Joe Root. England Test captain. England's record century-maker at World Cups. And now England's golden arm.

One-day skipper Eoin Morgan hailed man-of-the-match Root after England steamrollered West Indies by eight wickets in Southampton on Friday.

Root, an occasional spin bowler, took two wickets for 27 in his five overs in the West Indies innings, breaking a partnership of 89 between Shimron Hetmyer and Nicholas Pooran before removing the dangerous Jason Holder.

He then opened the batting in place of the injured Jason Roy and glided to an effortless century off 93 balls to become the first England player to register three World Cup tons.

"He's such an important player for us," said Morgan. "He is the glue that holds everything together and probably a side of his batting that has got better over the last two or three years that people haven't seen a lot of, his expansive game. 

"He never seems to go at less than a run a ball. You look up, he is going at more than a run a ball and it is exceptionally good to watch, so to see him come out and be in this form and continue it is brilliant."

The 28-year-old Yorkshireman averages nearly fifty in Test cricket but an even more impressive 51.65 in his 136 one-day internationals, with 16 hundreds.

Former England captain Michael Vaughan hailed him as "England's best ever consistent player", saying he made the game look easy, whatever the format.

Root himself, whose 100 not out came after he scored 107 in the defeat to Pakistan earlier in the tournament, was typically understated, saying he still had plenty to work on.

"I feel like I'm playing all right," said the tournament's top-scorer, with 279 runs in four matches.

"I don't feel I'm playing exceptionally well at the moment but I feel like I'm playing some good stuff and still loads of things that I want to keep working on, keep getting better and improving," he said.

"But it's not about how many runs you score, being the one that stands out in terms of individual accolades, it's about building those substantial partnerships that win you the game, about us collectively getting the job done."

- Big hitters -

Root has fitted well into England's top order, packed with big hitters including Roy, Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler.

"Some of the guys really enjoy having the majority of the strike and I think that works really well with me," he explained.

"I like to rotate, try to get down the other end but more than anything it's just building those partnerships because if you get a hundred partnership, another fifty partnership, another substantial partnership somewhere then you're generally going to go and make those big scores, which we have done on a number of occasions now."

Root said the number of overs he got to bowl against the West Indies was a bonus.

"You obviously go into a tournament making sure you're prepared and making sure that you have a plan of how you're going to go about things and how you can complement the rest of the attack," he said.

"I got the opportunity today and it was nice to pick up a few wickets. I probably burgled them rather than out-skilled them."

Attempting to outfox batsmen, Root revealed his game-plan is to be as unpredictable as possible.

"I've been working hard trying a few different variations to try and make it more difficult for someone just to stand there and smack me out of the park, which happens quite frequently in one-day cricket now so it was just nice to see it pay off a little bit today," he said.

Feature Image: AFP / Adrian Dennis

England captain Eoin Morgan knows better than most the emotions Jofra Archer will experience when the fast bowler plays against his native West Indies for the first time.

Dublin-born batsman Morgan, who switched allegiance from Ireland to England a decade ago, is set to lead the tournament hosts against the Caribbean side in a World Cup group match in Southampton on Friday.

Barring a late injury, Morgan's team will include Barbados-born quick Archer, who only qualified for England earlier this year but whose ability to bowl at speeds of up to 95 mph now makes him a central figure as they chase a first 50-over World Cup title.

READ | Jofra Archer, where pace speaks more than swing

Archer, whose father is English, could have been playing for the West Indies had he not been overlooked for the Under-19 World Cup four years ago.

That fateful decision was to spark a chain of events that saw Archer joining Sussex and then begin the process of qualifying to play international cricket for England.

Now he will be be up against plenty of familiar faces in fellow Bajans such as West Indies captain Jason Holder and Shai Hope, as well as former youth team-mates Nicholas Pooran and Shimron Hetmyer.

Morgan, recalling his own first experience of playing against Ireland for England, said Thursday: "I think it is a moment where you reaffirm your decision. The difference is the feel.

WATCH | Jofra Archer, a 'big-time' player

"When you play against guys that you've played with at age-group level, it feels like a club game against your mates you've known for a long time, compared to playing against strangers. That's the different feel.

