Windies seeks final flourish

Eoin Morgan's men will be looking to put all distractions behind it and concentrate on ending the One-Day International series against Windies on a high in the fifth and final game in Southampton on Friday.

England has already taken an unassailable 3-0 lead in the series, with one game ruined by rain. But with plenty of off-field controversy for the home side leading into the last match, the visiting side has its best chance yet to end the tour with a win.

At various moments in the series, Jason Holder's men have challenged England. They came agonisingly close to a win in the previous game at The Oval on Wednesday, only to be denied by Moeen Ali, again.

Batting first, Windies posted a big score of 356 for 5 and had England 181 for 5 at one stage, but Moeen, along with Jos Buttler, lifted the home side above the DLS par total when rain arrived to end the game. Moeen smashed an unbeaten 48 off 25 while Buttler was on 43 off 35 to take England to 258 for 5, just six runs above the par score.

“It’s really hard to take… I thought, had the rain not come, it would have been a really close finish — and we were backing ourselves to win it,” Holder said after the game.

While there is some merit to Holder's disappointment with the timing of the rain, what he cannot deny is England's depth, and Windies's struggle to close the door on the opposition. Even in the previous match, England was 217 for 6 before Moeen stunned Windies with a 57-ball 102 that lifted the home side to 369. In the chase, Chris Gayle kept Windies in the hunt with a 78-ball 94 but received little support from his colleagues.

Windies corrected that to an extent in the following game, posting in excess of 350 courtesy Evin Lewis's stunning 130-ball 176 and Holder's 77 off 62. However, it will be without both for the final game; Lewis injured his ankle while batting on Wednesday while Holder will be away to attend his uncle's funeral. Carlos Brathwaite, the Twenty20 International captain, is expected to join the team, with Jason Mohammed in line to lead the side.

In the absence of the two star performers of the previous game, it's up to the rest of the line-up to step up. The bowling too will need to show more intensity for longer periods. Alzarri Joseph picked up all five English wickets to fall in the previous game but the others couldn't chip in, which turned out to be too costly. The 22-year-old pacer, however, earned rich praise from Holder.

"His spell in the middle was exceptional," said Holder. "For a young guy to come in and show the promise he showed and the control he showed, it was really good."

England has no such worries. Its bowlers leaked runs but the batsmen stepped up, even when wickets fell regularly. Its depth extends beyond its playing XI, as Jason Roy showed at The Oval. Coming in for Alex Hales, he made a sparkling 66-ball 84 to set up the successful chase. Hales, along with Stokes, have been indefinitely left out of the English side which means Roy will get another opportunity to make a case for himself at the top after a sting of poor scores cost him his spot.

If the off-field events don't affect the on-field performances, England will be the favourites, once again.

Teams:
England: Jason Roy, Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Eoin Morgan (capt), Jos Buttler (wk), Sam Billings, Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, Liam Plunkett, Jake Ball, Tom Curran, Ben Stokes, David Willey.

Windies: Chris Gayle, Evin Lewis, Shai Hope (wk), Marlon Samuels, Jason Mohammed (capt), Rovman Powell, Ashley Nurse, Jerome Taylor, Alzarri Joseph, Miguel Cummins, Kyle Hope, Devendra Bishoo, Sunil Ambris, Kesrick Williams, Carlos Brathwaite.