During the third ODI match between England and West Indies on 3 June, a rare light-hearted moment occurred during the rain-interrupted match as pigeons briefly halted play at the Kennington Oval. The incident almost proved fatal for the birds, as a shot from Windies’ Gudakesh Motie hit one of them, leaving it unable to fly for some time.
During the 36th over of the match, Motie played a cover drive off Adil Rashid’s delivery, which hit one of the pigeons sitting on the pitch. After the impact, the rest of the birds flew away, except the pigeon that was hit with the ball.
After the incident, England pacer Matthew Potts attempted to help the injured bird take flight. After several unsuccessful efforts, it eventually flew off, allowing play to resume.
Despite the interruption, West Indies posted a modest total of 251 for 9 in their allotted 40 overs. Sherfane Rutherford top-scored with 70 runs off 71 balls, while Motie contributed with 63 runs. However, England restricted West Indies to a sub-300 total, with Rashid taking three wickets for the Three Lions.
In response, England chased down a revised target under the DLS method of 246 with relative ease, finishing at 252 for 3 in just 29.4 overs. Jamie Smith led the chase for the home side, scoring 64 off 28 balls. Ben Duckett added 58, and Joe Root scored 44.
The win resulted in a 3-0 clean sweep for England, setting up a perfect start for the new white-ball captain Harry Brook.
