Having somewhat broken their overseas jinx with two decent batting performances in Ireland, West Indies head coach Darren Sammy is hoping that his team can raise the bar and outplay England on their home turf.
Fresh off two high-scoring performances in Dublin—one ruined by rain and the other a series-leveling win—the Caribbean side carries momentum into Thursday’s opening ODI at Edgbaston, but with England representing a more formidable opponent, Sammy knows that the real test begins now.
“It’s always a challenge. Ireland was a challenge, England is a challenge, and every international team poses different tests. For us, it’s about continuing to believe and continuing to work hard. We hold the trophy from winning the series at home, and now we’re trying to better our away record, and we have a team capable of doing that," Sammy declared.
Keacy Carty in rich form.
This three-match series holds weight far beyond national pride. The West Indies — currently ranked ninth in the ICC ODI standings — sit just three points behind eighth-placed England. Only the top eight teams, excluding co-hosts South Africa and Zimbabwe, will qualify automatically for the 2027 World Cup.
As such, the stakes could not be clearer for Sammy and his team, especially since West Indies missed both the 2023 World Cup and the 2025 Champions Trophy.
However, a positive for the West Indies is the fact that they have enjoyed recent success against England, having won the 2023–24 and 2024–25 ODI series at home. But English conditions will pose new challenges, especially with limited preparation due to rain that forced the team indoors on Tuesday.
"That is very important. Ever since we started this journey, we’ve had World Cup 2027 in mind. Automatic qualification is the first goal, and climbing the rankings is the only way to do that. We have made some strides from when we just started, and so this series and every ODI game from now until the qualification deadline are important. So that should be extra incentive for our guys, and we are preparing well and will be ready to play, weather permitting," Sammy said.
Sherfane Rutherford out due to IPL commitment.
Among the bright spots in the team is a blossoming middle order, anchored by the likes of Keacy Carty, whose rise has not gone unnoticed. Carty, who scored an unbeaten 128 against England, followed that up with 102 and 170 in the just-concluded Ireland series.
"Our middle order over the last year has been on par with the best in the world. The work Keacy Carty has put in, and Sherfane Rutherford, who is not here, but he has been a part of that stability in the middle order. When they say that hard work brings reward, Keacy is an example of that. The role we’ve given him, he’s grabbed it and made the best out of, which is great," Sammy noted.
"When you make an investment, you don’t always expect such high returns so quickly, but Keacy has defied the odds, and long may that continue because of the work he puts in. The other guys are also putting in the work in the roles they are given, but some are developing faster than others, but it is only upward. So the batting has been really good for us over the last year, and now it is for us to do it away from home," he added.
Jayden Seales also on the improve.
That said, Sammy stressed the need for consistency when playing abroad as he recalled previous series away to Australia and Sri Lanka, which exposed lingering vulnerabilities. But their performances against Ireland — scoring 352-8 and 385-7 — suggest a team beginning to turn a corner.
"We’ve struggled to perform well away from home. We talk about the Sri Lankan series and the Australian series, but now we saw what we did in Ireland; barring those first 10 overs in the first game, our batting was solid. So it's good when you have competition for places coming from performance, so we look forward to another good batting performance here. So too our bowling, especially Jayden Seales, who is also improving with that new ball," he ended.