England will once again be the favourite to win the third ODI and complete a whitewash against the West Indies as the series moves to Bridgetown on Thursday.
As expected England have been the more consistent side, sealing the series with victories in the first two matches in Antigua, first by 45 runs before overcoming a batting scare in the second match to clinch a four-wicket win.
The tourists have showcased depth in their line-up, an aspect that came to the fore especially in the second match. Chasing a tricky 226 for victory, England collapsed to 124 for 6 but still had enough firepower to finish the game comfortably as Joe Root (90*) and Chris Woakes (68*) bailed it out successfully.
Success has been built on team effort. While Root and Woakes starred in the come-from-behind win in the second match, the other batsmen too have been in form. Eoin Morgan, the captain, smashed a ton in the series opener and Sam Billings, Ben Stokes and Jason Roy all have struck half-centuries in the series.
England, though, is set to make one change to the batting line-up with Alex Hales likely to return after recovering from a finger injury sustained during the India tour in January. Although Billings scored a half-century in the first match, Hales is seen as the first-choice opener, something Paul Farbrace, England's assistant coach, confirmed.
"We see him as our opening batsman, with Jason Roy, in the Champions Trophy," Farbrace said ahead of the third match. "I don't think that will be a surprise to anybody. Having got him back into the squad, it would suggest that he has a very good chance of playing on Thursday."
While West Indies has conceded the series, it hasn’t been outplayed. The host has shown signs of fight but hasn’t been able to extend it for longer periods. It was evident in the second match when its spinners, Ashley Nurse and Devendra Bishoo, triggered a collapse and made England go from 108 for 2 to 124 for 6, but West Indies wasn’t able to apply the finishing touches.
It had been a similar story in the first match too as England fought back after Shannon Gabriel, the pacer, struck early in an impressive spell.
For West Indies to win, though, it has to bat better. Twice in two matches, it has been three down with less than 50 on the board, leaving the job to the middle order. Fortunately for it, Jason Mohammed and Jonathan Carter have stood up in both matches, with Mohammed in particular impressing with scores of 72 and 50.
But either side of the middle-order revivals, West Indies has been poor and has failed to bat out 50 overs in both games.
Teams (from):
West Indies: Jason Holder (capt), Devendra Bishoo, Carlos Brathwaite, Kraigg Brathwaite, Jonathan Carter, Miguel Cummins, Shane Dowrich, Shannon Gabriel, Shai Hope (wk), Alzarri Joseph, Evin Lewis, Jason Mohammed, Ashley Nurse, Kieran Powell, Rovman Powell.
England: Eoin Morgan (capt), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler (wk), Tom Curran, Liam Dawson, Steven Finn, Alex Hales, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes.
England are in action at least twice in Cardiff this June, with their Champions Trophy clash against New Zealand on 6th June and 19 days later they take on South Africa in the final NatWest International T20 at The SSE SWALEC.
ICC Champions Trophy tickets are currently off sale, whilst tickets are allocated to ticket buyers. Tickets are expected to go back on general sale in early April for all fixtures.
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