World Cup 2019: 3 factors that played a big role in England's win over West Indies

England beat the West Indies by eight wickets at Southampton on Friday to jump to the second spot in the World Cup 2019 points table. This was another near-perfect performance from the tournament favourites; the hosts have now won three of their four matches.

The fielding was the only blemish for the hosts, while the bowling was superb as England restricted the West Indies to 212 all out. Jofra Archer took 3-30 while Mark Wood picked up 3-18.

England then reached the target comfortably with Joe Root (100 not out) top-scoring. With all the areas covered, England are proving why they are serious contenders for the title.

On the other hand the West Indies are in a completely different situation after Friday's match. Their performance was below par: their batting was ill-disciplined and their bowling was one-dimensional.

They went out playing big shots when a single would have been a better option. They will have to improve significantly ahead of their next match against Bangladesh on 17 June.

Let us look at three factors that played a big role in England's win over West Indies.

#3 Good start with the ball

Evin Lewis is bowled by Chris Woakes

England could not have asked for a better start by their bowlers on Friday.

They conceded only eight runs from the first five overs. Jofra Archer and Chris Woakes troubled the West Indies batsmen early on; the duo swung the ball prodigiously in overcast conditions at Southampton.

Woakes bowled Evin Lewis (2 runs) to pick up the first wicket. The visitors were in trouble after only three overs.

Chris Gayle batted slowly in the following overs but he accelerated once he was set. Gayle hit two successive boundaries in the sixth over; the first one was struck powerfully back past the bowler (Archer).

Gayle then smashed Woakes for 11 runs from the ninth over, which included a straight six. He advanced down the pitch and connected well, sending the ball soaring into the stands.

The West-Indies ended their first 10 overs at 41-1, but England were still in control.

#2 Archer and Wood clean up the tail

Jofra Archer

Jofra Archer and Mark Wood ripped through the West Indies tail.

The visitors lost their last 5 wickets for only 24 runs and eventually crashed to 212 all out. This late collapse prevented the West Indies from reaching a defendable total.

Archer and Wood shared the five wickets between them. They are the two fastest bowlers in the team, and the West Indies batsmen had no answer to their extra pace.

Wood took the first wicket. André Russell (21 runs) pulled a bouncer straight to Chris Woakes on the mid-wicket boundary.

Archer took the next three wickets, which showed how effective he is at the death.

Nicholas Pooran (63) was caught behind in the 40th over. Sheldon Cottrell (0) was LBW off the next ball. Carlos Braithwaite (14) was caught behind four overs later to end a magnificent spell.

Remarkably, Archer boasted figures of 3-2 from his last three overs.

Wood bowled Shannon Gabriel (0) in the next over to end the West Indies innings after 44.4 overs. The duo's exploits played a significant part in England’s win.

#1 A dominant batting performance

Joe Root

The 95-run opening partnership between Jonny Bairstow (45 runs) and Joe Root (100 not out) secured victory for England.

The pair raced to 40-0 after six overs on the back of a bunch of exquisite shots. Root found gaps on the off-side on a regular basis. Bairstow got in on the act when he played a picture-perfect straight drive past Oshane Thomas in the sixth over.

The West Indies decided, bizarrely, to bowl short balls from the start. This tactic worked successfully against Pakistan and Australia, but it did not pay off this time; Bairstow and Root punished anything too short.

Bairstow was caught at third-man trying to hit another boundary, but the damage was already done. The score was 95-1 after 15 overs.

Chris Woakes (40) came in and added 104 runs with Root. Ben Stokes (10 off 6 balls) added the finishing touches as England reached the target in 33.1 overs.

It was another dominant batting performance by England.