Cricket News: West Indies and England Eye Series Decider at Kensington Oval

Shai Hope, the West Indies captain, won the toss and elected to bowl first against England in the deciding third ODI at Kensington Oval. Both teams have made two changes apiece for the crucial encounter.

For the hosts, Alzarri Joseph and Romario Shepherd have been brought in, replacing Jayden Seales and Shamar Joseph. “We’re not sure what we’re going to get,” Hope said, referring to the playing surface at his home ground. “Got to assess the conditions as a bowling group and put them under pressure.”

England, on the other hand, have welcomed back Reece Topley and Jamie Overton, who will replace John Turner and Saqib Mahmood. Overton, who has been playing as a specialist batter since returning from a back stress fracture, was seen marking out his run-up before the toss.

England’s captain, Liam Livingstone, also said he would have opted to bowl first. “We’ll see what the pitch has to offer, hopefully it gets slower as the day goes on,” he remarked.

The series is currently tied at 1-1, with West Indies taking the opening match in Antigua, before England chased down a mammoth 329 at the same venue two days later.

“Neither side has played much bilateral ODI cricket in the last 12 months. West Indies beat England 2-1 when they toured in December, but series losses in Australia and Sri Lanka have limited their attempts to climb the rankings in pursuit of automatic qualification for the 2027 World Cup. England’s last series win, meanwhile, came against Ireland in September 2023.”

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