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Division Two

4th dayEssex were in trouble at 60 for 3 when rain ended the final day against Northamptonshire at Wantage Road. The draw served neither side very well, although Essex have a better chance of forcing themselves into a promotion place. James Foster and Mark Pettini served up 24 overs of lobs for 80 minutes and Essex were left the reasonable target of 300 in 70 overs. It was more generous then it sounded with Northamptonshire without the injured Johan van der Wath and Andrew Hall. But they made early inroads as David Lucas trapped Jason Gallian lbw. Ravi Bopara lived a charmed life; he could have been run out and caught off bat and pad before he was eventually lbw to Nicky Boje. However, shortly after John Maunders edged Lance Klusener to slip the rain came down and they players didn’t get back on.Rain also swept in after tea to deny Gloucestershire the chance to push for victory against Leicestershire at Grace Road. After some declaration bowling during the morning session Leicestershire were left 311 in 80 overs. As in the first innings the top order subsided quickly with Jon Lewis and Steve Kirby reducing them to 2 for 2. Lewis had Matthew Boyce caught low at first slip and Kirby trapped HD Ackerman lbw with one that kept low. When Lewis struck for a second time to remove Jacques du Toit, Leicestershire were 36 for 4 and facing defeat. However, for the second time in two days Josh Cobb and Paul Nixon steadied the innings until the tea interval then the great British summer did the rest.3rd dayOnce again there was no play in Cardiff, between Glamorgan and Worcestershire although the action was about to start at 4.30pm before another heavy shower ended those hopes.

Division One

Click here for Andrew McGlashan’s report from The Oval as Hampshire go top of the table with a huge victory against relegation-loomed Surrey.Click here for John Ward’s report of Somerset against Durham at Taunton

ScorecardYorkshire finished the Roses match well on top, with Lancashire having to fight hard to avoid defeat, but it is inevitable that they will have a couple of regrets and ‘what if’ questions. A delayed declaration, unwarranted trust in the weather forecast, and their lack of a good second spinner: all were factors that reduced their chances of victory, but in the end the loss of almost a day and a half to rain may have been too much for them anyway.Yorkshire began the day on 234, three runs ahead of Lancashire, but crucially with eight wickets in hand. Their preferred scenario would have been to run up a total of 400 as quickly as possible, declare, and then bowl out Lancashire a second time for an outright victory. In the event, the runs took a little longer than they would have liked. Jacques Rudolph began with some aggressive strokes and raced into the twenties, but then he and Andrew Gale became rather tied down by persistent bowling.Gayle finally lost his wicket for 136, driving a catch to wide long-on; almost immediately afterwards Adam Lyth (1) called for a risky single to backward point, only to be sent back and run out. Rudolph’s 50 came off 72 balls and he eventually fell for 54, getting in a tangle over a ball from the occasional leg-spinner Faf du Plessis that reared out of the footmarks, and popping a catch to the keeper.Tim Bresnan was promoted, presumably in the hope of quick runs, and if so was a partial success. Yorkshire at lunch had earned another batting point, on 355 for 6, but the declaration that many expected did not materialize. Rain was not considered likely, and a declaration at that point would give them a lead of only 119 runs and Lancashire two sessions during which they would surely exceed that total if they survived, so it did make sense for Yorkshire to seek full batting points – if the weather forecast proved correct. The major problem was that it took a little too long to reach that 400, which was attained almost 40 minutes after lunch, with Bresnan scoring 47 not out.du Plessis finished with 3 for 61, while Cork’s 1 for 26, surprisingly under-bowled for just 12 overs, was also presentable, but the others would not have pleased their owners. Keedy took 1 for 142 off 48.5 overs, and deserved better, troubling the batsmen at times, but just seemed to lack that little extra something that the great English spinners of the past had.Lancashire went in again with a deficit of 169 runs, and a minimum of 51 overs to survive. Matthew Hoggard for one was fired up; in his first over Iain Sutcliffe nudged a four but was then caught at the wicket from a ball that bounced and moved away. Paul Horton did not look comfortable and earned two fortunate boundaries, but he hung on, while Stuart Law (4) departed, being easily caught at mid-on off a stroke that was half hook, half pull against Bresnan.It was a spinner’s pitch, but it was still startling to see occasional leg-spinner Rudolph coming on for the ninth over. Adil Rashid came on at the other end, a more orthodox move, and he immediately bamboozled and bowled du Plessis with a well-flighted googly – they don’t get many of those in South Africa. Lancashire were now in trouble at 29 for 3.Horton played a fine rearguard innings while keeping the score moving, reaching 50 off 83 balls, and the much-maligned Lou Vincent, though virtually strokeless (3 off 38 balls at tea) hung in there with him. Adam Lyth also bowled, but Yorkshire, who had omitted David Wainwright, now felt the loss of a genuine second spinner to partner Rashid. Darren Gough cut down his pace and run to have a try with cutters, and he rang his bowling changes, but the two refused to yield. Within living memory, bowlers such as Johnny Wardle, Bob Appleyard and Ray Illingworth would surely have completed the job, but times have changed and English counties do not produce spin bowlers like they used to.At five o’clock, the unexpected happened – the clouds loomed and the players left the field for bad light. Fifteen minutes later, with light still poor but only a light smattering of rain, the game was officially abandoned as a draw, and Yorkshire were left to regret what might have been. Rashid finished with figures of 1 for 16 off 16 overs, but he too must surely have regretted not being part of what is virtually an extinct species in the cricket world outside Asia – a set of ‘spin twins’.

