‘We could have given a better display’

GROS ISLET, St Lucia (CMC):

THE WEST Indies will have to find a way to rebound from a humbling loss to T20 World Cup champions England when they take on the United States in the Super Eights at the Kensington Oval in Barbados today.

On Wednesday, the West Indies made a timid start to the Super Eight stage when their batting failed to ignite, and Phil Salt continued his love affair with their bowling, helping England waltz to an eight-wicket win.

The Caribbean team could not get into gear after they were put in to bat and opener Brandon King retired hurt on 23 with a side strain in the fifth over, and their final total of 180 for four from their allocation of 20 overs always looked inadequate on a hard, true Daren Sammy Cricket Ground (DSCG) pitch.

Their bowlers got little assistance from the pitch under the lights, and they were unable to bail them out, and a perfectly crafted, unbeaten 87 off 47 balls from Salt and 48 not out from Jonny Bairstow led a successful run chase for the defending champions.

“After batting first, I think we left 15 or 20 runs out there as a batting group,” West Indies captain Rovman Powell said.

“But we could have given a better display with the ball as a bowling group.”

The problems for the tournament co-host intensified after wicketkeeper Nicholas Pooran dropped Salt, on seven, off left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein in the third over – an under-edge essaying a cut – with the England opener not yet fully into stride.

“Those kind of chances to Salt are always difficult,” said Powell.

Powell tried Hosein, Romario Shepherd, Andre Russell, and pace spearhead Alzarri Joseph in the Power Play, but none of them could buy a wicket, and England cruised to 58 without loss with Salt and fellow opener Jos Buttler, the England captain, ticking along comfortably.

Similar to the West Indies innings, England struggled for runs between the seventh and 10th overs of the innings, reaching 83 for one at the halfway stage, after Roston Chase made the breakthrough when he got Buttler lbw for 25 on review, charging down the pitch and playing across the line in the eighth over.

Andre Russell followed up with the scalp of left-hander Moeen Ali, caught at deep mid-wicket for 13 in the 11th over, and it looked like the fortunes of the Caribbean side were going to change, but Bairstow came to the crease and seized the initiative with some enterprising batting.

Hosein felt the weight of Bairstow’s bat in the 15th over when he conceded a four, a six, and a four off the first three balls, but the match still hung in the balance with England still requiring 46 from the final five overs.

It all changed when Shepherd, one of two changes to the West Indies line-up, and a highly questionable choice ahead of left-arm pacer Obed McCoy, delivered perhaps the most forgettable over in his career and Salt hit him for three fours and three sixes to virtually wrap up the contest.

“You have to give credit to Phil. He seems to like playing against West Indies because every time he plays against us, he always hurts us, but we strayed away a little bit from our plans, especially to Phil, and it is just for us to look back at those plans and re-evaluate.”