"Being in that position myself it does feel different. He won't know how it feels until he plays the game. If I feel the need (to speak to him) I will, but I haven't yet."

Meanwhile, Morgan backed the 24-year-old Archer, who has taken nine wickets in six one-day internationals at a healthy average of 27, to cope with the inevitable scrutiny that will come his way on Friday.

READ | England, Windies hope to hit the ground running

"I'm sure he will handle it like he's handled everything else in the tournament so far," said his skipper.

"Every challenge he has come up against so far he has come out the other side really well. So let's just see how it goes, we are not expecting anything majorly different.

"Jofra is extremely interesting because everything he has been confronted with, particularly out on the field, he has overcome.

"He's still learning, he's a very young, he has a lot of talent, and that is great for us. It's great that he's in an England shirt now."

Feature image courtesy: AFP Photo/ Adrian Dennis

Joe Root scored his second century of the World Cup as England crushed the West Indies by eight wickets in Southampton on Friday with 16.5 overs to spare.

The host nation won the toss and made the most of favourable bowling conditions on a day when the rain finally relented, bowling the West Indies out for 212.

But by the time they came to bat the sun was out and tournament favourites England rarely looked troubled, with Root in particular timing the ball beautifully during his 100 not out.

Test captain Root opened alongside Jonny Bairstow in place of the injured Jason Roy, who had limped off the field with a tight hamstring during the West Indies innings.

Root, who made 107 in England's defeat against Pakistan, made batting look easy, scoring a run-a-ball 50 without having to take unnecessary risks as he and Bairstow tamed the West Indies quicks.

Shannon Gabriel had Bairstow caught by Carlos Brathwaite for 45, leaving England 95-1, but Chris Woakes was quickly into his stride, drilling a four back past Gabriel off his third ball.

With the end in sight, Woakes was dismissed for 40, caught by Shimron Hetmyer off the bowling of Gabriel.

Root reached three figures off 93 balls with 11 fours and is now the tournament's top-scorer -- with a total of 279 runs in four innings.

Earlier, England contained the West Indies well but at a cost, with Roy and captain Eoin Morgan limping off the pitch.

Despite occasional flurries, the Caribbean side were never able to mount a sustained assault on England's bowlers after Woakes and Jofra Archer conceded just eight runs off the first five overs of the match.

Fuelled by three wickets each for Archer and Mark Wood, England dismissed their opponents with more than five overs to spare.

Opener Chris Gayle, dropped early by Wood in the deep, briefly threatened, hitting Woakes for 10 in two balls, but was caught by Bairstow on the square-leg boundary for 36 off the bowling of Liam Plunkett.

During the course of his innings Gayle, who has previously indicated this will be his last World Cup, overtook Viv Richards as the leading scorer in one-day internationals between England and the West Indies.

Two balls after his dismissal West Indies were in deep trouble at 55-3 when Shai Hope was trapped in front of the wicket by Wood.

Nicholas Pooran and Hetmyer (39) combined to put on 89 runs for the fourth wicket before Root struck twice, holding on to catches off his own bowling to remove Hetmyer and Jason Holder.

Andre Russell shone briefly but was caught by Woakes off the bowling of Wood for 21 and the last four wickets tumbled for just 10 runs.

Morgan hobbled off the pitch in the 40th over, struggling to make his way up the pavilion steps and it was later confirmed he had suffered a back spasm.

Wood finished with figures of 3-18, while Archer took 3-30.

England are now second in the World Cup table with three wins and one defeat, one point behind New Zealand, while the West Indies have won one, lost two and had one no result in their four matches.

Feature image courtesy: AFP Photo/ Adrian Dennis

The bitter disappointment of England’s group stage exit from the 2015 ICC Cricket World Cup was bound to hit hard.

The melancholy in the camp during the tenure was understandably potent, but from then on, it was always going to be a two-way streak. In one storyline, England became overly preconscious, stuck by their ideology, and begin to hanker an outcome of good. In the other plot, the team actually toil over the previous shortcomings to achieve a better sequel. And thankfully, it has been the latter�Well, as of now.

