By Simon Wilkes
Harry Brook hailed the ‘depth’ in England’s white-ball batting ranks after they secured a 3-0 ODI series whitewash over the West Indies with a seven-wicket win at The Oval.
Yorkshire batter Brook is the captain of the one-day international team and made the perfect start to life as skipper by overseeing three dominant displays against the Windies.
The hosts were a little sloppy in the field in the second ODI, dropping a series of catches, but still got the win thanks to a match-winning century from Player of the Series Joe Root.
Catches win matches
England were much sharper when fielding at The Oval on Tuesday, taking a string of stunning catches as the tourists were restricted to 251-9 off 40 overs in a rain-affected match.
Adil Rashid took 3-40 off eight overs, while seamers Saqib Mahmood (2-48), Matthew Potts (2-51), and Brydon Carse (2-57) all chipped in with two wickets apiece.
The total never seemed enough to worry Brook’s hosts, and opener Jamie Smith took the game away from the Windies with a blistering 64 off 28 balls, smashing 10 fours and three sixes on his home ground.
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Breezy half-ton
Fellow opener Ben Duckett hit a breezy 58 off 46 balls, Root scored 44, and then Brook (26 not out) and former ODI captain Jos Buttler (41no) steered England to 246-3 and a comfortable win off 29.4 overs via the DLS system.
Brook’s focus now turns to the T20I series, which starts in Durham on Friday, June 6.
He did, however, take a moment to applaud his team’s performance across the series, telling Sky Sports: “The way we started off at Edgbaston [in the first ODI] was amazing – to get 400 on the board and bowl them out convincingly.
“We have been talking about being dominant and finishing the series 3-0. We will enjoy the success.
“Smith took the game away from West Indies in the powerplay which is what we like to see, and I Iike the depth in our batting.
“I think that helped us in Cardiff in the second ODI.”
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James Mario Ajero 
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