Scorecard

In a rather bland match at Trent Bridge, Lancashire beat Nottinghamshire comfortably by five wickets. Two fifties were scored, one on each side, and Francois du Plessis played a good all-round role for Lancashire.In windy conditions, Nottinghamshire won the toss and decided to bat. Their innings was built on a sound second-wicket partnership of 57 between Adam Voges (51) and Samit Patel (31 off 20 balls), that had them quite well placed at 69 for 2 when Patel fell in the tenth over. His best shot was a six over extra cover, into the strong wind, off Kyle Hogg.Chris Cairns began his innings with a thick edge for four but did not settle; he made 8 before he was caught at deep midwicket by fellow New Zealander Lou Vincent, who was in action again later in the over when a superb return from the deep ran out Chris Read for 2.Voges went to his 50 off 41 balls, but was out next ball, holing out to Andrew Flintoff on the midwicket boundary. Most of the runs after that came from Mark Ealham, who hammered 28 off 21 balls, including two sixes. With two overs to go, Notts had only 122 for 5 but Ealham took them past 150 before being caught at long-off from the final delivery. The fielder, again, was Vincent, but he juggled the ball three times before holding it – catching was not easy in such a wind and the fielders held some very good high ones.As so often in this competition, the most successful and economical bowlers were the spinners, Simon Marshall taking 3 for 27, including Ealham in his four overs, and du Plessis 1 for 13 in three. Again Flintoff did not bowl, and had not been expected to.Lancashire were all Mal Loye at the start. He swung Darren Pattinson over square leg for six in the second over and raced onwards, taking his team to 41 for 1 in five overs – the wicket being Vincent to a superb leg-side stumping for 4. But then Loye tried a reverse sweep and skied a catch to backward point, having made 32 off 23 balls.This slowed the scoring rate and after ten overs Lancashire were 70 for 2, one ahead of Notts at that stage. But Stuart Law and du Plessis produced the good partnership that the home team did not have, and they drew ahead again. When Law fell for 33, this brought in Flintoff.He showed understandable signs of nerves at first, being close to lbw and then run out off the first ball he faced. A thunderous straight drive for four will remain in the memory, but then he drove at Rob Ferley and was bowled for 13, off nine balls.All this time du Plessis had been chugging along at a good rate but somehow without great charisma – his 50 came off 33 balls, and his eventual unbeaten 57 contained seven fours and a six, yet somehow this valuable player does not quite capture the imagination. He did deservedly capture the Man-of-the-Match award, though. Lancashire were home with four balls to spare, but it was the expected result, without excitement. Andre Adams and Ealham took two wickets each, though Ferley was again the most economical with 1 for 23 off his four overs.

Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
How they were out

A mighty performance from India’s batsmen, led by Virender Sehwag and Suresh Raina, made easy work of a competitive target of 300 and gave the team two points to take into the next round. The pair tore into Pakistan’s depleted and wayward bowling attack – scoring at more than eight an over during their second-wicket partnership of 198 – as India reached the target with six wickets and 47 balls to spare, their quickest chase while facing a target of 300 or more.The Indian approach was in stark contrast to Pakistan’s methodical plan in their innings. Their openers played cautiously at the start and accelerated once the new ball had been seen off. Malik’s maiden century as captain was the cornerstone of the innings and gave the batsmen who followed the freedom to innovate and bat aggressively to propel Pakistan to 299 for 4. In the end, however, they needed plenty more to challenge a trailblazing Indian batting line-up.Pakistan’s attack was weakened by a rib-muscle injury to Umar Gul, who left the field after bowling only 1.2 overs. Shoaib Malik’s offspin was also unavailable because he didn’t take the field after cramping towards the end of his century, which left acting captain Misbah-ul-Haq with only three specialist bowling options – Sohail Tanvir, Iftikhar Anjum and Shahid Afridi – and their flat performance cost Pakistan dearly.Despite snaring Gautam Gambhir early – Misbah showed lightning reflexes in taking a one-handed catch to his left at gully – Pakistan were unable to contain India. After the Kitply Cup final, Dhoni had admitted that promoting Raina ahead of himself was a mistake but today Raina walked in at No. 3, instead of the out-of-touch Rohit Sharma.Bristling with confidence after his century on Wednesday against Hong Kong, Raina began with free-flowing cover drives when offered width outside off stump by Tanvir and Anjum. He did most of the early scoring and Sehwag hadn’t got off the mark till the fourth over. However, Sehwag began to gather momentum by flicking consecutively to the long-leg boundary when Anjum strayed on to his pads, and slashed two short and wide balls from Tanvir to the third-man boundary.With Tanvir and Anjum ineffective, Misbah turned to Afridi in the 11th over. Afridi bowled one satisfactory over before Sehwag hit him for two straight sixes in his second. Raina lofted Anjum audaciously over extra cover for another six and when Misbah brought Tanvir back, Sehwag immediately glided him down to the third man for four.

Pakistan began to haemorrhage runs and by the time Malik took the field, India had raced to 100 in 14 overs. They found the boundary virtually every over: Raina lofted Fawad Alam’s left-arm spin over the midwicket boundary, Sehwag hit Afridi over long-on for six once more. And when Malik, who wasn’t allowed to bowl for 71 minutes after taking the field, turned to Salman Butt, Sehwag responded by charging him and smashing the ball twice into the stands at deep midwicket to move into the 90s.Sehwag brought up his century of only 80 balls but Raina missed his, chipping Anjum tamely to Alam at cover. At that stage India needed 90 runs in 23 overs and victory was only a matter of time.The ease with which India achieved victory was startling for Pakistan, who had worked extremely hard to build a competitive total on a benign pitch. They reverted to the caution-before-aggression approach that won them the Kitply Cup final in Dhaka earlier this month. In that game, Butt and Younis Khan did the groundwork, steering Pakistan cautiously to 104 for 1 after 25 overs before they went on to score hundreds in a final total of 315 for 3.Today, Malik’s effort was an example of how to pace an innings. He and Butt gave the first eight overs to the Indian bowlers and took no risks. By the end of the 13th over, Pakistan had only scored 38 but India’s fast bowlers had failed to create wicket-taking opportunities. Thereafter, Malik began to attack, driving Praveen straight for four and then gliding him between Dhoni and short third man. He was offered width twice by Ishant and cut him through and over point for fours. Dhoni finally resorted to spin in the 20th over but by now Malik was well set and he hit Chawla for two fours through midwicket to reach his fifty off 61 balls.Malik and Younis, who scored 59, strengthened Pakistan’s grip on the game during their 129-run stand for the second wicket. Brimming with confidence, Younis swept the spinners fluently, made room to cut, lofted them over midwicket and threw them completely off line by using the reverse-sweep repeatedly. They played crucial roles in setting a challenging target but their hardworking partnership, during which they ran between the wickets splendidly, was put firmly in the shade by the blitzkrieg launched by Sehwag and Raina.

