ENG v WI, 1st ODI Review: England off to a flyer; visitors' agony intensifies

Jonny Bairstow’s maiden hundred in One Day cricket helped England clinch a thumping 7-wicket win at the Old Trafford, Manchester. The Windies were no match for the hosts, who absolutely dominated in every department and crucified their counterparts. Due to a wet outfield, the game couldn’t begin on time and it turned a 42-over per side encounter.

Batting first, Windies were off to a breathtaking start. Christopher Henry Gayle marked his arrival by towering some gigantic sixes and the run-rate was well over 8. These were positive signs for the Caribbean, who have been struggling to find a good opening combinations off-late. Evin Lewis and Gayle paired up brilliantly, but only for few overs.

Once Evin Lewis fell, the game was right under England’s grasp till Ben Stokes stroked a six off the last ball of the game. Gayle was sent back courtesy a breathtaking grab from Root and Shai Hope was accompanied by Marlon Samuels. The duo added a 50-run stand, but the run-rate came down quite badly during this phase.

The middle order fell like a pack of cards as Jason Mohammad, Rovman Powell and Samuels, all of them got starts but failed to convert them into something significant. Jason Holder’s solo exploits were never really enough in the end, but they somehow finished with 204 runs on the board losing nine wickets.

Adil Rashid and Chris Woakes were fantastic on the day, pikcing up two wickets a piece. But the star with the ball was Ben Stokes, who managed to register figures of 3/43 in his nine overs.

Hosts follow the “No holds barred” policy

When a side fights back strongly and puts up a respectable total on the board, the last thing they’d want to see is the opposition making a mockery of the target. That’s exactly what it happened as the Windies bowlers were hammered to all parts of the ground. Jonny Bairstow’s promotion in the batting order worked wonders for skipper Morgan as England just eased past the target.

Alex Hales was dismissed early in the innings, but during the little time he spent in the middle, he meant business. After he walked back, Root played the second fiddle whilst Bairstow kept spanking boundaries at regular intervals. It didn’t take long for Bairstow to get to his half-century and England was nearing the hundred mark well before the 15th over.

Ths partnership pretty much settled the deal to be fair as they managed to bring down the morale of the bowlers with some stupendous batting. Joe Root had just completed his half-century and Kesrick Williams stunned him with a peach of a delivery which shattered his three sticks.

Eoin Morgan’s poor run in ODIs continued as he was dismissed after scoring 10 runs. Ben Stokes seemed to have some important commitments after the game and he wasted no time in completing the game. With the southpaw going all guns blazing, there was a bit of tension going on in the stadium regarding Bairstow reaching a hundred.

Eventually, he did get to his hundred in what turned out to be the penultimate ball of the game. Ben Stokes danced down the ground and dispatched the ball over the long-on fence to gift a 1-0 lead in the 5-match series. Bairstow unsurprisingly was the man of the match for his maiden ODI hundred and it was just a perfect icing on the cake.

Brief Scores

West Indies: 204/9 in 42 overs (Jason Holder 41*, Chris Gayle 37; Ben Stokes 3/43)

England: 210/3 in 30.5 overs (Jonny Bairstow 100*, Joe Root 54; Kesrick Williams 2/50)

England won by 7 wickets