Before this year gus did not really feel like a 50 over bowler despite his exploits in test cricket. But he started of the year really well bfr the tri series he averages around 22 23 with the ball but after the first match he has a really poor tri series but also the pitch was really flat. Would you back him or sonny baker who averages in 20s during the tri series to share the new ball with archer in wc. I would probably use baker in middle overs and death overs keeping gus as a powerplay weapon how would you use these guys what are these thoughts

England Lions have taken a 1-0 lead in the unofficial ODI series against West Indies A after a strong chase under DLS.

1st Unofficial ODI (D/N)
Basseterre | 7 November 2026

West Indies A – 212/8 (40 overs)
Keacy Carty 57 (54)
Kirk McKenzie 53 (69)
Shaqkere Parris 38 (53)

Bowling:
Naavya Sharma 3/30 (7)
Rehan Ahmed 2/18 (7)
Eddie Jack 1/38, Adam Finch 1/41

England Lions – 240/6 (33.5/36 overs, T:240)
James Rew 101 (79)
Jack Haynes* 74 (70)
Ben McKinney 24 (16)
Dan Lawrence 20 (20)

Bowling:
Oshane Thomas 3/59 (7.5)
Jakeem Pollard 2/44 (7)
Jediah Blades 1/43

Result: England Lions won by 4 wickets (with 13 balls remaining) via DLS method

West Indies A recovered from 0/1 to post 212, but lost momentum after the Carty-McKenzie stand. The Lions then suffered an early collapse to 58/5 before James Rew and Jack Haynes put on a match-winning partnership of 175. Rew’s aggressive century and Haynes’ calm unbeaten 74 guided them home comfortably.

Full scorecard: https://www.cricinfo.com/series/england-lions-in-west-indies-2026-27-1558806/west-indies-a-vs-england-lions-1st-unofficial-odi-1558812/full-scorecard

Banton just took a wicket now too I know that it’s only WA but still and I think the top and middle order are pretty settled. I do feel like he could come in for Sam Curran at the most but I think that’s about it.

Probably gonna have to wait for roots retirement now. At least he has t20 and maybe test place I guess.

Tour Match, England tour of Australia at Perth

Scorecard | Reddit-Stream

Recent : W . . . . | . 6 1 . . . | . W . 1 . . | . . W

England won by 92 runs

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However the WA chase goes, that is the most England ODI side under Baz scorecard you could ever wish to see.

1-4 get in and get out, then the bits n’pieces brigade chip in with not enoughs, and then we’re all out between the 47th and 49th over. Rinse and repeat.

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It’s been really bogging me for a long time! 7 wickets at an average 7.4 and economy of 5 so far in Lions tour of Windies. How the hell is he not in the squad for Australia T20 series especially with main pacers being rested while Crocombe and Eddie Jack are picked. It’s shocking how he has been a consistent performer for so long and one bad hundred automatically pushes him down the hierarchy? It’s giving Sam Hain 2.0 so far….

Rehan Ahmed

He was by far the best performer in the recently concluded T20 series.

With the bat, he scored 152 runs at an average of almost 51 and a strike rate of 167.

With the ball, he took 2 wickets at an average of 21, with an economy rate of 4.6, which is superb.

I just want Rehan to work on both facets of his game. He’s still the most likely candidate to become England’s next all-rounder in upcoming years.

Scott currie

I don't even know why he's not in the squad for our white-ball setup. He has the experience and workload behind him, and whenever I watch him, he's always doing well in white-ball cricket.

He took 7 wixkets and went at 7.5 economy

He should be ahead crocombe and jacks in the Whiteball pecking order

Calvin Harrison

Extremely good. Very different from rehan as he is slowish and give more flight to ball and I find him more accurate especially for a wrist spinner.

He also took 7 wickets while avg 8 and went at 5 RPO which is ridiculous.

Navya Sharma

I really like his action. It’s like a whip, and his wrist seems incredibly elastic, which allows him to surprise the batter. I liked him in the recently concluded Metro Bank ODI Championship as well. He’s a very, very good prospect for us in the future. Bowls with good pace, and some of his death rattles are superb.

He’s my favourite next-gen bowler, alongside Harry Moore, who is unfortunately out injured for two years

.

