DURHAM, England – A counter-attacking, maiden One-day International hundred from Nicholas Pooran failed to top a first ODI hundred for Avishka Fernando, as West Indies stumbled to a 23-run defeat in the ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 England & Wales.
Chasing 339 for victory, the West Indies looked on the brink of a heavy defeat when they slipped to 145 for five in the 29th over of their penultimate match in the tournament at the Riverside Stadium before the left-handed Pooran led a recovery with the lower order, as the Caribbean side finished on 315 for nine from their allocation of 50 overs.
Pooran smashed 11 fours and four sixes to top all scorers in the contest with 118 off 103 balls before he was dismissed in the 48th over, caught behind off Angelo Mathews, bowling in an ODI for the first time since December 2017, and carried the West Indies’ chances of victory with him back to the pavilion.
The 23-year-old Pooran dominated a 54-run, sixth-wicket stand with Carlos Brathwaite before sharing 83 for the seventh-wicket with Fabian Allen to revive the West Indies’ flagging chances in the second half of the game which was watched by Barbados-born singing sensation, Rihanna.
Brathwaite made just eight from 15 balls before he was run out in the 35th over and the same fate befell Allen 10 overs later, after he made a career-best 51 from 32 balls.
Earlier, West Indies struggled to make an impact with the new ball after they chose to field and the Sri Lankan top order – led by Fernando with a run-a-ball 104 – laid the foundation for their side’s highest total in the tournament of 338 for six off 50 overs.
Both Sri Lanka and West Indies are out of contention for semi-final spots.
West Indies face Afghanistan in their final match of the tournament on Thursday at Headingley in Leeds.
Source: CWI Media
They made the short journey over from the historic cricket venue to the Theatre of Dreams, and saw close up the majesty of the sporting arena. The tour included a trip into the players dressing room – which has hosted many legends of English and international football. They also heard about the history of the club, the legacy of the great manager Sir Alex Ferguson and received replica playing jerseys.
He was a member of the squad which recently played in the Tri Nation Series in Ireland where he made his maiden international century. During that tournament he had scores of 38, 148, 23 and 69 not out.
The replacement of a player requires the approval of the Event Technical Committee before the replacement player can be officially added to the squad.
When Brathwaite came to the crease, West Indies were 142-4. They were almost exactly halfway to their target, but it felt an awful lot further away than that. In the overs that followed, they lost 
From the moment he arrived at the crease, another 137 runs came from the bats of the West Indian side; 101 came from Brathwaite’s.
After those first 60 deliveries, he attacked 18 of the next 22. He made a break for it, and it was sustained. The 36 attacking shots Brathwaite played was the most he’s ever played in an ODI innings. It was twice as many as he’s ever played before in a single match.
But he picked his deliveries. This wasn’t indiscriminate slogging, in the slightest. Brathwaite knows his strengths and weaknesses all too well, and approached this task appropriately.
Few cricketers in the world are as intelligent in terms of using their skills as efficiently. His scoring yesterday was clinical, his attacking strokes destructive, but they came against full pitched bowling.
Terrifyingly, out of nowhere, Williamson suddenly clocked what was going on. He tuned into the destruction, and knew what he had to do to get his side over the line.
He was dismissed by a short ball. The only type of bowling he never got hold of. Williamson had sussed him, just in time.
It’s frustrating, but we can’t talk about this innings, without talking about that innings. Kolkata, April 3rd, 2016. Brathwaite does what we all know he did, hitting four consecutive sixes off Ben Stokes in the most remarkable end to a cricket match ever seen. We remember the way it all unfolded, the thrill, the shock, the name. The game was England’s, and then it was gone.
Chasing 292 for victory at Old Trafford in their sixth match of the tournament, the West Indies were on the ropes at 167 for seven in the 27th over before Brathwaite followed up scintillating batting from 
Gayle and Hetmyer had provided the early entertainment in the chase and helped the West Indies recover from a shaky start that saw 
Cottrell removed openers Martin Guptill and Colin Munro in the first over of the match, but he and the rest of the bowling failed to make inroads into the New Zealanders’ batting, as their opponents’ two most decorated batsmen, captain Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor breathed life into their side’s innings.
