It was again evident that West Indies has failed to fill the void created by Brian Lara’s retirement as the side crashed to a 79-run defeat in the first one dayer against England at the Lord’s.
Batting first, England put on the board a modest total of 225, which was quite gettable but the West Indian side made a mess of their chase and collapsed for 146 all out in just 39.5 overs.
Each of the top five English batsmen got the start but could not convert it to a big knock. Ian Bell topscored for them with 56, while Kevin Pietersen (33), Owais Shah (42) and Matt Prior (34) also chipped in. For West Indies, Fidel Edwards was the pick of the bowlers, claiming five for 45 in his 10 overs.
Chasing 226 for win, West Indies ran into trouble straightway and found itself in a morass at 13 for four.
Once again Shivnarine Chanderpaul (53) and Dwayne Bravo (29) were left to do the rebuilding act. Though they tried their best, once Stuart Broad removed Bravo, the match slipped through West Indies’ fingers and eventually, the side was all out 79-run away from their opponent’s total.