The first entity the team espied was the idea of building the squad around the core of experienced campaigners, which includes the likes of Moeen Ali, Jos Buttler, Eoin Morgan and Joe Root. Of course, the other members are equally salient, but the contribution of these men was always going to bear fruits.

And just as these men had their roles affixed, a certain Joe Root was tasked to anchor the innings, as others around him looked to bash the bowlers in every direction of the park. But Regardless of his task of being a chief operator, Root has flourished a big time at his No. 3 spot. Thus, to say the 28-year-old has been the one overriding constituent under Morgan’s captaincy since 2015 would be an understatement.

Ahead of the 2019 edition of the World Cup, Root registered figures of 40, 43, 36 and 84 against Pakistan and while the return was pretty decent, he believed that the result wasn’t really that suited his style of play, and that he should let the other boys do the dirty talking.

“Personally, I was probably a little bit too experimental and trying to play in a manner that didn’t suit myself or the team,�Root told The Guardian.

“It was actually a very good reminder going into the tournament that on occasions I should rein it in a bit and not get too giddy when guys like Jonny Bairstow, Jason Roy and Jos Buttler are flying at the other end.�/p>

ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!

Watch the highlights from Joe Root's second century of #CWC19 pic.twitter.com/1cxtG87uFF

�ICC (@ICC) June 14, 2019

But his overall figures, however, establish the fact that he is more than being just an anchor who lets the others do the work. Since the 2015 World Cup, only Virat Kohli (4406) and Rohit Sharma (3969) have scored more runs than him (3769).

Come the World Cup, the story was about to experience a mighty turnaround. A half-century in England’s tournament opener against South Africa was followed by a century in a losing cause against Pakistan. A lowly total in the subsequent fixture against Bangladesh was eventually covered by a recent unbeaten ton against the West Indies in Hampshire, which has now taken the English opener to the top of the top scorer’s charts (at the 2019 World Cup).

This victory against the West Indies was exceptional in several ways. For starters, he became only the second player to score a ton, pick two wickets and get two catches in the same game. The first one to do so was Aravinda de Silva, who scored 107 n.o., picked three for 42 and grabbed two catches against Australia in 1996.

Joe Root in 2019 or Ian Botham in 1992 �who did it better? pic.twitter.com/Lc2wnNF8FF

�ICC (@ICC) June 14, 2019

Furthermore, he’s also the fourth English player to take two-plus wickets and score 50 plus runs while opening the batting in a Men’s World Cup game after Moeen Ali, Michael Vaughan and Ian Botham. This ton also made him the first England player to score three World Cup centuries, and only the second (English) to score two tons in a single edition after Kevin Pietersen (who did it in 2007).

Talk about being an anchor, well that’s just about it.

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Adrian Dennis

England bowled out the West Indies for 212 on Friday but they face a potential World Cup injury crisis after Jason Roy and Eoin Morgan limped off the pitch in Southampton.

Despite occasional flurries, the Caribbean side were never able to mount a sustained assault on England's bowlers after Chris Woakes and Jofra Archer conceded just eight runs off the first five overs of the match.

Fuelled by three wickets each for Archer and Mark Wood, England dismissed the West Indies with more than five overs to spare.

Barbados-born Archer insisted he didn't take extra pleasure from impressing against the country he was eligible to represent before chosing to play for England earlier this year.

"It's just another game to be honest, but it was very nice to play against some of my friends. The pitch wasn't as quick as it looked, it was a little bit slow," Archer said.

"I am being supported well by the other guys. At one point they were looking like getting 300 so it was a real good effort to keep them below 220."

Opener Chris Gayle, dropped early by Wood in the deep, briefly threatened, hitting Woakes for 10 in two balls, but was caught by Jonny Bairstow on the square-leg boundary for 36 off the bowling of Liam Plunkett.

During the course of his innings Gayle, who has previously indicated this will be his last World Cup, overtook Viv Richards as the leading scorer in one-day internationals between England and the West Indies.

Two balls after his dismissal West Indies were in deep trouble at 55-3 when Shai Hope was trapped in front of the wicket by Wood.

