LONDON (AP) — Late start, early finish.
England needed just 30 of 40 available overs to beat the West Indies by seven wickets and achieve a 3-0 clean sweep of their one-day international series at the Oval on Tuesday.
Jamie Smith's maiden ODI fifty, 64 of the 93-run opening stand in seven overs, launched England's successful assault on the rain-revised target of 246.
The game was delayed twice, first because a traffic lights outage trapped the West Indies bus long enough so the team wasn't even at the ground at the scheduled toss, and secondly for a 90-minute rain break.
Without a warmup in the nets, and forced to bat in gloomy bowler-friendly conditions, the West Indies slumped to 28-3 before the rain and 154-7 soon afterward.
That it eventually racked up 251-9 was impressive.
Sherfane Rutherford kept the innings alive with 70 off 71 balls, then teammates Gudakesh Motie and Alzarri Joseph, the Nos. 8 and 9 batters, gave their side a fighting chance with a partnership of 91 in 11.2 overs.
In the highest ever eighth-wicket ODI stand by the West Indies against England, Motie and Joseph clobbered the host with five sixes and 10 boundaries.
Joseph was out to a skier on 41 off 29, and Motie was bowled on the last ball on 63 off 54.
Spinner Adil Rashid was the pick of the bowlers with 3-40.
England players adapted to the pre-game traffic problems near the Oval by exiting their bus and hiring bicycles to get to the ground.
Smith used more of that dynamic thinking on the fly to deflate West Indies hopes again on his home ground.
Smith blasted 10 boundaries and three sixes before his off stump was bowled by Motie in the seventh over after scoring 64 from 28 deliveries.
Smith scored at such a rate that England's 100 in the eight-over powerplay was the fourth fastest in ODIs, and its 121-1 after 10 overs was England's best-ever 10-over total.
Ben Duckett propelled England further with 58 from 46, falling at 155-2 with the chase more than half over.
The mopping up was left to Joe Root with a casual 44, and Jos Buttler's unbeaten 41.
The teams play three Twenty20s from Friday, starting at Chester-le-Street.
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The Associated Press