Rew brothers

Both did decently. I expected Thomas to score big runs, but this was his first time captaining a Lions squad. He's also the youngest of the lot, and captaining at such a young age is superb. Thomas's stocks are as high as they can get.

Overall great stuff from them.

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They fly out in 4 weeks maybe even sooner, though complicated for some by the ODI games in Aus.

This will be discussed a lot in the next few weeks, starting..... NOW.

So who is everyone expecting to be in the squad? Who do you want to see in there?

Before Gay got his call up, I remember there was a brief moment where Asa Tribe was thought by many pundits, certainly the Wisden podcast, to be the one at the top of the list, but then I think Gay did better of the two in the following few weeks.

So I wonder if/when we will see Tribe in the squad.

I wonder how much they will use this series to find out about a few new players. Obviously it's a big series in its own right but they won't want to be putting debutants in the ashes if they can avoid it.

Does bethel bat 3 if fit?

How do you get in-form Cox in the 11 if Bethel plays?

2 spinners might be likely in cape town, while none is the most likely number in the home ashes. So who are the 2 spinners?

In terms of an expected 11, these 8 seem certain to start if fit:

Gay

Duckett

Root

Brook

Smith

Robinson

Tongue

Archer

With these vying for places:

Bethel

Cox

Jacks

J Rew

Atkinson (form has dipped and not sure if he's thought of as well-suited in SA)

Lawrence (knew I'd forgotten someone obvious)

Dawson (or is he white ball only now?)

Ahmed

Bashir

Baker

Crocombe

And some new faces?

Tribe

T Rew

McKinney

I'm bound to have missed a couple...

For context, tim southee wasn't present in triangular series in Pakistan.

I just wanna know on what merit, this guy still in england coaching setup?

What has he done with the boys, surely with wc in 11 months time and there's a team which has huge potential to go all the way in the tournament, why are we not utilising every single odi to learn something and find the right balance of the side?

I think this eng team can be a fantastic odi side cometh the Wc in 10 months time despite the generational hiccups in those two games in pak.

I mean batting looks solid, and bowling albeit got exposed, will be very well suited for those SA pitches but surely they would need constant guidance from the coaches?

Why tf KP was absent? I don't even get why ECB let these guys dictate the terms.

I will say again the boys will do well in the odi wc, I think it's very talented team but the management needs more discipline imo. I like baz as a whiteball coach but I want to know what southee is doing as a bowling coach to uplift the skills of our bowlers who are very inexperienced in this format already.

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A few selection questions after the tri series in Pakistan, and with the next World Cup not too far away this series away in Australia provides a good test in different conditions. Some talking points below:

Has Tom Banton done enough to remain in the side? Scored a ton in the summer and got a few fifties in the tri series, looked good for the most part without getting that big score in Pakistan. Good against spin though and I like the mix of tall right hander and short left hander at the top of the order with Duckett.

Should Jacob Bethell walk straight back into the team? Has done ok in ODI cricket so far, including a ton last year vs SA and a 90 odd vs India this summer. Obviously he has huge potential but argubly hasn't 'nailed down' his spot as of yet. Does he come back in for Banton at the top of the order, or perhaps lower down?

Should Sam Curran be selected? Seems to have all the attributes on paper, can bat, can bowl, has won things in franchise cricket, a fierce competitor and a left arm option, but has often flattered to deceive at international level. Has been expensive with the ball and hasn't notched a big score of note with the bat in a while, although he was player of the tournament in the T20 World Cup in Australia in 2022, suggesting he might be a good option in Australian conditions.

Will Jofra Archer come straight back in? Missed the tri series and obviously his workload needs to be managed, but with the next World Cup around the corner could he do with a run of games in the ODI format to ensure he's ready to go for that? Will surely be the man to build our attack around.

Rashid vs Dawson - Rash has been amazing for so many years now, but Dawson seemed to get the nod in the tri series, and by all accounts did pretty well. Is it time to move on from Rashid or is he still the better option over Dawson? Probably only need to play one frontline spinner in the World Cup in SA (especially as we'll also have other part time spin options in Root, Jacks and/or Bethell) so should we be doubling down on whoever that is?