West Indies would not have gotten everything they wanted out of their three ODIs in Dublin (D 1-1), but moved forward through the series in leaps and bounds after a false start in the opening game. As they continue to hop back and forth between England, Wales, Ireland and Northern Ireland, their attention turns to three ODIs against England.
All roads lead to southern Africa for the next edition of the ODI World Cup in 2027 and this series has immense importance not just as another stepping stone for the two sides, but it has significant permutations as far as qualification for that tournament is concerned.
The expansion of the 2027 tournament to 14 nations almost guarantees a spot for both England and the West Indies, regardless of how they get there, but automatic qualification is reserved only for the eight highest ranked nations (as of the end of March 2027) other than hosts South Africa and Zimbabwe.
It means that one out of England (eighth), West Indies (ninth) and Bangladesh (tenth) will have to go through the global Qualifier, making every bilateral series for those three nations vital up to that point.
After England made an absolute mess of their 2023 World Cup campaign, and the West Indies watched the entire tournament from home, both nations were already very keen to make amends in this format. Nothing will be left out on the field over the coming six days.
Why England can win
Jos Buttler was unceremoniously dumped as captain following their equally disastrous Champions Trophy in 2025, and whilst the selectors have opted against a dramatic and disruptive overturning of that squad, there was no room for experienced all-rounder Liam Livingstone even though Buttler has been retained to guide new captain Harry Brook through the transition.
Injuries to Jofra Archer and Mark Wood means that incumbents Saqib Mahmood and Gus Atkinson will lead a different attack complemented by Matthew Potts and potentially Brydon Carse, but that is’t necessarily a bad thing when considering that Carse and Potts took eight wickets each during five home ODIs against Australia in 2024.
England couldn’t come out on top in that series (L 3-2) but have nonetheless won 13 out of 17 home ODI series since 2016 with only wet weather denying them a five-game clean sweep of the West Indies in 2017 (W 4-0).
One of the few successful moves that England team management made for the Champions Trophy in January was to recall 34-year-old Joe Root and he repaid the faith by top-scoring for the team twice as well as in one of the lead-up ODIs in India.
Another leading threat for England, especially with the new ball, could be experienced fast bowler Saqib Mahmood, who has dismissed West Indian openers Brandon King and Evin Lewis twice each for combined figures of 4-27 from just four overs.
Why West Indies can win
West Indies head coach Daren Sammy expected “challenging conditions” in Ireland without a warm-up game but even he must have been rudely shocked by the 124-run defeat that was handed to them in the first of three games in Dublin.
Fortunately, that was the practice run they needed and they marched through the remainder of the series to pile on 352 and then 385 runs at the same venue, taking ten wickets within 30 overs during their only other opportunity to bowl.
28-year-old Keacy Carty was thrown straight into the deep end when given the number three role on ODI debut and he made amends for his first ODI failure with back-to-back centuries, even outscoring Ireland’s entire team in the third match.
Justin Greaves improved his returns throughout the series (35, 44*, 50), as did captain Shai Hope (2, 49, 75), whilst Matthew Forde was able to play both an anchor and a finisher role in the series. With the exception of the vulnerable openers King and Lewis, the Windies batters have been on the rise during this tour and have played themselves into some superb form.
Venue and conditions
ODI cricket returns to Edgbaston in Birmingham for the first time since 2021, which should be particularly exciting for Warwickshire’s own Jacob Bethell as he leaves the IPL playoffs to get back into the swing of things internationally.
It produced quite a few monstrous scores over the last decade, headlined by England’s famous 408/9 against New Zealand as well as their successful run chase of 332 against Pakistan four years ago.
Since its last ODI, Edgbaston hosted three T20Is that all had scores of 170+, so there should be boundaries aplenty from these heavy-hitting sides.
Light but scattered showers are forecasted for Birmingham throughout the remainder of the week, with the worst of it expected to pass before the beginning of this day-night fixture.
Match stats
• Ben Duckett averages a whopping 76 in home ODIs, scoring two centuries and two fifties in seven innings
• Shai Hope averages 72.67 in ODIs and T20Is against Atkinson, Mahmood, Carse, Overton and Rashid
• Jacob Bethell averages 52.33 in ODIs and T20Is against Seales, Alzarri and Shamar Joseph, Motie, Forde and Chase
• Will Jacks averages just 14.36 (158 runs, 11 dismissals) against those six same bowlers in white ball internationals
• Alzarri Joseph has never dismissed Jos Buttler in a T20, conceding 78 runs from 37 balls
Written by Aaron Murphy (X: @AaronMurphyFS)