- Injury woes -

Nicholas Pooran and Shimron Hetmyer combined to put on 89 runs for the fourth wicket before Test captain Joe Root struck, catching Hetmyer off his own bowling for 39.

Root, only an occasional bowler, then struck again in his next over when West Indies captain Jason Holder (nine) could only pop the ball up for another caught and bowled immediately after a six over long-off.

Andre Russell battered two sixes off leg spinner Adil Rashid in three balls, but then did not quite get hold of a Wood short ball and was caught by Woakes at deep midwicket.

England captain Morgan hobbled off the pitch in the 40th over, struggling to make his way up the pavilion steps.

Morgan had suffered a back spasm and was unable to bat for 28 minutes at the start of England's innings because he was off the field for that time.

When Pooran was caught behind for 63 by Jos Buttler off Archer, West Indies were 202-7. 

Sheldon Cottrell was out to Archer's next ball, leaving the bowler on a hat-trick.

Oshane Thomas survived that but Carlos Brathwaite was out shortly afterwards, caught by Buttler off Archer, and Wood bowled Shannon Gabriel to end the innings.

Wood finished with figures of 3-18, while Archer took 3-30.

Earlier, Jason Roy, who scored a century in England's win against Bangladesh, pulled up with an injury and had to leave the field.

It was announced he would not field for the rest of the innings, suffering with tightness to his left hamstring, and therefore cannot bat higher than number seven.

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Adrian Dennis

Jason Holder urged the West Indies to be more consistent after England thumped them by eight wickets on Friday to leave the Caribbean side with just one win from four World Cup matches.

The West Indies started the tournament with a bang, beating Pakistan by seven wickets but then lost to Australia from a commanding position.

Since then they have had a no result against South Africa before their defeat to World Cup favourites England in Southampton.

Captain Holder, whose side drew 2-2 in a one-day international series against England earlier this year, said the West Indies were playing good cricket in patches but not for sustained periods.

"We were showing glimpses of what we can produce here in this tournament so far and also in the recent past," he said.

"First, it is just a matter of bringing it together for long periods, stringing together a complete game and being consistent.

"I have always spoken about consistency so it's a matter for us to find it. We have to dig deep within to make sure we take the responsibility as batters, and as bowlers we keep being aggressive."

Holder said the toss was an important one for England to win, enabling them to take advantage of early bowler-friendly conditions before the sun came out, adding that his side did not put enough runs on the board.

"We were 41-1 I think at the end of the first 10 overs, which was a decent position considering the conditions," he said.

"I thought we lost the game in the middle. Every time we got something going, we lost a wicket. 

"We lost wickets at crucial stages. I just think looking back in hindsight you have to build a few more partnerships and go deeper."

Holder said the West Indies would try to keep all-rounder Andre Russell on the pitch at the World Cup even though he is struggling badly with knee problems.

The paceman had to be helped from the field after bowling just two overs in Southampton.

"It's been difficult so far for him," said Holder. "We have been trying our best to keep him on the park, but it is proving difficult.

"Yeah, going forward, we have to persist. He is here for a reason. We think he can be a match-winner for us. 

"We have just got to cope with him. Got to do everything we possibly can with him to keep him on the park."

Feature image courtesy: AFP / Paul Ellis

England fast bowler Mark Wood could miss the World Cup match against the West Indies in Southampton on Friday following a recurrence of his longstanding ankle problems.

Wood suffered discomfort in his left ankle after England's win over Bangladesh in Cardiff on Saturday, when the Durham quick recorded the fastest delivery of the tournament so far at 95.6 mph (153.9 kmh).

The 29-year-old, who revived his England career with some fiery spells during this year's tour of the West Indies, has undergone three major operations on his ankle.

He experienced further problems on the eve of the World Cup, pulling out of a warm-up game against Australia.

England captain Eoin Morgan said Wood's latest injury problem did not mean he was facing the end of his World Cup.

"It's nothing too serious, he just pulled up a little bit sore from the game in Cardiff -- he's the only concern at the moment," Morgan said on Thursday.

"Mark is going to have a fitness test in the morning. If it is still sore, we probably won't take a risk."

