The Nat Sciver-Brunt-led England showed glimpses of a new era under head coach Charlotte Edwards, as they inflicted a clinical whitewash in the 3-match T20I series against the visiting, Hayley Matthews-led West Indies. The caravan moves into the three-match ODI series.
The home side, England, handed ODI caps to a couple of their debutants in Emily Arlott and Linsey Smith. The 19-year-old youngster Jahzara Claxton made her ODI debut for the West Indies in the 1st ODI at the County Ground, Derby.
Amy Jones, Tammy Beaumont centuries powers England to 345/6
The wicket-keeper batter Amy Jones was promoted to open the innings alongside Tammy Beaumont after skipper Nat Sciver-Brunt won the toss and opted to bat first in the ODI series opener in Derby. The move proved to be a masterstroke as both the openers took the West Indian bowlers to the cleaners en route to their massive 222-run opening partnership. Both the batters notched up their respective centuries, a 11th ODI ton for Beaumont off 96 balls, and a maiden century for the wicket-keeper batter Amy Jones off 108 balls.
Amy Jones also surpassed the 4,000 international runs landmark during her decisive knock. Cherry Ann Fraser broke the stand, by sending Tammy Beaumont (107 off 104 balls) back to the pavilion in the 36th over of the innings to provide the much-needed first breakthrough for the West Indies.
The visitors clawed their way back as Emma Lamb’s comeback into the England ODI setup was short-lived as she made her way back to the pavilion in the 37th over of the innings, providing the 2nd breakthrough for the West Indies. Skipper Hayley Matthews landed another blow as she dismissed an ominous Amy Jones (122 off 121 balls) in the 39th over of the innings to provide the crucial 3rd breakthrough for the visitors.
England posted a massive total of 345/6 in their quota of 50 overs, on the back of a quick-fire half-century from skipper Nat Sciver-Brunt (52 off 36 balls), and a cameo from Alice Capsey (24 off 19 balls). Skipper Hayley Matthews (10-0-49-2) and Afy Fletcher (9-0-65-2) were the stand-out performers with the ball for the West Indies, while Zaida James (7-0-40-0), Cherry Ann Fraser (7-0-46-1), and Aaliyah Alleyne (6-0-45-1) played their part with the ball for their side.
Windies middle-order fails to capitalise on a solid start as England take ODI series lead
Chasing a humongous total of 346, the West Indian openers Qiana Joseph and skipper Hayley Matthews gave the visiting camp the license to dream of scripting history with a massive 91-run opening partnership. Emily Arlott inflicted a massive dent on the hopes of the Women in Maroon by getting the big scalp of the opposition skipper Hayley Matthews (48 off 47 balls) to provide the much-needed first breakthrough for England in the 15th over of the run chase. She fell just two runs short of her well-deserved half-century.
Zaida James joined Qiana Joseph at the crease, and the duo stitched another crucial 33-run partnership for the 2nd wicket, taking them past the 120-run mark. Linsey Smith picked up the wicket of Zaida James to provide the 2nd breakthrough for the home side in the 23rd over of the run chase.
West Indies never really found momentum to get themselves back into the contest in a stiff run chase as they kept losing wickets at regular intervals, before being eventually bundled out for 237, in the 49th over of the run chase, despite the glimpses of resilience from the lower order. As a result, the visitors fell 108 runs short of the target.
Qiana Joseph (62 off 74 balls) and Aaliyah Alleyne (44 off 46 balls) were the standout performers with the bat for the West Indies. While Shabika Gajnabi (16 off 25 balls), Jahzara Claxton (17 off 15 balls), and Afy Fletcher (11 off 9 balls) were the only other batters to enter the double digits with the bat for their side. Linsey Smith (10-1-36-5) picked up a five-wicket haul on her ODI debut. She was well supported by Charlie Dean (10-1-38-0), Emily Arlott (8-1-37-2), Lauren Bell (7.2-0-41-1), and Kate Cross (9-0-57-1) with the ball for England.
Wicket-keeper batter Amy Jones was awarded the Player of the Match for scoring her maiden ODI century, playing a pivotal role alongside Tammy Beaumont, setting up a solid platform at the top of the order. England take the ODI series lead, heading to Grace Road, Leicester for the 2nd ODI on 4th June 2025.
