England vs Windies 2017: 5 things we learnt from the ODI series

England cruised to victory against West Indies in the fifth ODI at Southampton, claiming the series 4-0. Ewin Lewis' performance was a big positive for the Windies. He scored a total of 200 runs at a strike rate of 132. Yet, they failed to click consistently as a team, and ended up losing the series miserably.

There were a lot of positives for England though: Jonny Bairstow scored 302 runs at an average of 60 along with Moeen Ali, who compiled 150 runs at an astonishing strike rate of 182.

Here are the five takeaways from this ODI series:

#5 Shai Hope is here to stay

After a long wait, West Indies have found a player who can stabilize the innings at No.3. Shai Hope showed his quality in the Tests against England, scoring a couple of match-winning hundreds, and followed it up with some good scores in the ODIs as well. His key strengths are his orthodox stroke-play and the ability to counter swing better than his teammates.

In a batting lineup filled with stroke-makers, Hope's presence adds solidity. He can play the long innings most of his teammates struggle to. His wicket-keeping abilities are an added bonus.

#4 Marlon Samuels does not deserve a place in the ODI team

Samuels has failed to fire consistently over the past few years

Marlon Samuels was once an integral part of the Windies lineup. He played a starring role in both their World T20 triumphs. Coming into this series, West Indies expected Samuels to hold the fragile middle-order together.

He scored a total of 61 runs in this series at an average of 15. His strike rate of 49 is the lowest for any player who faced at least 100 balls. It created a lot of pressure on the lower order batsmen, with the long Windies tail not helping the cause either. Considering his form, he might have to make way for Chadwick Walton in the future.

#3 Hales, Roy and Bairstow offer options at the top

England have plenty of options at the top

Jason Roy and Alex Hales have opened for England in ODIs and T20s for quite some time. Roy's dip in form gave Bairstow a chance, and he scored heavily in the role, finishing as the in-form batsman for England.

Roy too got a chance to open the innings this time around in the absence of Alex Hales and scored 180 runs in two games at a strike rate of 132. An in-form Roy is irreplaceable for England.

Hales is Morgan's first choice to open the innings in ODIs. The skipper now has a tough job in deciding who will be his openers when all three are fit and available. This is an ideal scenario for England and Morgan will be more than happy to see all three score runs.

#2 Moeen Ali has developed into a great all-rounder

Moeen Ali is the real deal

Moeen Ali has given England a lot of depth, both in their batting and bowling department. He bowls 10 economical overs in most matches and is a good fielder as well. His batting lower down the order has been the key to England's success in recent times. It has allowed Ben Stokes, Eoin Morgan and Jos Buttler to play freely at the top.

He scored a whirlwind 102 off 57 balls in the 4th ODI against the Windies. His batting strike-rate in this series is an astonishing 182 and he averages 150. In addition to his runs, he also picked up a couple of wickets at an economy of 5.67.

#1 West Indies miss Sunil Narine

The Windies lack bite without Narine

West Indies went into the series with Ashley Nurse and Devendra Bishoo as their lead spinners. Neither of them did justice to their selection, putting in below-par performances. Nurse picked up just one wicket in his 28 overs whereas Bishoo went wicket-less in his 11 overs.

Now arises the question of where Sunil Narine is. He played in the T20I against England just before the ODI series and ended up with a MoM performance of 2/15 in 4 overs. Keeping the 2019 World Cup in mind, Windies should bring Narine back in to the ODI set up sooner rather than later.