If it wasn’t obvious before this, England made a statement last night in their match against the West Indies that was undeniably concerning to every other nation in this tournament – we aren’t mucking around, and we are going to destroy every one of you.
England’s bowling attack might not be perfect, but they have three massive pillars in the attack that are going to do the most damage, and if they continue to do that damage then the other pieces of the puzzle are just filling in the gaps while they rest. Mark Wood was superb last night, his pace and line almost impossible to get away. Jofra Archer improves with every match with that metronomically designed technique that only seems to leak runs through edges, while Chris Woakes continues to be underrated for his ability to hit the pitch and still gain perfect swing. After stymying the batting early, the two cheap wickets Joe Root picked up allowed Morgan to bring back his guns in Wood and Archer who destroyed the West Indian tail, who lost 5/24 from 8 overs to have their momentum cut off at the hip. These three will continue to do this to the lower order of every team given the chance.
The two soft dismissals that the West Indies handed to Joe Root changed the course of the match. A 91 run partnership between Pooran and Hetmeyer had gotten the Windies back on track with an outside chance of making a 280 total, which in turn would have given their bowlers something to bowl at. Instead, Hetmeyer lobbed the ball back to Root, and then Holder back-edged a ball that would have been five wides down the legside back to Root as well, and the innings hit a roadbump. A change by England that was forced by a slight case of desperation paid off in spades. When the luck runs with you…
There is a scare in the England camp, with both Jason Roy and Eoin Morgan injured while fielding and unable to bat. That may be a problem going forward, but today England barely skipped a beat. Firstly Joe Root stepped up to open, and peeled off an effortless century at better than a run a ball. His partnership with Bairstow was excellent and nothing much was lost there. Then Chris Woakes came in at number three. Was it just taking the mickey? Certainly with Stokes and Buttler still in the bank it wasn’t going to hurt if it failed, but Woakes batted like he is capable of, and made a lazy 40 runs off 54 balls before finally holing out. At the moment, everything England tries seems to work out.
For all the hope that the Windies would be able to ride on the domination of Chris Gayle and Andre Russell, it just hasn’t happened. Gayle has tried hard but has been unable to get away in the 50 over format like he does in the 20 over game. Even last night having made 36 off 41 balls he needed to make a big hundred to lead his team, but he seems less capable of batting time like he could a decade ago. Russell is beset by every injury the body can muster, and every time he tries a little harder he tweaks something else. Last night he re-hurt his wrist hitting a six and was dismissed soon after. With the ball he cracked Bairstow in the helmet but fell over in his follow through, which re-hurt his knee and ankle, and he left the field. Whether either of these guys can contribute further to the tournament is yet to be seen.
Missing two of their top four batsmen, and with their fourth and fifth bowlers combining for 19 overs and 116 runs, England still bowled their opponents out for a paltry 212, and got them two wickets down with 17 overs to spare. It was a massive statement of intent. The Windies had monstered Pakistan and should have beaten Australia. England destroyed them with half a team. Those injuries to Roy and Morgan will be a concern if they persist beyond the next game, and despite their loss to Pakistan themselves it is going to take something special to beat this team over the next few weeks.
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