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WICKET!! Livingstone c&b Motie 48 (England 165-5)
Just when he’s taken charge of the game, England’s new captain scoops the ball back to the bowler.
34th over: England 160-4 (Livingstone 44, Curran 26) Hope keeps Chase on for his final over, and Livingstone says thanks very much. He hits another six, whipped over long-on, and then whips again for four. And then he’s dropped! At midwicket. It was low, but not so difficult.
And that’s drinks, with Livingstone now leading by example. He and Curran, two men for a crisis, have added 67.
33rd over: England 147-4 (Livingstone 33, Curran 24) Motie restores order with three dots and three singles.
We have a fifty partnership!
32nd over: England 144-4 (Livingstone 32, Curran 22) Anything Curran can do, Livingstone can do bigger. He charges down the track and Chase, so economical up till now, finds himself launched for a great big six. That brings up the first fifty partnership of the day – 51 off 11.1 overs. Is this a recovery we see before us?
31st over: England 137-4 (Livingstone 26, Curran 21) Shot! Sam Curran plays a lovely straight drive off Motie, pinpointing the gap behind the bowler and finding it with great precision.
30th over: England 130-4 (Livingstone 25, Curran 15) Chase, as usual, hands out only singles. If he was at home at Hallowe’en, it would be strictly Mars Celebrations, no actual bars of chocolate – not that I can talk.
And suddenly we’ve reached the 30-over mark. Back in the day, teams were expected to double their score from here. If England manage that, they’ll be doing well – but they’ll only have the standard first-innings score at this ground, 260, which is never enough.
29th over: England 126-4 (Livingstone 23, Curran 13) Shai Hope, who has played his hand masterfully, brings back Motie. Livingstone responds by giving up on brute force and playing a delicate little lap for two. A caption reveals that England have now scored a century – of dot balls.
28th over: England 122-4 (Livingstone 20, Curran 12) Another over from Chase, another four singles.
This is nice from Rob Knap. “The ideal time for watching overseas matches came up in a recent liveblog I think (can’t remember if it was you manning the deck for that discussion or not!), but still… “ No it wasn’t me – I just enjoyed reading it.
“I’m pottering around with the cricket on in the background, the stresses of the day melting away a little, for now at least. Cricket matches have often felt like comfort blankets to me, and I think an ODI in the West Indies is just about the most reassuring of all: it’s on after work, the skies are usually blue, there’s an outcome by the end of the day, and compared to other formats the rhythms of the game just feel more relaxing. Or maybe it’s the importance I give to the format: I don’t mind so much how England do compared to watching them in Tests, whereas in T20s I don’t care enough.
“Having typed that out thoughtfully, Bethell gets out and I’m annoyed and cursing at the TV! Ah well…”
27th over: England 118-4 (Livingstone 18, Curran 10) Livingstone has some power in his arms and he uses it now to pull Joseph for four. That was pure village blacksmith.
Seven off the over, which is riches by England’s recent standards. Every member of their new-look top six has now reached double figures. Can somebody please make 30?
26th over: England 111-4 (Livingstone 12, Curran 9) Roston Chase doesn’t have any wickets yet, but he’s been taking them at the other end. His idea of a pricey over is going for four singles, as he does now.
Halfway: England getting stuck
25th over: England 107-4 (Livingstone 10, Curran 7) Forde, who has improved his figures to 7-0-36-2, gives way to Joseph. He keeps the pressure on by conceding only a single, and that’s the halfway stage. The wicket is a bit sticky, but I’m not sure it’s as bad as England are making it look.
Here’s Tom van der Gucht. “I liked Guy Hornsby’s comment,” he says, “about this being a T20 team playing 50 overs. With so many big hitting not-quite all-rounders, it almost feels like a Hong Kong Sixes team. They’re just missing Ronnie Irani to round the team off and add some dibbly dobbler seam action.” Good line.
