Jamie Smith to open as England, West Indies embark on another ODI reboot

West Indies didn't qualify for the last two ICC 50-over tournaments - the 2023 World Cup and 2025 Champions Trophy - but it is arguable whether that was any more embarrassing than the dismal campaigns England put together in India and Pakistan. With another failure at the T20 World Cup sandwiched in between, it did not require much deliberation for Jos Buttler to step down after less than three years as captain.

His successor was picked from a very short shortlist, but while there is little doubt that Harry Brook has the minerals for captaincy, the question for England is whether a first-choice all-formats player can succeed in the job given the current schedule? With a calendar that includes series against West Indies (ODI and T20I), India (Tests), South Africa (ODI and T20I), Ireland (ODI), New Zealand (ODI and T20I), Australia (Test) and Sri Lanka (ODI and T20I) before he can even begin to think about the 2026 T20 World Cup in February, the odds are that something will have to give.

Even Brook himself picked the Ashes as his priority when unveiled last month. But, for now, England have made a show of giving their ODI rebuild the attention it deserves by calling back Buttler, Jacob Bethell and Will Jacks from the IPL, despite their teams' involvement in the tournament's pointy end. West Indies, by contrast, have allowed Romario Shepherd and Sherfane Rutherford to stay in India, even with potentially vital ranking points (which will determine World Cup qualification) at stake.

West Indies currently sit ninth in the ICC rankings, three points behind England and five points ahead of Bangladesh, with the top eight aside from co-hosts South Africa (sixth) and Zimbabwe (11th) going straight to the World Cup rather than having to fight through a qualifying event. Bilateral ODI engagements are often seen as context-free, but there is real jeopardy for England - who have never missed out on the World Cup - if they don't improve on a grim recent record that reads three series wins (one of them against Ireland) in their last 11 going back to mid-2022.

Brook, at least, is well rested, with just one appearance for Yorkshire and last week's three-day Test against Zimbabwe since the Champions Trophy in March (he is, of course, banned from the IPL after pulling out at late notice, but we won't get into those weeds). Even with Jofra Archer and Mark Wood out injured, he will still be able to call on a trio of 2019 World Cup winners, with Buttler continuing in the ranks, Joe Root ready to anchor the top order and Adil Rashid undisputed as England's all-time leading white-ball spinner.

In fact, the revolution has been far from bloody, with Liam Livingstone and Phil Salt the main casualties following three defeats from three at the Champions Trophy. Brydon Carse is fit to restate his case, so too Bethell after being injured on the tour of India, while Jacks, Jamie Smith, Matthew Potts, Jamie Overton and Tom Hartley are all backed to keep learning the ropes in a format that quickly disappears from sight in between ICC events. Smith, who endured a tough time at No.3 last time out, is set to open alongside Duckett, in a further show of England's belief in his immense potential.

West Indies, as ever, will hope to disrupt England's plans - as they did at home in 2023-24 and 2024-25, on both occasions winning the ODI encounters. A heavy defeat against Ireland last week was a reminder of some of their weaknesses, but they responded by piling up scores of 352 for 8 and 385 for 7. In Shai Hope (11th) and Gudakesh Motie (sixth) they have the highest-ranked batter and bowler on either side, and in Daren Sammy a coach who will squeeze every last drop out of the players at his disposal as they too seek an escape from the doldrums in 50-over cricket.

England LLLLL (last five ODIs, most recent first)

West Indies WLWWW

From the toss onwards, it will be all eyes on Harry Brook, who led England with aplomb against Australia in Buttler's injury-enforced absence last summer and now gets to shape the side in his image. It was a mark of how England had neglected ODIs after their World Cup win that, when Brook made his debut in 2023, he hadn't played the format in almost four years. Now, with just 26 caps and a single hundred to his name, he still has plenty to learn. Familiarity with Brendon McCullum's Bazball methods in charge of the Test team is likely to shape his philosophy, as England look to run towards the danger in a format where they're not looked comfortable for some time.

Keacy Carty scored his maiden international hundred in a series-sealing win against England in Barbados six months ago, and has since added a 95 against Bangladesh, followed by back-to-back tons in Ireland - the latter of which, 170 off 142 balls, was the joint-sixth highest ODI score for West Indies. It is almost a decade since Carty top-scored in the final as West Indies lifted the 2015-16 Under-19 World Cup, but he now looks at home in the senior set-up. Picked as the man for West Indies to "invest" in at No. 3, he has been praised by Sammy for his dedication and hard work, and shapes as a key cog in their attempts to build a side that can return to World Cup contention in 2027.

It had been assumed that Jacks or Tom Banton would be the likely replacement for Salt at opener, but England have sprung a surprise by opting instead of Smith as Duckett's new partner at the top of the order. Despite making scores of 15, 9 and 0 in a desperate stint at No.3 in the Champions Trophy, he is given the chance to set the team's agenda from the get-go, with Jacks slotting into the middle-order. Smith won't, however, be keeping as well. That duty falls to Buttler, now back in the ranks and inked in at No.5. Atkinson has joined Archer in withdrawing from the squad due to injury, but there's a welcome return for Carse, who will play for the first time since mangling his toes in the line of Test duty over the winter. Overton and Mahmood complete the seam attack with Adil Rashid the sole specialist spinner in a team stacked with allround candidates. Hartley will have to wait to play his first ODI since a washed-out game against Ireland in Bristol in September 2023.

England: 1 Jamie Smith, Ben Duckett, 3 Joe Root, 4 Harry Brook (capt), 5 Jos Buttler (wk), 6 Jacob Bethell, 7 Will Jacks, 8 Jamie Overton, 9 Brydon Carse, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 Saqib Mahmood

West Indies are missing the services of Shepherd and Rutherford until the conclusion of their IPL involvement, who were replaced by Jediah Blades and Shimron Hetmyer respectively. Jewel Andrew is the other spare batter, while it will likely come down to a choice between Shamar Joseph's pace and Jayden Seales' accuracy to complete the attack.

West Indies: (possible) 1 Brandon King, 2 Evin Lewis, 3 Keacy Carty, 4 Shai Hope (capt & wk), 5 Amir Jangoo, 6 Justin Greaves, 7 Roston Chase, 8 Matthew Forde, 9 Alzarri Joseph, 10 Gudakesh Motie, 11 Shamar Joseph/Jayden Seales

Edgbaston hasn't staged an ODI since 2021, but it usually offers up one of the truest surfaces for batting in the country - in 2015, it was the scene of England's seminal 408 for 9 in Eoin Morgan's first outing as permanent captain. The driest spring in recent memory has given way to more familiar English weather, with rain forcing West Indies to train indoors on Tuesday, but the forecast for Thursday suggests interruptions will be at a minimum.

"New era now, new leadership. Hopefully we can bring a lot of energy, competitiveness, and a lot of fun as well out out there, try and engage the fans as much as we can - and yeah, try and get some wins under our belt."
Harry Brook sets out his battle-plan on the eve of his captaincy tenure.

"Ever since we started this journey with World Cup 2027 in mind, automatic qualification is the first goal. Climbing up the rankings is the only way we could do that. We've made some strides from when we started. Right now we're No. 9, with England just ahead of us, by two or three points, and this series is very important."
West Indies coach Daren Sammy on his team's medium-term ambitions.