ENG vs WI | England set their eyes on wrapping series early after blowout victory in first ODI

05/31/2025

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England lead the series 1-0 ahead of the second ODI against West Indies in Cardiff on Sunday

England will be hoping to seal the three-match ODI series against West Indies at Sophia Gardens on Sunday, following a 238-run win in Birmingham where they had tallied 400. The two teams are placed eighth and ninth in the ICC rankings, making it a tussle for direct qualification to the World Cup.

The last time West Indies won an ODI series in England was in 2007 when they had walked out 2-1 winners. Since, they have played bilateral ODIs on four three tours of the United Kingdom, and lost all eight completed games with their loss on Friday at Edgbaston further extending that streak to nine. The manner in which the loss came offers little hope to the Caribbean nation of turning their fortunes around any time soon either, as they first conceded 400/8 with the ball despite no English batter scoring a century before folding out for a paltry 162.

However, with coach Darren Sammy asserting the importance of the series in the race for direct qualification to the 2027 World Cup in Africa, the Windies would be hoping to emerge a renewed unit when they take the field in Cardiff. On the other side, Harry Brook would be angling for his first series-win as full-time captain of the England white-ball teams, meaning the narratives are set for another exciting encounter between the two old rivals.

Form Guide

ENG: W L L L L

WI: L W NR L W

ENG vs WI Head to head in ODIsts

Through the first three decades of ODI cricket, England were constantly on the backfoot against their famed rivals who won two World Cups during the period and boasted six more wins than the game's inventors in head-to-head battles. However, Windies cricket has suffered a sharp decline since the turn of the century, which is reflected in the numbers too as England have won 30 games while losing just 17, thus handing him them a net-psoitive record by seven games.

ENG 55-48 WI

Pitch and Weather

Sophia Gardens in Cardiff has historically heavily favoured the batters, especially the chasing side who have won 18 of the 27 ODIs played at the venue. However, green strips are not a rare showcase either, meaning scores can fluctuate wildly from one game to another. Nevertheless, given the recent inclinations of England cricket, another flat surface seems on the cards, as England would hope to topple their highest score of 386 at the venue should they bat first.

There is a 51% chance of rain at the start of the encounter as per Accuweather, but the intermittent clouds are expected to phase out quickly and allow a full contest to go through. Winds might touch the 60 km/h mark while the temperature is forecast to hover around the 15-degree Celsius mark and gradually decline as the day progresses.

Team News

England Women have so far fielding the same lineup for both the T20Is in the series and are expected to do no different come Monday.

West Indies saw veteran Stafanie Taylor return from injury at Hove after she had missed the series opener and is certain to retain her place. The Windies had also added to their batting with Shermaine Campbell, who top-scored for them with 26 and should make the first XI yet again.

ENG-W Probable XI: Danni Wyatt-Hodge, Sophie Dunkley, Nat Sciver-Brunt (c), Heather Knight, Amy Jones (wk), Alice Capsey, Em Arlott, Issy Wong, Charlie Dean, Linsey Smith, Lauren Bell

WI-W Probable XI: Qiana Joseph, Hayley Matthews (c), Zaida James, Shermaine Campbelle, Shabika Gajnabi, Stafanie Taylor, Aaliyah Alleyne, Mandy Mangru (wk), Cherry-Ann Fraser, Afy Fletcher, Karishma Ramharack