The performance of England’s bowlers was not the focus on this particular night. They were heavily defeated, allowing their opponents to hit 14 sixes, a record that has not been achieved against England since their previous match in Barbados in the beginning of last year. This is only the fourth time in history that a team has hit more than 14 sixes against England. Fueled by their powerful hits, West Indies easily secured victory with four wickets and 11 balls remaining, despite England’s below-average score of 171.

During the match, a member of the England team made a significant achievement. Adil Rashid became the first English player to reach 100 wickets in T20 matches, the third to participate in 100 T20 matches, and also had the lowest bowling cost among the seven English bowlers present.

appearance – to reach 3

He is the first English player to achieve 100 or more wickets and is the 10th player overall to do so. He is also the third English player to reach this milestone, with Eoin Morgan achieving it in 115 games and Jos Buttler in his 110th game.

“After making numerous appearances, once the feeling of defeat dissipates, one will undoubtedly look back on the evening with immense and well-deserved pride.”

However, certain bowlers from the England team were costly in terms of both cricket and finances. This was evident when Kyle Mayers hit two balls out of the Greenidge and Haynes stand through the roof, and Andre Russell, who had a stellar performance with both bat and ball in his first international game in over two years, landed one on the big screen. Another ball was also quickly wet after a rain delay, leading to frequent replacements from the box for the West Indies batters.

For a brief period, Rashid, Rehan Ahmed, and Liam Livingstone used their legspin skills to limit West Indies, giving England hope of a comeback. Jos Buttler expressed his delight at seeing the two bowlers work together and wanted to assess their effectiveness as potential game-changers, particularly in this spin-friendly environment. It is crucial for England to determine if this strategy could be utilized in the upcoming World Cup.

With two balls of the 16^th

In the seventh consecutive over of spin, with 43 runs needed off 26 balls, the outcome was still uncertain for the hosts. However, Rovman Powell’s powerful hits over the rope on the last two deliveries from Livingstone turned the tide, making West Indies unstoppable from that point on.

England’s main problem was their performance in the final part of their innings. Despite a strong start, they collapsed and lost their last five wickets for only six runs in 16 balls. This resulted in a much lower total than even their worst expectations at the halfway point.

Buttler stated that we could have done better in the second half of the game, as we were at 112 for two and ended up with only 171. The West Indies adjusted to the changing conditions of the pitch, but we should have found a way to score an additional 20 or 25 runs during that time. This would have resulted in a strong score on that pitch.

Phil Salt, with a score of 40 runs off 20 balls, immediately picked up the pace at the beginning, allowing Jos Buttler time to get into his groove. Together, they scored 77 runs for the first wicket and dominated the sixth over by adding 25 runs. Alzarri Joseph’s delivery in this over was quite chaotic, with two fours, a six, one significant overstep, and two wides. The second wide delivery went through the legs of Nicholas Pooran, the wicketkeeper, and reached the boundary. In the following over, Will Jacks hit the first two deliveries from Joseph for sixes, resulting in eight legal deliveries and 38 runs conceded.

However, the situation shifted once Russell began bowling. He quickly determined the most effective approach. “When I threw my first slower ball to Jos, I noticed how much the ball held up in the wicket. I promptly relayed this information to the other seamers,” he explained. “Shepherd executed it successfully and Alzarri also used slower balls frequently after that, allowing us to regain control of the game.”

West Indies utilized their different tactics to gradually restrict England’s scoring after giving up 76 runs in the first six overs without any wickets. They only conceded 112 runs in the first 10 overs. The last 10 overs of England’s innings were particularly stifled, with only one over bringing in more than six runs. As a result, England’s innings ended in a disappointing collapse, with Russell achieving his personal best figures of three for 19.

Source: theguardian.com