After a clinical victory in the 1st ODI, England moved to Trent Bridge, Nottingham to host the second ODI against Windies. The visitors were ruled out of the direct qualification for the 2019 ODI World Cup after the loss in the first game as Sri Lanka became the beneficiary who reserved a place in the prestigious tournament.
Amidst the gloomy skies, the toss happened at Trent Bridge which was won by Jason Holder who opted to bat given the overcast conditions and the threat of rain curtailing the match. The big news was the injury to the big man Chris Gayle that had ruled him out of the playing XI. England went in unchanged from the last game.
Jason Holder took the new ball and sprayed 2 wides first up. The centurion from the last game Jonny Bairstow smacked a four off the second legitimate delivery and then survived a close shave off the 5th ball as the fielder missed the target at the striker’s end.
The first over went for 10 runs and then, Alex Hales struck 2 boundaries in the next over to Jerome Taylor to take the score to 20/0. Just 2 more deliveries in the 3rd over and the rain gods decided to intervene as the players made their way back to the pavilion.
20 minutes later, the rain relented and the covers came off. But just when the game was about to resume, the heavens opened up again. The weather played hide and seek with the players but ultimately, the game had to be called off at 16:14 local time as rain refused to stop.
England lead the series 1-0 with 3 more games to go. The next match will be played this Sunday in Bristol followed by the 4th ODI in London on September 27 and the last in Southampton on September 29.
