Windies looks to turn tables in favourite format
After an engrossing tussle in the three-Test series, England and Windies will meet again in a one-off Twenty20 International at Chester-le-Street in Durham on Saturday (September 16), followed by a high-stakes five-match One-Day International series.
Windies was scheduled to play an ODI against Ireland before resuming hostilities with England, but poor weather forced the game to be abandoned without a ball being bowled.
England, at No. 2, may be ranked slightly higher than Windies, at No. 4, in the International Cricket Council T20I rankings, but there’s little doubt that the latter excels in the shortest format.
In fact, England has lost four out of the last five games against Windies. The last defeat was a particularly bitter pill to swallow as it came in the ICC World T20 2016 final in Kolkata where Windies stunned England to lift the title for the second time.
While the home side has kept its faith under Eoin Morgan’s leadership since then, Windies has handed over the captaincy to Carlos Brathwaite, the man who singlehandedly burst England’s bubble that fateful night with four sixes. But there are plenty more punches Windies can pack before Brathwaite makes his way to the middle.
In Chris Gayle and Evin Lewis, Windies has one of the most destructive opening pairs in world cricket. Gayle is turning 38 next week, and his powers seem to be on the wane, but the man himself has said he is hungry for runs.
Lewis, meanwhile, is in the mould of Gayle but with age on his side. In 13 T20I games for Windies, Lewis has already scored two centuries, becoming only the third batsman to achieve the feat after Gayle and Brendon McCullum. One of those hundreds came in Windies’ last T20I, against India in July, with Lewis making short of a 191-run target as his side won the game in just 18.4 overs with nine wickets in hand.
Windies will be without the services of Samuel Badree – who is playing in Pakistan for the World XI series – but it has its bases covered in the bowling department. In Sunil Narine, it has one of the most economical and skilled bowlers in the format, while the return of Jerome Taylor is a big boost.
Still, England, especially at home, will be tough to beat. Alex Hales and Jason Roy can easily match the firepower of Gayle and Lewis. And with Joe Root playing the anchor role, Morgan and Jos Buttler, England’s limited-overs specialists, can start attacking from the word go.
England has rested Ben Stokes and Moeen Ali for the match, but its bowling still looks settled with David Willey and Chris Jordan able to bowl at the start or during the death overs. In the spin department too, it has the option to choose from Adil Rashid’s wrist spin and Liam Dawson’s slow-left arm. Tom Curran, who impressed in his two outings so far in England colours, will also be a player to watch out for.
At the moment, the momentum is with England. And that is something Windies will need to wrest back to beat England 5-0 – or win 4-0 with a no-result/tie – in the subsequent ODI series if it is to earn direct qualification for the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup. A win on Saturday will certainly be a step in the right direction in its mission to do so.
Squads
England: Eoin Morgan (capt), Jonny Bairstow, Jake Ball, Jos Buttler (wk), Tom Curran, Liam Dawson, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Dawid Malan, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, David Willey.
Windies: Carlos Brathwaite (capt), Ronsford Beaton, Chris Gayle, Evin Lewis, Jason Mohammed, Sunil Narine, Ashley Nurse, Kieron Pollard, Rovman Powell, Marlon Samuels, Jerome Taylor, Chadwick Walton (wk), Kesrick Williams.