Morgan said all teams at the World Cup would need to look after their quicks in particular.

"It's part of the plan, because they are fast bowlers. It will happen to other bowlers throughout the tournament," he said.

"We're well aware of that. We will have to manage them as we would normally, as we do with Chris Woakes if there's back-to-back games," Morgan added. "It's not a problem, it's just what happens."

Wood's place could go to Moeen Ali, who did not play against Bangladesh, should England again decide to play a second specialist spinner alongside leg-break bowler Adil Rashid.

Moeen's wife gave birth to a daughter on Wednesday but the off-spinner was back with the England squad on Thursday. 

Morgan confirmed that the big-hitting Jos Buttler had been cleared to play, and keep wicket, after sitting out the Bangladesh innings with a right hip problem.

Feature image courtesy: AFP Photo/ Lindsey Parnaby

England head coach Trevor Bayliss is optimistic that Jos Buttler will be fit to play in Friday's World Cup match with the West Indies in Southampton.

Buttler hurt his right hip while batting in England's win against Bangladesh, hobbling for the remainder of his knock and passing on wicketkeeping duties to Jonny Bairstow for the West Indies innings.

He was scheduled to join his team-mates during a net session at the Hampshire Bowl on Wednesday and Bayliss said: "Yes, he's fine. He'll be taking part in today's practice fully.

"It was a little bit precautionary the other day. He said he could have kept, but he wasn't really sure if he would be able to run after a high catch."

Asked if Buttler might play as a specialist batsman to lighten his workload in the field, Bayliss kept his options open.

"I haven't really thought about it. We'll make that decision in the next day or so," the Australian said.

"We'll see how he pulls up and how he performs at practice. I'm expecting him to play a full part."

Buttler has been in fine form at the World Cup, with scores of 18, 103 and 64 all coming at punishing strike rates. 

Should Buttler fail to prove his fitness, Hampshire's James Vince would be the likeliest pick in his role as spare batsman.

All-rounder Moeen Ali is also eyeing a return to the team after sitting out the 106-run victory over the Bangladesh in Cardiff.

His off-breaks were deemed surplus to requirements in a seam-heavy attack at Sophia Gardens, but he could come back into consideration in Southampton.

Featured Photo Courtesy: AFP Media/Paul Ellis

England fast bowler Mark Wood says his side will "fight fire with fire" when they face the formidable West Indies pace attack. 

Friday's World Cup clash in Southampton is likely to be a bouncer barrage, with both teams boasting aggressive bowling line-ups.

The West Indies dismissed Pakistan for 105 at Trent Bridge, the lowest total of the tournament, by unleashing an array of bouncers from Oshane Thomas, Andre Russell and Sheldon Cottrell.

With Wood partnered by Barbados-born paceman Jofra Archer, and both having hit 95mph in the victory over Bangladesh, England are not likely to shrink from the battle.

"The Windies in this World Cup have come with a clear game plan and that is a lot of short stuff," Wood said.

"We got a taste of that in the Windies on the recent tour. But I can remember getting Darren Bravo and Hetmyer out to short balls so it is a good thing we can fight fire with fire.

"It could be like that, just landing blow after blow, back and forth, back and forth. The opposition batsmen don't get a break if there is pace from both ends and it'd be nice if we can continue that trend.

"When real pace bowling is on show it definitely ruffles a few feathers and changes the momentum of the game."

Speaking at the weekend Archer nominated himself as the quickest bowler in the England ranks and expressed surprise when told Wood had crept ahead of him with a delivery of 95.6mph - the fastest ball of the tournament.

That head-to-head will continue throughout the competition, with the Durham man not minded to back down.

"It is a good competition between us, a friendly one," he said.

"To have us both bowling at 94 and 95mph and have two guys from the England team at the top of that list is pretty good.

"It pushes us for sure. You're pushing each other to be the best you can be and to be as quick as you can be. You have banter about it for sure, but you're helping each other.

"I'm trying to bowl 0.1 mph quicker than Jofra and he's trying to bowl 0.1 faster than me."

Feature image courtesy: AFP Photo/ Lindesy Parnaby