England Tour of West Indies 2023
2023.12.02
After the World Cup, a fresh cycle awaits England and the West Indies.
The road to 2027 begins already for two teams in search of better 50-over fortunes
Unlike what happened to Australia and India after the World Cup final, or even to England after winning the T20 World Cup in Australia last winter, the return to activity hasn’t been nearly as abrupt. Besides, with the prior humiliations, a December four-island journey to the Caribbean is a rather tolerable task.
Still, just three weeks have passed since Jos Buttler’s browbeaten team hobbled back to Britain with their hopes for the World Cup crushed, and less than two weeks have passed since their four-year run as the 50-over world champions was officially terminated in Ahmedabad. Regardless of perspective, it seems like an odd time to be playing another three-match ODI series given the world cycle.
And West Indies may be pretty much in agreement, judging by the inexperienced team that is up against them. They were not only eliminated from the World Cup that just ended, but they were also relegated to spectator status at the 2025 Champions Trophy due to their defeat in the cruel qualifying round held in Zimbabwe in June and July. The journey towards 2027 will appear even more bleak and faraway in the absence of any benchmark to strive for.
In the grand scheme of things, it appears that these two nations will have much more on the line when they play in the T20I part of the tour later this month. The story will then change from being about two World Cup losers to being about the defending champions playing the 2024 tournament hosts in June. All comebacks, however, must begin somewhere, and in the case of the 50-over stakes, that is this Sunday afternoon at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua.
Form guide
West Indies LWLLW (last five completed ODIs, most recent first)
England WWLLL
Team news
West Indies (probable): 1 Brandon King, 2 Kjorn Ottley, 3 Alick Athanaze, 4 Shai Hope (capt, wk), 5 Keacy Carty, 6 Shimron Hetmyer, 7 Sherfane Rutherford, 8 Yannic Cariah, 9 Alzarri Joseph, 10 Matthew Forde / Gudakesh Motie, 11 Oshane Thomas.
England (probable): 1 Will Jacks, 2 Phil Salt, 3 Zak Crawley, 4 Harry Brook, 5 Ben Duckett, 6 Jos Buttler (capt & wk), 7 Sam Curran, 8 Brydon Carse, 9 Rehan Ahmed, 10 Tom Hartley, 11 Gus Atkinson.
Stats and trivia
England have won 52 of their 102 previous ODIs against West Indies, against 44 losses and six no-results.
West Indies, however, have the edge on home soil, with 23 wins against 17 defeats since their first ODI meeting in the Caribbean in 1981.
England have won each of their last four ODIs at the venue, spanning their tours in 2014 and 2017, having lost their first three, including two at the 2007 World Cup.
England’s last series, in the lead-up to the 2019 World Cup, ended in a 2-2 draw, including a memorable match in Grenada that featured a world-record 46 sixes.
Jos Buttler needs 39 runs to reach 5000 in ODIs. However, he has passed that total just once in his last 12 innings.
