England none the wiser following six victories over the West Indies

After winning at Derby in the first ODI, England continue to dominate the West Indies at Leicester and Taunton. So what have we learned and what needs addressing in the India series?

Photo Credit: England Cricket

The Uptonsteel County Ground, or Grace Road as it is historically known, is wonderfully peculiar. Tucked away in the middle of terraced housing like an Edwardian-era football ground. Accessing the car park is the first major hurdle for any visitor. The reluctance of the stewards to let anyone in results in major gridlock in the narrow streets of Aylestone Park and today caused this casual observer to speculate whether the problem with the car park may indeed be the disinterring of yet another mediaeval monarch. 

England cricket, of course, experienced its own regicide in March, with coach Jon Lewis and captain Heather Knight toppled in favour of Charlotte Edwards and Nat Sciver-Brunt. Already there is a sense of optimism about the nouveau régime. The T20 series was won comprehensively despite the one-woman-show of West Indies captain Hayley Matthews, who contributed exactly 50% of the 354 runs they accumulated across the three games. At Derby on Friday, England had set a daunting 345/6, with centuries for Tammy Beaumont and Amy Jones. The ODI series had already seemed like a damage-limitation exercise for the side from the Caribbean, and accumulating 237 in response was a decent effort which demonstrated some green shoots of recovery for the side who failed to qualify for this Autumn’s World Cup.

However, as the teams arrived at Leicester there was the worst possible news for the West Indies. Hayley Matthews was injured. In one moment, they had lost their best batter, their best bowler, their leader, their tactician, their inspiration. Captaincy (and wicket-keeping duties) were suddenly foisted upon Shemaine Campbelle. Would the West Indies capitulate without Matthews, revealing all the inadequacies that her brilliance had camouflaged? 

After England won the toss and batted, our worst fears seemed to be confirmed. Beaumont and Jones began with even more intent than they had at Derby, plundering 77 runs from the first 10 overs without being troubled in any way by the opposition bowlers. Jones, appearing liberated by her maiden century of the previous game, played with freedom and fluency as she accelerated to another century from 75 balls. Beaumont, suffering from a heavy cold, was playing more conservatively, but still managed to reach her century in style, hitting a six over long on. A quick fire 50 from 41 balls by Emma Lamb and a rapid 31 from Sophia Dunkley had statisticians digging through the record books – England’s record ODI score of 378 was in danger. As it was, 366 was the final total, England’s sixth highest total in history and one that no team in the history of the game had ever chased down.

West Indies’ reply, including a 50 from Realeanne Grimmond and a quick-fire 44 from Jannillea Glasgow, was a positive statement of intent rather than a genuine attempt to win the game. Having lost their 7th wicket in the 35th over with only 154 on the board, their tailenders showed great spirit and determination to take the game deep, finally succumbing in the 46th over, having added 69 more runs. A final total of 223 meant a comfortable win for England but much for Charlotte Edwards to consider as the final ODI of the series approached, particularly about the bowling attack. An inability to finish off teams when they are six or seven wickets down could cost England dearly in the forthcoming World Cup. Lauren Filer had been frighteningly fast and caused great discomfort to the West Indian batters, but also gave away more boundaries than any other England bowler. Alice Davidson-Richards bowled three very poor overs and should not be considered for the all-rounder position with Alice Capsey bowling so effectively.

Both teams re-grouped in Taunton three days later for the final game of the series. England had dominated so much, and so it would continue at a rain-affected game in Somerset.

Sciver-Brunt won the toss and invited the West Indies to bat, then invited Kate Cross and Em Arlott to demonstrate their bowling skills on a damp morning as the ball hooped and zipped around. West Indies were soon 4 for 3 and staring down the barrel of a humiliating defeat. It was thanks to the batting of Qiana Joseph and Shemaine Campbelle that West Indies could piece together a more respectable total as they added 39 runs together before the rain arrived in the 13th over. 

After a five-hour delay, play resumed and Campbelle was immediately dismissed. First Joseph, then Alleyne and finally Claxton added some much-needed urgency as West Indies added 63 in the final eight overs to give a final total of 106 from 21 overs, a score that owed much to the five consecutive fours that Alleyne hit from the bowling of Lauren Filer. 

The DLS system then crunched the West Indies’ numbers and set England 106 to win from 21 overs. Dunkley clearly fancied an early finish, so went about chasing this total down in a hurry. Once she was given out LBW, a decision she unsuccessfully reviewed after discussing it with her captain, Sciver-Brunt and Capsey steered England home with over 10 overs to spare. Sciver-Brunt reached 50 for the 33rd time in ODIs and then hit a one bounce four to seal the victory with the next ball.

Overall, this was as easy a series as England have played in a long time. Even against Pakistan last summer, in which England won all the games, there were moments of jeopardy. Against West Indies, sadly, there were none. A much more challenging set of games lies ahead against India. Here are five areas that need looking at in these final games before England go the World Cup in October:

1. The bowling line up. Should England play 4 or even 5 spinners in India? It is possible that the starting XI could include Dean, Smith, Ecclestone and Glenn, plus Alice Capsey. If Sciver-Brunt is bowling by that stage (which is the plan), then that leaves room for one other pace bowler (or even no other pace bowler). So the introduction of Em Arlott has been brilliant, but there is a chance she will not get a game in the World Cup.

   
   

2. Heather Knight. Where would she fit into this team? Capsey’s bowling at Leicester and batting at Taunton would appear to have put her in a very strong position to start and to bat high up the order in the World Cup. Should England plan now to be without her?

   
   

3. Alice Davidson-Richards – has been the one player who has diminished slightly following this series. She barely got to bat and when she bowled, it did not go well for her. Do we need an all-rounder in her mould or can Capsey do that role?

   
   

4. Bowling against the tail. England were not ruthless in finishing off the tail of this West Indies side, allowing them to add needless runs and to hang around far too long. Do we need to look at strategies to knock over lower order batters? Conversely, England’s tail did not get to bat at all across these six games, but have historically been quite bad at hanging around and adding annoying runs at the end, so it feels that this area needs some practice (don’t ask me how – ask Lauren Bell and Lauren Filer to be the new opening batters?!?)

   
   

5. The captain. Nat Sciver-Brunt is definitely the right choice to be captain. But she doesn’t always seem to be fully alert when on the field. Charlotte Edwards has addressed this in a number of ways: very clear instructions, good communication from the dug-out, forming a leadership group, but it still feels we are behind a team like India, where Harmanpreet Kaur is a much shrewder and cannier (and at times more belligerent) operator. I would suggest that one area NSB needs to practice more is how she responds to DRS reviews on field. I can’t remember her getting one right this series and in the game at Leicester England had burned both reviews quite early. This is where Amy Jones could be a very useful support and ally to her, as a strong authoritative voice and someone very close to the action. It seems to me that there needs to be a protocol in place to prevent reviews being burned so easily, because the bowler will always believe it should be reviewed and Sciver-Brunt’s natural inclination will be to allow what the bowler wants. Amy Jones needs to be the one to help NSB overrule the bowler when necessary.