24th over: England 106-4 (Livingstone 10, Curran 6) Curran, facing Chase, takes a kamikaze single and only gets away with it because the throw is too high. Another thrifty over for the Windies, two off it.
23rd over: England 104-4 (Livingstone 9, Curran 5) Forde, in this second spell, was threatening to turn into Seales. Livingstone tries to show him who’s boss by muscling a cut through the ring, but it brings only two. Curran does better, gliding square for four. That’s the first boundary for 55 balls. Old-school!
22nd over: England 97-4 (Livingstone 6, Curran 1) The bad news for Livingstone and Sam Curran is that they have a rebuilding job on their hands. The good news is that they both have plenty of time. Curran is often better at livening up the boring middle overs than he is at blasting at the death.
21st over: England 94-4 (Livingstone 4, Curran 0) Oh, England. Wherever they are in the world, whatever form of cricket they’re playing, they always have a collapse in them.
WICKET! Bethell c King b Forde 27 (England 93-4)
Just when Bethell was looking so good … he gets out to a skyer too! A short ball stops on him and his attempted pull loops to cover.
20th over: England 89-3 (Bethell 26, Livingstone 1) Liam Livingstone strides out for his first go at playing a captain’s innings for England. Roston Chase whizzes through another tidy over.
19th over: England 86-3 (Bethell 24, Livingstone 0) That was a fine over from Matthew Forde – one wicket, only one run – and an inspired move from Shai Hope to bring him back.
WICKET! Cox c Carty b Forde 17 (England 86-3)
After looking so assured, Cox goes the same way as Salt and Jacks, caught off a skyer. Aiming for midwicket, he can only slice to third man, where Carty takes a cool calm catch.
18th over: England 85-2 (Cox 17, Bethell 23) Chase continues and keeps it tight – two dots, then two singles, then two more dots. It’s a good battle.
17th over: England 83-2 (Cox 16, Bethell 22) Bethell, who may be just as confident as Cox, greets Motie’s next over with a neat little ramp for two. They’ve already put on 37 off 39 balls. Who needs experience?
16th over: England 79-2 (Cox 15, Bethell 19) It’s spin at both ends as Roston Chase comes on with his offbreaks. He has a slip, so Hope reckons there’s some turn. Cox and Bethell work the ball around for five singles as if they’ve been doing this for years.
Drinks: honours even-ish
15th over: England 74-2 (Cox 13, Bethell 17) West Indies need to put the plug back in and Motie does the job, going for just two singles. And that’s drinks, with honours about even: Jayden Seales pegged England back, but now Jacob Bethell is threatening to grab the wheel.
An email comes in from Gary Naylor. “The dot,” says the subject line, like the title of a novel. “I’m on the way back from Stratford Upon Avon (Othello – it didn’t end well),” Gary says. “Shakey’s old stamping ground is tricky on trains, so I’m glad you’re here to help. I’m still a bit tempted by Google Maps’ crawling blue dot though, the only thing more depressing to watch than a one-sided ODI.” Ha.
14th over: England 72-2 (Cox 12, Bethell 16) Jacob Bethell is on manoeuvres! Facing Joseph, he pulls for four, then does it again, with extra ferocity. And he adds a for four through the vacant slips. That’s 13 off the over and for the first time today, an England batter is going at a run a ball (16 off 13). Bethell looks so at home in the Caribbean, it’s almost as if he was born there.
13th over: England 59-2 (Cox 12, Bethell 3) Shai Hope decides it’s time for some spin and brings on Gudakesh Motie with his slow left-arm. Cox, still exuding confidence, finds him straying onto leg stump and sweeps for four.
12th over: England 52-2 (Cox 7, Bethell 1) Seales is only human after all: he produces a village misfield at third man and a cut off Joseph turns into Cox’s first ODI four. Bethell gets off the mark with a pull, meaty but mistimed.
