SAM MORSHEAD AT THE HAMPSHIRE BOWL: Sure, the host broadcaster might not want us to see these mistakes, but we wouldn’t be able to if they simply didn’t happen. You could feel the wrath of Mikey Holding hanging on the Southampton breeze
Chris Gayle must be the only cricketer in the world to set social media alight by pinching a single to mid-off.
The reaction in the Hampshire Bowl media centre to Gayle’s lesser-spotted scamper mirrored that of a crowd down the village green on November 5, and soon Twitter was soon a-flame.
Have we become so immune to the Universe Boss’s six-hitting antics that this is now the only way he can keep us entertained?
How do you get Gayle out?
Why, bowl him a 79mph bouncer at a ground with ludicrously long square boundaries, of course.
Well played, Liam Plunkett.
Chris Gayle got a start but could not go on in Southampton
Joe Root’s impact on this game with the ball might have added to the legend of his golden arm, but it did just as much to highlight a possible flaw in England’s selection decision.
Moeen Ali was once again left out by the host nation, despite having a good all-format record at the Hampshire Bowl, and with four left-handed top-order batsmen to have his way with.
England, drawn by the overhead conditions and the previous form of the ICC’s pitches in Southampton this year, preferred the four frontline seamer option. Yet they relied on an offspinner to make a pair of crucial breakthroughs, dismissing Shimron Hetmyer to end an 89-run fourth-wicket stand with Nicholas Pooran and then get rid of dangerman Jason Holder - both caught and bowled (weirdly, each of Root’s last three wickets have gone in that manner).
Root might have a knack of prising an innings apart - though these were his first ODI wickets since January 2018 - but, as would be expected, his strike rate is considerably higher than Moeen’s.
Adil Rashid, meanwhile, has struggled to make an impact in the middle overs during the World Cup, and has combined figures of 2-203 across four innings with the ball.
England may well persist with the one-spinner policy at Old Trafford on Tuesday, when they come up against an Afghanistan side blown away by the controlled pace of Australia, New Zealand and Sri Lanka already in this tournament. There is a good case for that being Moeen.
VISIT THE WORLD CUP PORTAL
Andre Russell appears to be held together by duct tape at present, quite literally.
Already struggling with a knee problem, which kept him out of the abandoned clash with South Africa on Monday, the allrounder suffered a recurrence of a wrist problem during the first innings at the Hampshire Bowl.
In thrashing a mammoth six over wide long-on, Russell damaged the same part of his body which gave him jip during the early weeks of the recent IPL.
As then, he managed to bat through the discomfort, but there must be some conversation about how fit he really is for ODI cricket right now.
Yes, his raw pace at the top of the innings gives opponents a fright. Yes, on his day he can clatter a bowling attack into next year.
But if he can only be relied upon for a flashbang 30 or four overs with the ball, can the Windies reasonably argue he is the right man for their middle order in 50-over cricket?
Adil Rashid has not been prolific in this World Cup
It seems daft to think now, after the day that England had, that Mark Wood was the primary injury concern for the hosts going into this fixture.
From the moment he trotted out to the middle for a fitness test a little after 8.30am, the seamer looked bouncy and ready for action. And his performance with the ball proved that.
Wood was both economical and incisive, claiming two critical wickets in the shape of Shai Hope and Russell, and generally looking nothing like a man who had been suffering with ankle problems in the build-up.
By knocking over Shannon Gabriel at the death, he collected his 50th ODI wicket, and his six-and-a-half overs cost a miserly 18. Wood is often accused of not being quite as devastating as his speed gun suggests but here, he illustrated just how much of an impact he can have for England in the white-ball arena.
With Jason Roy and Eoin Morgan injured, England called on Chris Woakes to slot in at first drop, and he didn't disappoint.
Woakes is a technically correct batsman, and has exactly the right temperament to take to the situation ably, so the move made sense. Yet prior to today, he had never batted above No.7 in a one-day international.
Against West Indies' hostile attack, it could have been a baptism of fire but Woakes came across as a man totally at ease with the task at hand. He got going with the sort of straight drive you might readily associate with his Warwickshire teammate Ian Bell, and responded to the short stuff with a bludgeoned pull through midwicket.
No fear, no waver, no problem.
Andre Russell has been struggling with a knee injury
The overall standard of umpiring at this World Cup has been, let’s say, inconsistent.
Here, Kumar Dharmasena was the official to have a bit of a stinker, calling not out to a Mark Wood delivery which trapped Shai Hope plumb enough to make jam and then failing to spot the glove which Nicholas Pooran got to a rising snorter from Jofra Archer.
Sure, the host broadcaster might not want us to see these mistakes, but we wouldn’t be able to if they simply didn’t happen.
The outcome of the ICC World Cup Qualifier relied on umpiring error, it would be a miserable double-whammy if the main event was held to ransom in similar fashion. Yet with every passing faux pas, that feels more and more possible.
You could feel the wrath of Mikey Holding hanging on the Southampton breeze.
Our coverage of the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 is brought to you in association with Cricket 19, the official video game of the Ashes. Order your copy now at Amazon.co.uk
Subscribe to The Cricketer for exclusive content every day: The inside track on England's Test tour with George Dobell in Pakistan, award-winning analysis, breaking news and interviews and the only place for in-depth county coverage all year round. Plus: An ad-free app experience at your fingertips. Subscribe to thecricketer.com today for just £1.
Welcome to www.thecricketer.com - the online home of the world’s oldest cricket magazine. Breaking news, interviews, opinion and cricket goodness from every corner of our beautiful sport, from village green to national arena.