West Indies v England: Joe Root & Alex Hales hit centuries as tourists win - BBC Sport
Alex Hales and Joe Root hit centuries as England steamroller West Indies by 186 runs in Barbados to complete an ODI series whitewash.
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Alex Hales and Joe Root struck stunning centuries as England steamrollered West Indies by 186 runs in Barbados to complete a one-day series whitewash.

The pair put on a record 192 for the second wicket, with Hales the more aggressive of the two and Root happy to play the anchor role.

West Indies were never in contention and meekly surrendered with the bat - being bowled out for just 142.

Liam Plunkett and Chris Woakes took three wickets apiece with the ball.

Two teams which are worlds apart

If the West Indies showed glimpses of ability in the first two matches of the series, there was very little of it on show at the Kensington Oval.

The gulf in class between the two teams was striking.

While England's batting order is rich in both talent and depth, the Windies' top order gifted their wickets with a succession of dolly catches offered up to close fielders.

It was a similar story from a bowling perspective as England's pacemen bullied and harassed. The hosts' options lacked penetration in the absence of the injured Shannon Gabriel and proved to be cannon fodder for the likes of Root, Hales and Ben Stokes.

England's morale will be boosted by such victories, but it should be tempered with the realisation their opponents have failed to qualify for this summer's Champions Trophy and now face an uphill challenge to earn automatic entry to the 2019 World Cup.

Both opener Hales and number three Root can lay genuine claim to being among the world's leading top order batsmen in this format of the game.

Their respective innings were poles apart in style, but almost identical in terms of both runs scored and balls faced by the time they returned to the pavilion.

Hales - back in the team after injury - began how he so often does, in a circumspect manner. He nudged the ball into gaps before exploding into life once the spinners were introduced to the attack.

Four of his five sixes came off the slow bowlers, who went for a combined 60 runs in 48 painful deliveries.

The Notts right-hander, who successfully overturned an lbw decision when he was on 93, was particularly strong on the leg side where he scored 73 of his runs.

Root was his usual busy self at the crease and almost paid with his wicket early on, only to be dropped when he had made both 1 and 12.

Once set, however, he dropped anchor and finally registered three figures after eight half-centuries in his previous 11 ODI innings.

Platform laid, England were pushed beyond 300 by Stokes. The Durham all-rounder was reminiscent of former South Africa all-rounder Lance Klusener as he time and again cleared his front leg and muscled the ball to the boundary in his 20-ball 34.

Faced with a strip much quicker than the one which the two teams duelled on in Antigua, England's quicker bowlers relished the extra pace and bounce.

Pitching the ball just back of a length, they induced some horrible dismissals from the West Indies top order.

Only Jonathan Carter (46) offered any real resistance and backbone as the England quicks left their opponents battered and bruised - both in a mental and physical sense.

Plunkett finished the three-match series with 10 wickets at less than 10 runs each, ensuring his name will remain prominent in the selectors' minds when Mark Wood, Jake Ball and David Willey regain full fitness.

Speaking on BBC Test Match Special, former West Indies fast bowler Tino Best said the collapse to 45-6 had been "embarrassing", adding: "It's quite disappointing the way the guys have been dismissed. We call it primary school dismissals.

"Guys have to go back to their hotel room and reflect. Do you want to be an average player or do you want to be a superstar?"

England have just two ODIs against Ireland before opening their Champions Trophy campaign against Bangladesh at The Oval on 1 June.

England captain Eoin Morgan: "I'm extremely satisfied. Over the course of the series we have displayed different skills. Root and Hales put on an outstanding partnership and our bowling performance was outstanding.

"It's a great position to be in. We had guys coming into the side who maybe didn't expect to play and made big contributions, match-winning ones.

"It was an outstanding effort from Alex Hales. A bit of time off has done him the world of good."

England all-rounder Chris Woakes - the man of the series - is asked which part of his game he is most pleased with: "Ball, I suppose. It's always nice to contribute with the bat when required but bowling is my primary skill.

"The more you play and gain experience in international cricket, the more you feel at home. We've got some great players in the team and there are always players pushing for places."

West Indies captain Jason Holder: "Our performance wasn't up to scratch, we gifted a lot of free runs - although the bowlers were decent - and then we didn't put up a good fight with the bat at all.

"I'm frustrated, I thought we were moving in the right direction. We've got to be lot sharper in the field and take our chances, we didn't do that throughout the series.

"This group of players is what we have, I'm comfortable with what we have, we have a lot of talented players in the squad but it's about making the most of it."