Zimbabwe Cricket has denied reports that Brendan Taylor has given it an ultimatum over his desire to play club cricket overseas.Sources close to the player said he had given himself a cut-off date of Friday (June 6) to decide on his international career. Taylor had been trying to get permission from the board to play club cricket in Europe. “He is seriously considering resigning now,” Cricinfo was told. “By end of week he would have made a decision.”However, this version of events was disputed by Lovemore Banda, ZC’s media manager. “This gives the impression that ZC is an overbearing organisation that is unreasonably denying Taylor leave to play overseas,” he told Cricinfo. “Nothing can be further from the truth.”At the onset of the 2007-08 season, ZC made it clear to every player that they were expected to fulfil all their domestic obligations with the organisation and would only be free to play wherever they wanted after the end of the season (June 2). We have invested heavily by providing exposure to our nucleus of senior players over time. It is only proper that we get a return on that investment by having the players taking part in our domestic cricket and raising the standard of the local game.”At the end of the season, the players are allowed to play in whichever country they accept an offer from, since ZC stands to benefit if the players remain exposed to a high level of play.”We remain supportive of all our players and said as much in our letter of May 7 to Taylor, part of the last paragraph of which reads: ‘We would therefore encourage you to complete your obligations as per the dates outlined and we remain supportive of whatever direction you so decide your career to take’.”

After the cut-and-thrust of his duel with Virat Kohli in this summer’s India series, James Anderson says that he is setting his sights on the main man in Australia’s line-up, Steven Smith, as he prepares to embark on his ninth Ashes campaign and his fifth tour Down Under.Smith proved to be England’s nemesis in each of the last two Ashes campaigns – the 4-0 victory in Australia in 2017-18, when he amassed 687 runs at 137.40, and the 2-2 defence of the urn in England in 2019, when he exceeded even that tally with 774 at 110.57, including twin hundreds in their opening Test victory at Edgbaston.Anderson, however, has unfinished business in the Ashes, having limped out of the 2019 series after bowling only four overs in that same Edgbaston Test. But after relishing the renewal of his rivalry with Kohli last summer – a man whom he had not dismissed for seven years prior to his first-ball wicket at Trent Bridge in August – he’s confident of carrying the fight to Smith when their paths cross again at the Gabba on December 8.Related

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“As a bowler you always look at the best player, and for me over the last three, four or five years, Steve Smith’s been Australia’s best player,” Anderson told Fox Cricket’s Road to the Ashes podcast. “He’s been the one they rely on for their volume of runs, obviously supported by guys around him like [David] Warner and [Marnus] Labuschagne recently. But he’s been their go-to in the last few years, so he’ll be the one that we will be keen to get out early.”Even at the age of 39, and more than a decade on from his starring role in England’s last Ashes victory in Australia, in 2010-11, Anderson remains the leader of England’s Test attack – and all the more central to their hopes of success now that England have had to veer away from their original plan of hitting Australia with pace, with the injured Jofra Archer and Ben Stokes to the fore, and revert instead to a more forensic approach from their seam attack.”We’ve got to start well. The Gabba in particular is huge for us,” Anderson said of the series opener in Brisbane on December 8. “If we can get one-up on a few batters early, then that can have a real snowball effect throughout the series.”Bowling in Australia is not necessarily more difficult, it’s just different,” he said. “In England the Dukes swings more often than not, and with the wickets we play on, you can get some seam movement as well. But you’re not going to get much swing with a Kookaburra, so it’s just about trying to hit good areas. You’ve just got to be relentless, and so accurate. And that’s where people do struggle.”James Anderson wants Steve Smith in his sights come the first Test at the Gabba•Getty Images