11th over: England 46-2 (Cox 2, Bethell 0) To lose one opener to a skyer may be considered a misfortune. To lose two looks like carelessness, especially when Nos 3 and 4 have played only five ODIs between them. But credit to Jayden Seales: he’s been immense. He lured Jacks, like Salt, into a mishit down the ground, which Gudakesh Motie did well to catch with the wind swirling around him. Seales has the sort of figures Sir Curtly used to collect: 5-1-8-2.
WICKET! Jacks c Motie b Seales 19 (England 46-1)
One brings two! And again it’s a skyer.
10th over: England 46-1 (Jacks 19, Cox 2) Joseph, so cool in the field just now, blots his copybook by giving away four leg-byes, but keeps it tight thereafter. The first Powerplay ends with West Indies the more satisfied of the two sides.
9th over: England 40-1 (Jacks 18, Cox 1) Seales is even better from the Curtly end at the Viv than he was from the Andy. It was his testing length that did for Salt, and it allows him to beat Jordan Cox too, outside off, as he flirts with a duck on ODI debut. Cox, who seems to have a superb temperament, isn’t bothered: he dabs the next ball for a single.
WICKET! Salt c Joseph b Seales 18 (England 39-1)
Seales was just changing ends. And it pays off as Salt skies a drive and Joseph, running back, takes a nonchalant catch.
8th over: England 39-0 (Salt 18, Jacks 18) The first bowler to be taken off is the immaculate Seales. Interesting. Alzarri Joseph replaces him and it doesn’t go well. His first ball brings four overthrows as Lewis’s sharp shy at the stumps surprises the fielders on the other side of the wicket. His second is a no-ball. His third, a free hit, goes better as Jacks can only inside-edge it for a single. Nine off the over, 17 off the past two.
7th over: England 30-0 (Salt 17, Jacks 11) Hope risks a fourth over from Forde. Salt retorts with a flash past gully for four, and then a better shot, a casual cuff past extra cover for four more. He’s warming up.
6th over: England 22-0 (Salt 9, Jacks 11) Seales continues, bowling cross-seam. The lone slip has now slipped away. Another good over from Seales (3-0-7-0), yielding only a single to each batter. Mark Butcher reveals that, in the last five ODIs on this ground, the team batting first have made (on average) 261, and it’s never been enough. Can England break that mould?
5th over: England 20-0 (Salt 8, Jacks 10) Most of the runs have come off Forde, but Hope still believes in him. He responds with a tighter over and nearly deceives Jacks with a slower ball, luring him into a loopy drive that lands just short of mid-off.
If this was Test cricket, England would have 40 by now.
4th over: England 19-0 (Salt 8, Jacks 9) Seales continues and Salt again clips for two to midwicket, but he can’t get after the other five balls.
“As a Warwickshire follower,” says Phil Russell, “it’s great to see Bethell and Mousley in the team, and hopefully Sam Hain will get more recognition before long too. Overall the line up does rather remind of the days of another Bears all-rounder, Dermot Reeve. Quite a lot of bits-and-pieces players for a 50 over game. A little concerned the batting will fizzle out and not go the distance.” That would be very on-brand.
3rd over: England 17-0 (Salt 6, Jacks 9) Forde strays onto the pads, allowing Jacks to help himself to a cheap four. That gets Jacks going and when Forde goes wide of off, he launches into a fierce cover-drive, struck on the up. The trumpeter celebrates with a blast of Go West by the Village People – or, if you prefer, the Pet Shop Boys.
2nd over: England 8-0 (Salt 6, Jacks 1) The other end has a knighthood too: the Sir Andy Roberts End. Jayden Seales opens the bowling there and keeps Will Jacks quiet, restricting him to a leg glance. Salt adds a clip for two.
“Evening Tim,” says Guy Hornsby, “cricket is happening! This is quite the XI for England. It feels very like a T20 side needing to play 50 overs, though I guess many players don’t really play the format any more. I’ll admit I’m mystified by Overton as a non-bowling all-rounder (I know he’s injured). It was funky in T20s, but feels a luxury here, even through the Bazball lens.
