England did not quite turn their back on Joe Root as a limited-overs batter, but certainly the schedule threatened to axe him from white-ball cricket.

A couple of crises and a change of management later, here Root was in Cardiff, unfurling perhaps the best of his 18th ODI hundreds, a career-best 166 not out. His first 42 runs put him top of the pile of English run scorers in the format, usurping Eoin Morgan’s tally of 6,957, before the rest iced a chase of 309 to secure a series win over West Indies with a game to spare.

This was Root’s second hundred in his eighth innings since returning to the 50-over format this year, ahead of an admittedly disastrous ICC Champions Trophy as far as the team was concerned. Not only is he averaging 30 runs more than his overall average of 49.18, but his strike rate is also 10 points higher. An immaculate straight drive, his 23rd boundary of a fever-dream knock, confirmed victory with three wickets and seven balls to spare.

This second ODI did not, all told, seem befitting for Root’s historic brilliance. Mainly because, for the first half, it seemed to belong to West Indies – specifically Keacy Carty’s  103, the centrepiece of West Indies’ 308 all out. Skipper Shai Hope’s 78 at the end and Brandon King’s  59 up top were vital bookends.

Though they left 14 deliveries unused having been inserted by England, it didn’t seem to matter as West Indies’ attack took just nine deliveries to remove openers Jamie Smith and Ben Duckett for ducks – 2 for 2 – then had England 93 for 4 when Jos Buttler was also bagelled. From that point on, it was Root at his absolute best, accompanied for the most part by Will Jacks. You might have described his 49 off 58 in a stand of 143 from 122 as “playing the Joe Root role”, had the man himself not been at the other end strumming 87 off 64. Root’s last 70 runs with Jacks came off just 45 balls, by the way.

The catastrophic start to the chase added a layer of jeopardy to Root’s innings that he never felt. But it did mean more because of a West Indies outfit hell-bent on disavowing themselves from Thursday’s 238-run loss in the first ODI at Edgbaston. Smith nicked Jayden Seales behind for a duck after four legal deliveries, before Ben Duckett scythed a thick edge off Matthew Forde to deep third, his three-ball nought capping off a horrendous day that included two dropped catches and a missed run-out.

Both Duckett’s chances would have nipped a second-wicket stand between Carty and Brandon King in the bud. It reached 141 but should not have made it to double figures, let alone out of the first powerplay, Duckett’s misses at second slip off Brydon Carse – the first diving to his right, the second tipped over the bar – came when King had 10, then 11. Duckett’s hat-trick of fielding botches was completed when, spoilt for choice, both King (55 not out) and Carty (57 not out) were stuck in the middle of the pitch. King ended up running to the far end, beating Duckett’s loopy under-arm to wicketkeeper Buttler.

The biggest error in the first innings, however, was Saqib Mahmood’s tame drop of Carty on 41, when Bethell was worked around the corner. He also might have been run out on 57 had the throw from midwicket been crisper after he had been sent back. Both of those gifts were reciprocated to Root, who could have been found short of his ground twice.

The best chance was at the end of the second over when Root was dead in the water after Harry Brook called him through for a dodgy single, only for Roston Chase to miss from backward point. A tougher opportunity arose in the 11th over when, on 30, he had again given up. This time, King missed, albeit having mad a brilliant stop at midwicket followed by a throw at the non-striker’s end from the ground. But maybe the biggest grievance as far as West Indies were concerned was an LBW appeal at the end of the sixth over. Forde hit Root on the back leg and giving it the celebrappeal, only for the review to find the ball clipping the bails.

Brook was also dropped on 30 – which he had made from just 16 deliveries – when Hope palmed a diving catch to his right after Seales had found the edge. England’s captain had just launched an assault on Forde, smashing three boundaries in a row – the first a towering boundary to the leg side – but fell short of fifty when flipping Alzarri Joseph’s bouncer to backward square leg. And though Joseph would then snare the former white-ball captain six deliveries later – Buttler playing on, undone by bounce – Root was well on his way.

That Joseph was even on owed to four elegant boundaries from Root – including a couple of crisp cover drives – to take 17 off what would prove to be the last over of Forde’s opening spell. From then on, Root managed the situation, calmly at first with Bethell and thereafter in a remarkable partnership with Jacks. Most spectacular of all was the acceleration from Root, despite Jacks’ game being far more suited to the pyrotechnics he produced.

The key passage came with 135 needed from 18.2 overs, with Root on 77 fron 82. After taking 16 deliveries to move to his hundred – a milestone he reached with a six over midwicket and a four swept around the corner off Gudakesh Motie – he then smashed 43 from his next 24 deliveries up to Jacks’ dismissal. He ramped, scooped and then charged Chase’s offies for boundaries in four balls, before Jacks was trapped in front to give Joseph an impressive 4 for 31 from his allocation.

A gorgeous carve over extra cover off Forde then took Root past 150 for the first time in ODIs, from 129 deliveries, and thereafter it was only a matter of how, not when. A picture-perfect on-drive for four sealed the deal with seven balls to spare.

Both teams had made a single change each from the first ODI; England swapping Matthew Potts for Jamie Overton (broken little finger), while West Indies erred for experience with Shimron Hetmyer moving into the XI at the expense of Amir Jangoo.

Precocious Antigua batter Jewel Andrew was moved to open with Evin Lewis still missing with the groin injury that kept him out of the first ODI. It was the first time the 18-year-old had performed the role in his professional career, across all formats – and it did not last long. A hard length from Carse lifted into harder hands from Jewell, who was surprised by the bounce and fended it away on instinct, gifting a straightforward catch to Jacks at point for a five-ball duck.

Carty’s binding of the innings began at this point, and the value of his stickability felt particularly crucial with the 58 shared with Hope. Their stand began when King found Carse at long-on off Rashid – the first of the legspinner’s 4 for 63. Nine overs later, a late dab through third brought Carty’s 13th four off his 102nd delivery to take him to three figures. And while he was unable to launch from there, stumped off Jacks three balls after the milestone, Hope was now set.

Nevertheless, West Indies lost their final eight wickets for 103. Mahmood removed Forde and Chase in consecutive balls before Motie took to Jacks. But Rashid’s two wickets in his final over shifted the onus even more so on Hope, who toed a simple catch to Brook to give Mahmood figures of 3 for 37.

England’s target of 309 could have been 50 more with better choices throughout, and maybe 111 fewer had England taken their chances against Carty and King. Then again, Root would not have had the scope to unfurl his brilliance. Sometimes, the game works itself out.

Brief scores:
England 312 for 7 in 48.5 overs (Joe Root 166*, Will Jacks 49, Harry Brook 47, Alzarri Joseph 4-31) beat West Indies 308 in 47.4 overs (Keacy Carty 103, Shai Hope 78, Brandon King 59, Justin Greaves 22; Saqib Mahmood 3-37, Adil  Rashid 4-63) by three wickets

[Cricinfo]