Since the last Ashes tour, in which he topped England’s averages with 17 wickets at 27.82, Anderson has amassed a further 109 at 22.88 in 32 Tests – 15 of which came at 24.66 against India this summer, including a first-innings five-for at Lord’s and figures of 6 for 3 in eight overs as India were bowled out for 78 on the first day at Headingley. However, Anderson claimed, it was his one-on-one battle with Kohli that gave him the most pleasure.”This summer was probably my favourite contest with Virat,” Anderson said, after dismissing India’s captain twice at a total cost of 64 runs in the course of the four completed Tests. “We’ve had a few good battles over the years, both in England and India, but this year was certainly my favourite.”I got him out a few times but also he got some runs as well, and we had a battle on the field where there was definitely a mutual respect there. It was in a really nice manner, if that makes sense. Obviously we were going at each other, but it was in a in a well-spirited way. So I really enjoyed that.”Anderson is arguably bowling with more skill and control now than at any previous stage of a career that has already spanned 18 years, 166 Tests and 632 wickets. But while he puts his longevity down to a combination of a lithe body, a strong fitness ethic and an undying passion for the game, he goes into the Ashes with a degree of realism about the toll that the run of five Tests in six weeks is likely to take on his body.”I will do exactly what I did in our summer,” he said. “Hopefully I’ll be playing all five, but I’d be happy with three or four.”You manage it as you go through the series,” he added. “If any of the bowlers’ workload spikes – if we do a 50-55 overs in a Test match – you’ve got to look at the next one, and if it’s sensible to play because they come so thick and fast.”We’ve got decent squad of bowlers, so we can rotate a little bit, as we have been for the last 18 months to two years. The likelihood of playing all five at my age, to be honest at any age in Australia, [is slim]. It does take a lot out of you, especially in the heat in some of the venues. So we just have to wait and see.”James Anderson wheels away after getting Virat Kohli•Getty Images

Either way, he’s one of the England players with few qualms about taking part in the series, as the tour awaits its final rubber-stamping after weeks of negotiations over the quarantine conditions that the tourists and their families can expect to face.”It’s been a long few weeks of discussions, but it’s great that we’re all getting on the plane and can’t wait to get going now,” Anderson said.”My family won’t be coming out there,” he added. “I’ve got two kids at school, so any sort of quarantine just means that they can’t get the time to come over. But for those guys with younger families, and particularly those guys who play all formats, it’s a long time away from home.”We’ve spent two years, pretty much, in bubbles and not seeing families, so to have another three months away from them, especially over Christmas and New Year, would have been tough.”There’s been a fair bit of reaction to England’s stance ahead of the tour, from the likes of Sir Ian Botham on the home front and the Australian media Down Under. But Anderson has seen it all before, right from his very first England tour in 2002-03, and has plenty of advice for the less experienced members of the tour party.”As with any Ashes series there’s always a lot of noise around it,” he said. “We’ve already seen that a little bit. There can be distractions from outside of the actual cricket, but what we do on the field, that’s where it matters. That’s where the series is going to be won and lost.”So it’s about trying to get ourselves in the best possible mental space, and skills-wise getting ourselves in the best place, on December 8 at the Gabba, and improve on what we’ve done over our summer.”

