Key events
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.
