The ODI series between England & West Indies will start a new chapter & era for England cricket. Harry Brook now has a stern task ahead of them to bring back the winning mindset and make England great again in ODI Cricket ahead of ICC ODI WC 2027. The side has had a torrid run in ODIs since 2019 , the ODI WC 2023 was a forgettable so was ICC CT 2025. In both the editions, the ultra-aggressive mindset of Britishers has brutally backfired.
West Indies on the other side have to regroup again. There will be enormous amount of pressure on Shai Hope, the last time this two teams clashed, West Indies had won the series by 2-1 in November 2024. The conditions though would be drastically different for Caribbean team as the surface is assumed to be at Birmingham where first ODI is scheduled on 29th May.
Overview
West Indies are placed at 9th position in the points table in the ICC rankings; whereas England are at 8th position. West Indies’ arsenal is their batting, the likes of Sherfane Rutherford & Romario Shepherd are not available for selection due to IPL commitments. Their absence can hurt West Indies given both can provide the blistering attack at the back end of the innings. The Caribbean though have called up Shimron Hetmyer as a replacement who is also a destructive batter
According to sources, it is assumed that Jamie Smith will be opening the batting for England. Phil Salt wasn’t considered for the selection by ECB which maybe due to 30 runs in entire in ICC CT 2025. Adil Rashid is at the back end of his career who was asked by the media, are there any plans to retire which he stated that he still has the premier. It’s quite worthy noting that Adil Rashid is the only premiere spinner.
Most likely playing 11
England: 1 Jamie Smith, 2 Ben Duckett, 3 Joe Root, 4 Harry Brook (capt), 5 Jos Buttler (wk), 6 Jacob Bethell, 7 Will Jacks, 8 Jamie Overton, 9 Brydon Carse, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 Saqib Mahmood
West Indies: (possible) 1 Brandon King, 2 Evin Lewis, 3 Keacy Carty, 4 Shai Hope (capt & wk), 5 Amir Jangoo, 6 Justin Greaves, 7 Roston Chase, 8 Matthew Forde, 9 Alzarri Joseph, 10 Gudakesh Motie, 11 Shamar Joseph/Jayden Seales
Pitch & Conditions
Edgbaston is considered to be a batting paradise & if weather permits we might see a score inexcess of 400 as well. West Indies haven’t won a ODI series in England since 2007 which is quite a long time for the Men in Maroon. Adil Rashid is set to play for England for 150th time in ODI cricket. Brandon Kings is set to wear his cap for 50th time in ODIs
The most likely winner of 1st ODI
England have got a solid veteran batter in the form of Joe Root who has the knack of playing the role of anchor astutely. The bowling attack though looks a bit fragile, the likes of Saqib Mahmood & Brydon Carse haven’t done the hard yards,that much. England looks all set to win the 1st ODI due to the presence of Root & Jos Buttler. We can expect Buttler to unleash attack on opposition given there’s no captaincy burden.
West Indies on the other hand would rely heavily on the top order: Brandon King, Evin Lewis & Shai Hope to do the bulk of scoring. It will be quite fascinating to see how Roston Chase performs; the all-rounder now recently got named as the Test skipper due to which the spotlight now will be always on him.