“I know a few batters are home who must be wondering what they need to do. Penny for the excellent Sam Hain’s thoughts… Still, come on England/cricket/West Indies!”
Sam Hain may have something else on his mind tonight. Many thanks to Steven Lynch of Wisden for pointing this out.
1st over: England 5-0 (Salt 4, Jacks 0) On a pitch like a biscuit, Forde makes a tidy start apart from one legside wide. Phil Salt plays himself in studiously for two balls, then bashes the third through the covers for four. “Some quite long grass out there,” says Mark Butcher. “Could be taking the aerial route.”
Matthew Forde has the new ball and is ready to steam in from the Sir Curtly Ambrose end. Ends, like stands and indeed stadiums, sound better without the knighthood, don’t they?
The teams line up, accompanied by some mildly baffled schoolchildren. West Indies are in maroon with a yellow trim, England in sky blue with navy trousers. The anthems ring out, one rather more lustily than the other. If it was a singing contest, West Indies would have won.
Teams in full
West Indies make only one change, bringing back Shimron Hetmyer. Like England, they were in action on the other side of the world just a few days ago (in Sri Lanka); unlike England, they were playing this form of the game.
The broadcasters, TNT, have Phil Salt down as England’s wicketkeeper, but there’s been plenty of talk of Jordan Cox too, so I’m going with a question mark or two.
England 1 Phil Salt (wkt?), 2 Will Jacks, 3 Jordan Cox (wkt?), 4 Jacob Bethell, 5 Liam Livingstone (capt), 6 Sam Curran, 7 Dan Mousley, 8 Jamie Overton, 9 Jofra Archer, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 John Turner.
West Indies 1 Evin Lewis, 2 Brandon King, 3 Keacy Carty, 4 Shai Hope (capt, wkt), 5 Sherfane Rutherford, 6 Shimron Hetmyer, 7 Roston Chase, 8 Gudakesh Motie, 9 Alzarri Joseph, 10 Matthew Forde, 11 Jayden Seales.
Four debutants for England
“We would have bowled first as well,” says Liam Livingstone. “But it looks a good pitch.” Asked how he feels to be captain, he says “incredibly proud”. He reveals that his team includes four ODI debutants – Jordan Cox, Dan Mousley, Jamie Overton and John Turner.
Toss: West Indies win and bowl
Shai Hope wins the toss and opts to bowl first, in case “it gets a bit wet” later on.
Preamble
Evening everyone. Another week, another continent, as The Only Ones so nearly sang. Five days after collapsing in a heap in Pakistan, England now have the chance to do it again in a different format in the Caribbean. I was going to say a shorter format, but that is now debatable. They will be hoping to stay in a bit longer than the 37 overs they managed the other day. As Brian Johnston used to observe, it’s a funny game.
It was less than a year ago that West Indies and England last met in an ODI at the Viv. We should really have a prize for anyone who can remember what happened. A glance at the scorecard shows that England won, with Liam Livingstone and Rehan Ahmed taking the wickets and Will Jacks, Harry Brook and Jos Buttler knocking off the runs.
Buttler is now injured and Brook rested, but the others are in the squad and Livingstone is about to become England’s sixth captain of the calendar year, which should at least stop him moaning about being too low in the order.
England’s line-up may well be a hotch-potch. The selectors seem to have reacted to the absence of the usual suspects by refusing to include any specialist batters. The top order could be a curious blend of wicketkeepers and slow-bowling all-rounders, although the attack makes up for any lack of experience with Jofra Archer, Reece Topley, Sam Curran and the great Adil Rashid.
West Indies, by contrast, can field a settled side, captained by Shai Hope and starring the explosive Evin Lewis. Play starts at 6pm GMT, weather permitting – there’s a bit of thunder in the air. See you just after 5.30 with news of the toss and (I hope) the teams.