England experienced a significant win at the Kia Oval, despite delays caused by the late arrival of the West Indies team bus. They charged to victory with a sense of urgency, determined to beat the traffic. Jamie Smith scored a rapid half-century off 25 balls—his first in One Day Internationals (ODIs)—which helped propel England to 100 for 1 during a reduced eight-over Powerplay. Ultimately, they successfully chased down a DLS-adjusted target of 246 runs with 10.2 overs to spare.
This victory marked a strong start to Harry Brook’s captaincy, as he led the team to a clean sweep in the series, winning three-nil. This achievement draws a line under England’s disappointing results in white-ball cricket earlier this year. “It’s a hell of a lot of fun when you’re enjoying it with a lot of mates,” Brook commented. “I think we have an incredibly strong team. The depth in our batting is amazing, and we possess many skilled bowlers as well.”
This win also represents England’s first ODI series victory since September 2023, marking their first clean sweep since a three-nil win in the Netherlands, which concluded Eoin Morgan’s captaincy. The result alleviates concerns surrounding automatic qualification for the 2027 World Cup and leaves the West Indies looking nervously at tenth-ranked Bangladesh.
Summarised scores: England 246 for 3 (Smith 64, Duckett 58, Root 44, Buttler 41*) defeated West Indies 251 for 9 (Rutherford 70, Motie 63, Rashid 3-40) by seven wickets (via DLS method).
