It’s hardly surprising that after a match where 724 runs were scored in a little under 100 overs, the bowling line-ups of both Windies and England will be scrutinised for their effectiveness. For a modern-day ODI bowler that is an occupational hazard but the first game of the five-match series in Barbados on Wednesday (February 20) was a largely chastening affair for the bowlers on both sides.
And things are not about to get any easier during the second game on Friday, also at Kensington Oval, when a similarly good pitch for batting is expected and a downturn of batting aggression unlikely.
England’s victory in the first match was achieved with such ease, chasing down 360 to win without breaking a sweat, that it is the West Indian bowlers who will be
Shai Hope looked good for his 64
feeling the heat more than anyone in the lead-up.
On Wednesday, their attack looked one-dimensional, one-paced and without much of a discernible cutting edge at all. Even Oshane Thomas, the Jamaican quick, was made to look pedestrian. And Windies need to find a cutting edge because containment simply does not work against this England team. Wickets are the only way to stop them. But where are Windies going to find those wickets from?
Their toothlessness with the ball in the first match was not a one-off. Over the past two years, Windies have taken their wickets at a greater average than any other ODI team, conceded the third-most runs per over and have the worst strike rate, 49.1, too. In the same period, England have played 42 ODIs to Windies’ 41, yet Eoin Morgan’s men have taken 84 more wickets. With those sort of figures, it is little wonder Jason Holder’s men have won just 11 matches in those two years.
Solving the problem won’t be easy. Kemar Roach is injured and Shannon Gabriel is banned and while Devendra Bishoo may be the best wrist-spinner in the Caribbean, his recent record in ODI cricket is awful. At the very least, they could throw in Sheldon Cottrell’s left-arm option to add some variety and the fielders
Ben Stokes helps Joe Root celebrate after his century
could help their bowlers out by improving on an awful fielding display which CricViz suggested cost Windies 50 runs in the first match. Even then, it’s doubtful England’s batsmen will be kept up at night worrying about this Windies bowling attack.
England’s bowlers won’t be sleeping so soundly, though after receiving their own hammering in the first match, particularly Liam Plunkett who conceded 54 runs from his six overs. For all their batting brilliance, England’s bowling attack can still have the odd off day and Chris Gayle and co put them to the sword at times in the first game, hitting 23 sixes in all, 12 from the bat of Gayle. Some of that may be down to rustiness – Plunkett and Chris Woakes have not played much of late – but the batsmen won’t always be able to bail the bowlers out by chasing such large scores. An improvement from the bowling attack on Friday would be very welcome indeed.
Windies (From): Chris Gayle, John Campbell, Shai Hope(w), Shimron Hetmyer, Nicholas Pooran, Darren Bravo, Jason Holder(c), Carlos Brathwaite, Ashley Nurse, Devendra Bishoo, Oshane Thomas, Sheldon Cottrell, Fabian Allen
England (From): Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan(c), Ben Stokes, Jos Buttler(w), Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, Liam Plunkett, Mark Wood, Alex Hales, Tom Curran, Joe Denly, David Willey
