Event of the Day: England versus West Indies
Our event of the day is the Cricket World Cup where England face the West Indies at the Rose Bowl in Hampshire. England are 2-1 while the West Indies are 1-1-1. England are giving high-scoring performances with the bat while the West Indies are also showing real promise in the tournament. This is a match you won’t want to miss. England, hosting the World Cup for the first time in twenty years, have begun their tournament strong. In the opening match at The Oval, they recorded a dominant win over South Africa. With South Africa electing to bowl, England scored 311 before holding their opponents to 207. However, that was followed by an upset loss to Pakistan in Nottingham. England chose to bowl and gave up 348 runs to a team that had lost their last twelve one-day internationals. Despite centuries from Joe Root and Jos Buttler, their performances were too little and England fell short by fourteen runs. However, they bounced back against Bangladesh in Cardiff. They scored 386 in the first inning, with Jason Roy hitting 153. When it was time to bowl, they held Bangladesh to 280. Nearly half of Bangladesh’s runs, 121 to be exact, came from an outstanding performance by Shakib Al Hasan. This is England’s best start to a World Cup since 2007. In 2011 they went 1-1-1 through their first three matches while in 2015, they started 1-2. Their opponents today are 1-1-1 so far in the tournament.
The West Indies began their tournament with a dominant bowling performance over Pakistan. After holding Pakistan to 105 runs, the West Indies only needed five batters to reach their winning total of 108. Chris Gayle hit a half century in the win to start the West Indies’ tournament in the right way. However, that was followed with a failure to chase Australia in a high scoring match. They fell short by 15, despite half-centuries by Shai Hope and Jason Holder. Their third match, against South Africa at the Rose Bowl, was never meant to be. Heavy rain led to the match being abandoned after only 7.3 overs. England and the West Indies have played 101 one-day internationals against one another. England leads the all-time series 51-44-6. In the World Cup, they have met six times and England has won five of those meetings. This is one match you won’t want to miss.
Honourable mentions around the globe go to the opening game of the Copa América, with tournament hosts Brazil facing Bolivia at the Cícero Pompeu de Toledo Stadium in São Paulo. After failing to progress past the group stage at the Copa América Centenario in 2016, Brazil have been near unstoppable, losing only two of their subsequent thirty-six matches. Meanwhile Bolivia will look for their first win since October 2018 and snap a seven-game winless streak. The Copa América is South America’s biggest tournament and this match is one you won’t want to miss. In the Women’s World Cup, Japan and Scotland face off at Roahzon Park in Rennes. Appearing in their first World Cup, Scotland lost their opening match 2-1 to an extremely strong English side. Meanwhile Japan, the 2011 tournament champions, were held to a 0-0 draw by Argentina. Both teams are stacked with talent and have the potential to progress in this tournament. However, that means both teams will see today as all-or-nothing. Expect a must-watch match between these two sides. In golf, the US Open continues at the Pebble Beach Golf Links in California. In the WNBA, the Washington Mystics host the Seattle Storm at the Entertainment & Sports Arena in Washington D.C.. In the CFL, the Edmonton Eskimos host the Montreal Alouettes at the Brick Field in Edmonton. In Super Rugby, the Highlanders face the Waratahs at Rugby Park Stadium in Invercargill, New Zealand. On the WTA Tour, the Nature Valley Open continues at the Nottingham Tennis Centre.
Whatever you’re watching, enjoy!
Photos by ICC Cricket