Courtesy: England Cricket/X
In the first ODI of the three-match series, England got off to a flying start against West Indies at the Edgbaston in Birmingham with their openers Ben Duckett and Jamie Smith matching each other stroke for stroke in the first powerplay. After getting promoted to opening the batting, Smith looked quite accomplished in his role, while Duckett continued his rich vein of form with the bat from the ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
For the unversed, the captain of West Indies, Shai Hope, won the toss and decided to bowl first in overcast conditions with some moisture in the Edgbaston pitch, but the opening bowling duo of Matthew Forde and Jayden Seales were quite wayward with their execution. It allowed the likes of Jamie Smith and Ben Duckett to take them for a flurry of boundaries in the first six overs, putting together 59 runs.
Although Jamie Smith lost his wicket on the last ball of the seventh over from Alzarri Joseph, he had already scored 37 runs in just 24 balls with seven fours. After sharing an opening stand of 64 runs with Jamie Smith, Ben Duckett kept the momentum going in the England innings alongside the veteran Joe Root at the crease alongside him.
Check out some of the best fan reactions on the opening stand between Jamie Smith and Ben Duckett:
Below are the playing XIs of England and West Indies in first ODI at Edgbaston in Birmingham:
England: Jamie Smith, Ben Duckett, Joe Root, Harry Brook (c), Jos Buttler (wk), Jacob Bethell, Will Jacks, Jamie Overton, Brydon Carse, Adil Rashid, Saqib Mahmood.
West Indies: Brandon King, Justin Greaves, Keacy Carty, Shai Hope (c & wk), Amir Jangoo, Roston Chase, Jewel Andrew, Matthew Forde, Alzarri Joseph, Gudakesh Motie, Jayden Seales
