INTERNATIONAL PREVIEW


ENGLAND v WEST INDIES Article by Rich Jones


England will step up their preparations ahead of a huge summer of cricket as they head to the West Indies for three One-Day Internationals at the start of the month.


The two sides will do battle at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua on March 3 and March 5 before the series reaches a climax at the Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados on March 9.


With South Africa heading to the UK in May and the eagerly-anticipated ICC Champions Trophy taking place in June, England will be keen to build some momentum.


They narrowly lost out 2-1 to India in their recent One-Day International series in the sub-continent but demonstrated plenty of positive signs.Their clashes with the West Indies offer a big opportunity to get back to winning ways and continue to build on their impressive form in ODIs over the past 12 months.


India’s batting firepower simply proved too much for England as scores of 350+ were twice not quite enough for victory.


But there was plenty to take from their narrow series defeat. Jason Roy is continuing to impress at the top of the order, cracking three successive half centuries at a fast pace, whilst skipper Eoin Morgan struck a wonderful century in a losing effort in Cuttack. The entire batting line-up has shown an ability to smack quick runs in most situations, with their strength in depth giving them the ability to reach big totals without needing any one player to reach three figures. All-rounders Ben Stokes, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes and David Willey all offer an excellent balance to the side as the nature of One-Day cricket continues to progress.


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