies' revenues tend to come from tours by India, England: Jason Holder

Match Details: