WI vs ENG: How West Indies, who were not part of World Cup 2023, stunned England by chasing 326 in 1st ODI

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WI vs ENG: West Indies, who failed to feature in the World Cup 2023 after not being able to qualify for the ICC world event, stunned England by chasing down 326 in the first ODI at North Sound in Antigua on Sunday.

West Indies, the winners of the first two ODI World Cups, could not participate in the prestigious event for the first time in their cricketing history. However, they made a massive statement against the 2019 champions by gunning down the target with seven balls to spare.

Opting to bat first after winning the toss, England piled up 325 runs on the board at the end of 50 overs. Harry Brook top-scored for the Three Lions with 71 off 72. Phil Salt (45), Zak Crawley (48), Sam Curran (38) and Brydon Carse (31* off 21) also chipped in with handy contributions.

Romario Shepherd, Gudakesh Motie and Oshane Thomas picked two wickets each. Alzarri Joseph and Yannic Cariah also scalped a wicket each.

In reply, West Indies openers Alick Athanaze (66) and Brandon King (35) partnered for 104 runs in 17.3 overs to give West Indies a solid foundation first. West Indies number three Keacy Carty struggled and got out after scoring 16 off 39. Carty's wicket Carse reduced West Indies to 144/3 in 29.1 overs. However, a quickfire 56 runs partnership off 52 balls between Shai Hope and Shimron Hetmyer (32) titled the game towards the hosts.

Once Hetmyer got out in the 38th over. West Indies needed another 116 runs off 68 balls. Captain Shai Hope went on to hit his 16th ODI hundred and turn up the heat by partnering for match-winning 89 runs off 51 balls with Romario Shepherd who played a key role with his 28-ball 49. His innings consisted of four fours and three sixes.

24 runs were needed off the last 17 balls when Hope scored 22 of those runs in just eight balls. Alzarri Joseph scored the other two runs off two balls as West Indies took a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. The second ODI will be played on Wednesday, December 6 at the same venue.

England have now lost seven of their last 10 ODI matches. They finished seventh in the World Cup 2023, winning just three off their nine matches in the competition.