England crush West Indies by 238 runs to take early lead

England won by 238 runs after posting 400 on the board batting first. © Getty
Led by a dominating all-round display, England handed West Indies a thumping 238-run defeat in the first ODI at Edgbaston in Birmingham, on Thursday. Ben Duckett, Joe Root, Harry Brook and Jacob Bethell slammed breezy half-centuries as the hosts amassed 400 for 8 before West Indies were bundled out for 162, courtesy triple strikes from Saqib Mahmood and Jamie Overton.

Put in to bat, England blazed away right from the start, Duckett smashing Matthew Forde for a boundary in the opening over. Jamie Smith, who was dropped in the next over, cracked three off Jayden Seales as the openers put on a 64-run stand within seven overs before Smith departed.

Nonetheless, that wasn't to derail England's charge. Root and Duckett combined to add 73 runs more for the second wicket before Duckett departed on 60. Harry Brook took little time to cut loose and he smashed Greaves for a couple of sixes in the 26th over to get going.

Even as West Indies tried to control the flow of boundaries, the scorecard kept ticking along at a brisk pace. In the 46th over, Jacob Bethell smashed Seales for a couple of boundaries and six, while Jacks sent him on a leather hunt in a 24-run over as England set the platform for their massive total.

In response, West Indies never looked the part. Saqib struck in the third over of the chase, and by the fourth over, both the openers were back in the pavilion. Keacy Carty and Shai Hope attempted to steady the innings briefly, but their 36-run stand was to do little to revive the hopes of the visitors. Saqib dismissed the duo in quick succession, leaving West Indies reeling at 66 for 4 for the 12th over.

Jamie Overton ripped through the middle order with three strikes ensuring West Indies never looked a part in the contest as they slipped to 124 for 9 by the 22nd over. They kept swinging hard, and lost wickets in the process. The No 11 batter, Seales, found some bit of success, especially against Adil Rashid, who was also smashed around by Gudakesh Moite. The last wicket pair added a quickfire 38, but that also wasn't enough to add respectability to West Indies' fightback.

Brief Scores: England 400/8 in 50 overs (Jacob Bethell 82, Ben Duckett 60; Jayden Seales 4-84, Justin Greaves 2-68) beat West Indies 162 in 26.2 overs (Jayden Seales 29*, Shai Hope 25; Jamie Overton 3-22, Saqib Mahmood 3-32) by 238 runs