Big picture

Imagine this: You beat a Full Member and fellow Associate in a four-team pool, and feel you have done enough. But then you are told you have to win the third game too. It’s a reality Scotland are staring at. It could be frustrating for some, but Scotland are ready to embrace the pressures of a potential knockout.They were looking good to carve out a big lead in terms of net run-rate when Papua New Guinea slumped to 35 for 5 in their chase of 166 on Tuesday. But in playing a blinder that gave Scotland the jitters, Norman Vanua also reduced PNG’s margin of defeat to 17 runs, leaving Scotland, Oman and Bangladesh all bunched together.Now, the only way Scotland can progress with two wins is if PNG upset Bangladesh, though that seems a task too steep, on the face of it. Oman, meanwhile, simply have to win by any margin to make it through.Oman will ride on massive home support. Scotland will ride on form and familiarity of conditions, having trained and played in the country for close to six weeks now. There’s also the added incentive for the winners: a direct entry into next year’s T20 World Cup in Australia. Unfortunately for this tournament, only one of them might be left standing at the end of this. The good thing for the two teams, however, is that the Bangladesh vs PNG game will be over by the time they start.

Form guide

Scotland: WWLWL
Oman: LWWLW

In the spotlight

Scotland captain Kyle Coetzer hasn’t topped 17 in his last five innings, including the warm-ups. Against Bangladesh, he was out for a seven-ball duck, beaten on the outside edge. On Wednesday, PNG left-arm seamer Kabua Morea deceived him with an inswinger that beat his inside edge to crash into the stumps when he was on 6. But Scotland coach Shane Burger believes Coetzer is batting “unbelievably well” in the nets and it’s just a matter of time before the tide turns.Jatinder Singh is the main man when it comes to Oman’s chances•ICC via Getty

With scores of 73* and 40, Jatinder Singh has clearly towered over the rest of Oman’s batting. Five years ago, Jatinder was part of Oman cricket history when they recorded their first-ever World Cup win, against Ireland. On Thursday, he can add another chapter to that history if he can help Oman get over the line and qualify for the Super 12s.

Team news

Safyaan Sharif, the fast bowler, missed the game against PNG because of a groin strain. Burger said the team will wait on him, even though he’s in better shape now. However, with Alasdair Evans impressing with figures of 1 for 22 off four overs in his first outing of the tournament on Tuesday, it’s likely Scotland will remain unchanged.Scotland (probable): 1 Kyle Coetzer (capt), 2 George Munsey, 3 Matthew Cross (wk), 4 Richie Berrington, 5 Calum MacLeod, 6 Mathew Leask, 7 Chris Greaves, 8 Mark Watt, 9 Josh Davey, 10 Alasdair Evans, 11 Brad WhealAqib Ilyas, the Oman batter, said they could strengthen their bowling, bringing in either a fast bowler or a legspinner depending on the surface. That could mean one of the lower-order batters, Sandeep Goud probably, makes way. Fayyaz Butt could come in.Oman (probable): 1 Aqib Ilyas, 2 Jatinder Singh, 3 Khawar Ali, 4 Zeeshan Maqsood (capt), 5 Kashyap Prajapati, 6 Naseem Khushi (wk), 7 Mohammad Nadeem, 8 Ayaan Khan, 9 Fayyaz Butt, 10 Kaleemullah, 11 Bilal Khan

Stats and trivia

• George Munsey’s 55 sixes are the most by a Scotland player in T20Is. He also holds the record for the highest individual score for his country (127*) in the format.
• Coetzer and Calum MacLeod are the only two players from Scotland’s maiden T20 World Cup outing in 2007 to still be playing.
• Aqib Ilyas nearly qualified to play for the UAE after having moved there to study in 2010. The 29-year-old, who has a a civil engineering degree, excelled in club cricket and was even invited to train with the UAE national team. He chose Oman, his home country.

Quotes

“If there’s any team that understands this is a must-win game, it’s probably Scotland, who often go into competitions knowing every game is must-win game. We spoke of topping the group, that was a certainly a goal, something we wanted to achieve before we arrived here. We spoke about it, planned for it, it won’t surprise me if we do that.””Fielding is key, a player [Mohammad Naim] who was dropped in the 20s went on to make 70, that made a big difference against Bangladesh. We can’t afford to drop catches. Also as batters, we shouldn’t be leaving it to the other players. The small things matter.”

