West Indies made a timid start to the Super Eight stage of the ICC Men’s Twenty20 World Cup when their batting failed to ignite, and Phil Salt continued his love affair with their bowling and waltzed England to an eight-wicket win on Wednesday.
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.
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 Romario 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.
“Those kind of chances to Salt are always difficult,” Powell said. “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.”
Earlier, a handful of batsmen got starts for West Indies, but none of them carried on – hometown hero Johnson Charles led the way with 38, Pooran hit 36, Powell blasted the same score in quick time, and Sherfane Rutherford tried to give the innings a flourish close with 28 not out.
But the problems for the Caribbean side started when King went down trying to blast Sam Curran out of the ground just when it appeared he was getting into the swing of things after slashing the left-arm pacer over short third man for four, and they had reached 42 without loss.
West Indies ended the Power Play on 54 without loss, but neither Charles nor Pooran could find their hitting range between the seventh and 10th overs, and the hosts limped to 82 without loss at the halfway stage.
Charles was caught inside the long-on boundary off Ali in the 12th over after a stand of 52 with Pooran carried West Indies to 94 for one, and Powell came to the crease and jump started the innings with five sixes in his 17-ball knock.
He was caught at short third man off the uncomplicated leg-spin of Liam Livingstone, and he was one of three wickets that fell for six in the span of 12 balls and the big finish, which has typified the home team in recent times, never materialised.
West Indies fly out on Thursday to Barbados, where they face Group “A” runners-up and fellow tournament co-hosts United States in their next match on Friday under the lights at Kensington Oval before they head to Antigua another night match against Group D winners South Africa at the Vivian Richards Cricket Ground (VRCG).
England meet the South Africans in their next match on Friday morning at the DSCG before they complete their Super Eight schedule against the Americans on Sunday morning at Kensington Oval.
The tournament continues on Thursday morning when Group “C” runners-up Afghanistan play Group “A” winners India in the opening match of Group 1 at Kensington Oval before Group “B” winners and double crown world champions Australia collide with Group “D” runners-up Bangladesh in a night match at the VRCG.