New captain encouraged by initial performance, despite notably poor display from visitors

Vithushan Ehantharajah29-May-2025Harry Brook has urged England to forget the past after they began life under their new captain with an emphatic 238-run win over West Indies in Thursday’s first ODI at Edgbaston.It was close to the perfect performance, albeit one against a visiting side who were wayward enough with the ball to concede 400 for 8, and never in the hunt to chase it down. They eventually capitulated to 162 all out, with No.11 Jayden Seales top-scoring with 29 not out. But for England, there was plenty to nourish them as runs and wickets were spread around, with four half-centuries, including Brook (58) and top-scorer Jacob Bethell (82) and three wickets apiece for Saqib Mahmood and Jamie Overton as all five bowlers registered dismissals.Victory ended a run of seven straight defeats, the side’s worst run of form since 2000-01, when they lost 11 in a row. While undoubtedly a relief for Brook and head coach Brendon McCullum to start this new chapter with a victory, the captain insists the team’s previous travails must be cast from the mind, and encouragement taken from this all-round dominant performance, no matter the gulf between the two sides or how small the sample size.”It’s a new era,” Brook said. “Like I’ve said so many times, we’re trying to forget about the past, only focus on what’s ahead of us, and take one game at a time. We’ve done pretty well today so we can take that confidence going forward.”[It is a] Very good start. To get 400 after being put in and bowl them out for 162 was a pretty exceptional start from the boys. Hopefully we can top that.”Brook was particularly enamored with the tempo of England’s innings, a previous sticking point given the lack of exposure to the 50-over format for many of the squad. Ben Duckett and Jamie Smith, in his new role as opener, got the innings off to a strong start, with England 90 for 1 after the opening 10 overs, allowing them to operate at a cruising speed of 6.43 runs an over in the middle 30 overs.Brydon Carse takes the plaudits after a special take in the deep•AFP/Getty ImagesThat offered Bethell and Will Jacks the platform to launch in the final 10 overs, combining for 98 off 44 deliveries for the sixth wicket, taking the game well beyond West Indies’ reach. Brook credited Bethell for an approach conducive to this longer white-ball format. The 21-year old was 26 off 30 when Buttler got out in the 41st over before striking 56 off his next 22 balls.”The boys up top started beautifully and set the template for how we wanted to play and how we want to play for the rest of the series,” he said. “The tempo we batted with throughout the innings was pretty much spot on. We have a lot of depth in our batting, which gave the opportunity to Beth and Jacks to go out there and do what they did.”I think that’s the way everyone should play in ODI cricket – you’ve got a lot longer than you think. I got out with 20 overs to go and I felt like I was sat watching for about three hours. You can give yourself 10, 15 or 20 balls to get in and then you can soon catch up. “I think he (Bethell) was on about 40 from 40 balls (38 off 39) and he ended up striking at 140 or 150. That’s the type of game it is and you can catch up very quickly.”Meanwhile, West Indies head coach Daren Sammy lamented a lack of discpline from his bowlers.Shai Hope’s decision to bowl first looked sound at 12:30pm local time, with a bit of moisture in the air and the odd cloud in the sky. However, Sammy felt his side ended up chasing the game with their tactics and field placings, unable to keep a lid on matters after the opening Powerplay.”It’s good when batsmen play out of their skin, but when you know you have a plan and you’ve not really given it a chance to work, that’s the most annoying thing,” Sammy said.”Our bowlers were not discplined enough. It’s a wicket that requires you to be straight and use the square boundaries from a straight line. Our skills were not on par in any of the Powerplays. Not to start. We were chasing the game from early – 90 runs in the first 10, you always find yourself on the defensive. We were playing catch-up from then.”