Match facts

March 5, 2017
Start time 0930 local (1330 GMT)

Big Picture

If the first ODI was a boxing match, England would have scored a TKO in the final round. The result was pretty much as expected, with a few notable displays in England’s largely workaday performance, but West Indies will have been encouraged by pretty much going the distance. A 45-run defeat was certainly not the mismatched mauling some may have feared.Shannon Gabriel’s new-ball spell had England in trouble, while Ashley Nurse did a decent containing job in the middle overs; then with the bat, Jason Mohammed led the resistance after West Indies looked to be in trouble at 39 for 3. Mohammed and Jonathan Carter combined composure with power – particularly in the case of the latter – and perhaps only the difficulty of chasing on a slow surface undermined them towards the end.Stuart Law, West Indies’ new coach, will surely feel he has some ingredients to work with as he tries to marshal a rise from No. 9 in the rankings and secure automatic World Cup qualification. Narrow defeats are not worth any more ranking points than heavy ones, however, and immediate improvement could be required as the tourists warm to the conditions and the task at hand.England may not have blasted away their opponent in the opening rounds but they did show some improved ringcraft. Eoin Morgan’s hundred showed the savvy that has not always been so apparent in the hard-hitting approach favoured by this side; Ben Stokes, too, applied himself to the situation and England were therefore able to grind their way to the brink of 300 without overreaching. A more ruthless performance with the ball will be on Morgan’s tick list for the rematch.

Form guide

(last five completed matches, most recent first)
West Indies: LLLTW
England: WWLLW

In the spotlight

Jason Mohammed had only played two ODIs for his country – spread over four years and yielding six runs – before making his maiden half-century for West Indies in Antigua. After a strong Regional Super 50 for Trinidad, in which he was fifth on the run-scorers’ charts, Mohammed has been preferred in the middle order to the younger, more dynamic Rovman Powell. He showed the value of his experience in the first match, during partnerships of 69 and 82 with Shai Hope and Carter respectively, and almost single-handedly milked Moeen Ali’s offspin, scoring 30 of the 37 Moeen conceded to keep West Indies in the hunt. At 30, now is his chance to demand a run in the side.It might be counterintuitive to suggest that one of the three men who passed 50 for England on Friday is under pressure – but that is the case for Sam Billings, who is attempting to hold on to his billeting as a makeshift opener while Alex Hales recovers from a hand injury. Billings has two fifties in three ODI outings at the top of the order but the sense here was of an opportunity missed after he had made it through the tricky initial stages against the new ball. Morgan has described Hales as a “very formidable player in our side” and Billings may need to produce something spectacular if he is not to drop straight back into England’s very competitive pack of white-ball reserve batsmen.

Team news

The XI West Indies selected in the first ODI probably did enough to warrant another outing together. Rovman Powell offers another all-round option, while Alzarri Joseph offers extra pace with the ball.West Indies (probable) 1 Kraigg Brathwaite, 2 Evin Lewis, 3 Kieran Powell, 4 Shai Hope (wk), 5 Jason Mohammed, 6 Jonathan Carter, 7 Jason Holder (capt), 8 Carlos Brathwaite, 9 Devendra Bishoo, 10 Ashley Nurse, 11 Shannon GabrielEngland are also likely to stick with the same side, although Hales could return at Billings’ expense if passed fit. The teams did not train on Saturday but Jake Ball is not thought ready to play after injuring his knee in a warm-up match.England (probable) 1 Jason Roy, 2 Sam Billings, 3 Joe Root, 4 Eoin Morgan (capt), 5 Jos Buttler (wk), 6 Ben Stokes, 7 Moeen Ali, 8 Chris Woakes, 9 Adil Rashid, 10 Liam Plunkett, 11 Steven Finn.

Pitch and conditions

The same pitch is to be used for the second ODI, which could make run-scoring even more of a struggle. Rainfall on Friday had contributed to a slightly damp surface in the morning but it quickly dried out and is likely to become more and more receptive to spin. There is again a forecast for early showers on Sunday but the day should otherwise be clear.

