Captain Shai Hope delivered a remarkable performance, notching his 16th One-Day International (ODI) century, as West Indies achieved a historic victory by defeating England by four wickets in the opening ODI held at the Vivian Richards Cricket Stadium in North Sound, Antigua, on Sunday.
The home side successfully chased down a formidable target of 326 with seven balls to spare, marking their highest-ever successful run chase in the Caribbean and the second-highest overall.
Hope, displaying unwavering composure, led the charge with a dazzling unbeaten 109 runs from just 83 deliveries, recording his fastest ODI century to date. His innings included four fours and seven sixes, with the final three sixes coming in the penultimate over off the wayward left-arm seamer, Sam Curran.
The first of these sixes took him to 97, the second off the fourth ball brought up his century in 82 deliveries, and the last one, off the very next ball, secured West Indies’ fourth victory over England in their last 20 ODIs.
Left-handed opener Alick Athanaze made an impressive contribution with 66 runs from 65 balls, while Romario Shepherd’s big-hitting performance with 48 runs from just 28 balls at number seven played a pivotal role in turning the game. Brandon King added 35 runs, and Shimron Hetmyer contributed 32 runs to the successful run chase.
Hope, reflecting on his century, emphasized that his primary goal was to win games for his team, placing greater importance on the team’s success than individual records. His century brought him within one century of chief selector Desmond Haynes and within three of batting great Brian Lara on the all-time West Indies century list.
In their first innings, England managed to score 325 runs for the loss of all their wickets in their allotted 50 overs after opting to bat. Harry Brook top-scored with 71 runs from 72 balls, Zak Crawley contributed 48 runs from 63 deliveries at number three, and opener Phil Salt scored 45 runs from 28 balls. The left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie (2-49), along with fast bowlers Oshane Thomas (2-57) and Romario Shepherd (2-77), took two wickets each but struggled initially to contain England’s batting onslaught.
Salt led the way with five fours and three sixes in a 77-run opening partnership with Will Jacks (26). However, both openers fell in successive overs without any addition to the score. Crawley then combined with Brook in a 71-run, fourth-wicket partnership that put England in a commanding position, with the score at 163 without further loss at the halfway mark.
The turning point occurred when Crawley was run out in the 30th over, followed by captain Jos Buttler’s dismissal for three runs, as he gloved a reverse sweep to the first slip off Motie, leaving England at 191 for five in the 34th over. Two partnerships helped England reach their eventual total: Brook and Liam Livingstone (17) added 41 runs for the sixth wicket, while Curran (38) and Brydon Carse (31 not out) put together 66 runs for the eighth wicket.
In the West Indies’ reply, Athanaze provided an explosive start with nine fours and two sixes in a 104-run opening partnership alongside King, who contributed with four fours and a six in a composed 44-ball innings. However, Athanaze fell leg before wicket in the 18th over to leg-spinner Rehan Ahmed (2-40), and King was dismissed six balls later in the next over, bowled off his thigh pad by off-spinner Liam Livingstone.
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