The previous time England stuck 400 on the board in a one-day international at Edgbaston it was something of an epiphany and four years later they were world champions. Whether Harry Brook’s captaincy can deliver silverware like Eoin Morgan’s transformative reign remains to be seen but this 238-run mauling of West Indies made for a handy start.
Not only did Brook’s men amass 400 for eight after being put in by Shai Hope but, for the first time in the format’s history, they did so without a centurion on the day. Instead it was a collective assault of the bowlers and the poor boundary riders, with four half-centuries and – in another first – every member of the top seven making at least 30.