Stats and trivia

• England now lead West Indies 43-42 on head-to-head results in ODIs – the first time they have done so since winning their very first encounter in 1973. England have won ten of the last 11 against West Indies.
• The team West Indies played in the first ODI had 169 caps between them – fewer than Morgan, who has played 174 times for Ireland and England.
• Steven Finn needs two more wickets to reach 100; if he gets there in this series, he will be the third-fastest to do so for England.

Quotes

“We showed that, as a young team, we can compete with England and we can win games.”
“We took early wickets but they managed to rebuild. That’s what experienced sides do, so credit to them for doing it.”

Ben Stokes hopes England’s positive style of Test cricket can persuade spectators to “fall in love with it again.”Stokes believes that, with Joe Root as captain, England will wholeheartedly embrace an entertaining approach that can not only produce victories but inspire a new audience.While accepting that England – currently fourth in the ICC Test rankings – were in something of a “transition,” Stokes felt that Root was the perfect man to “take the team forward.””Test cricket is the pinnacle of the game,” Stokes said, “and we need people to fall in love with it again.”We need to win, but we want to perform in a manner that makes people want to come and watch us.”Every team goes through transition but I hope we can be influential in taking the team forward. Cooky started us on that path, Rooty was part of that as vice-captain and now we can carry that on. We have the same direction of where we want to take the team.”I’ve always believed that Rooty was going to be captain. Rooty and I have known each other for years, from county age group, England age group, Lions and now England. We have the same direction of where we want to take the team”He’s the right person and the best person to do it. He’s a colleague but also a close mate and I was chuffed to bits for him. I couldn’t be more pleased for him.”The biggest thing is having respect of the people you are in charge of. He has that and respect goes a long way.”Stokes also expressed his delight at his own appointment as England’s vice-captain, but insisted the added responsibility will not change him on or off the pitch.”Getting the news that I would be his vice-captain made me ecstatic,” Stokes said. “It’s a real honour. It’s England vice-captain, it’s supporting Rooty, but it’s also the recognition from him and the people at the top of the ECB.”Everything I do is to win and being vice-captain won’t change me as a person or as a player. I want to be involved in all aspects of the game, whether it’s hitting the winning runs or taking the final wicket. I have always wanted to be in the middle of it.”Being vice-captain I will have to bring a mental and supportive side too. If I am not involved in the game then I will have to add my tactical input.”I have been more vocal over the last year but I only speak when I think something needs to be said. I’m not one for cliches. Just being vice-captain doesn’t give me the right to say whatever I want. There are still some areas I can get better at but hopefully I can improve and we can win more games for England.”

In his first innings since July 2016, AB de Villiers helped himself to an unbeaten 134 off 103 for Northerns in the CSA Provincial One-Day Challenge. The knock comes as he prepares for a likely South Africa return in the third T20I against Sri Lanka in Cape Town.At the end of a week where de Villiers’ plans for his international future have been a major topic, he was finally able to return to run-scoring after overcoming the elbow injury he picked up at last year’s CPL.Even taking into account the lower standard of his comeback match, it was a notable return for de Villiers given his lack of cricket. Batting at No. 3, he was given the maximum chance for a lengthy innings when opener Jonathan Vandiar was lbw first ball of Northerns’ chase.De Villiers proceeded to reach a century off 87 deliveries – his second fifty needing 37 balls – and finished the match with consecutive sixes. In total he struck 19 fours and three sixes in just over two hours in the middle.The final T20I against Sri Lanka had been earmarked for de Villiers’ return ahead of the one-day series and the limited-overs leg of the New Zealand tour. He has already made himself unavailable for Test cricket for most of 2017, suggesting a comeback will come at home against India late in the year should that series be confirmed.Morne Morkel, who has been out of action as long as de Villiers with a back injury, was also due to play in the game but doubt was cast on his availability when he showed some symptoms of the same issue last week. Morkel did not play the match and there is continued uncertainty over when he will make his return.