England lose to ruthless West Indies at T20 World Cup as eight-game successful run ends – they usually as soon as once more battle in opposition to high-quality spin
England’s eight-game winning run came crashing to a halt in a repeat of the 2016 Twenty20 World Cup final.
Although that game was on the other side of the country, at Kolkata’s Eden Gardens, the result was ultimately the same after West Indies crunched 113 off the final nine overs of their innings.
It left Harry Brook’s team needing 197 and although they were given a high-octane start by Barbabos-raised Phil Salt – who struck 24 off the second over of the reply, sent down by Jason Holder – the struggles they suffered against high-quality spin on tour here last year resurfaced.
Jos Buttler’s mishit in the seventh over saw England lose six wickets for 67 to the trio of Roston Chase, Gudakesh Motie and Akeal Hosein.
The regular incisions sent the required run rate soaring and by the the time Jofra Archer was eighth out in the 18th over it had hit three a ball.
Sam Curran did his best to haul his team out of a hole again, as he had by closing out with the ball against minnows Nepal on Sunday, top scoring with 43 not out from No 6.
England were outclassed by West Indies’ high-quality spin, ending an eight-game run of wins
They head to Kolkata on Saturday needing to get their campaign back on track vs Scotland
Sherfane Rutherford was awarded player of the match with 76* from 42
But England were consigned to a 30-run defeat when last man Adil Rashid holed out to deep square leg from the final ball of the penultimate over.
They had begun the match in control after taking wickets in each of the first two overs, but a curious choice by England captain Brook ceded momentum to opponents who remain among the world’s most dangerous teams in this particular format.
Rashid and Liam Dawson were bowling in tandem and West Indies were stuck in neutral at 83 for four after 11 overs.
Yet Brook opted to split them up, throwing the ball instead to Sunday’s man-of-the-match Will Jacks, who had already been taken for 19 runs in six deliveries in the powerplay.
It reignited the innings with Sherfane Rutherford launching a counter attack featuring rapid half-century stands with both Rovman Powell and Jason Holder, and taking advantage of being dropped on the third-man rope on 23 off the expensive Archer to hit a career-best unbeaten 76, including seven sixes.
Only when Rashid was reintroduced into the attack did the carnage pause, in fact.
It has been a running theme that whenever the Windies come up against England’s premier leg-spinner, the runs dry up. His record against them outside of the UK is quite frankly ridiculous.
A return of 4-0-16-2 here meant that across 21 appearances, his economy rate is down to 5.86, and he has 34 wickets at a rate of one every 13 balls. Compare that to his career returns of 7.45 and 19.
Rashid’s positive performance showed there was no hangover from his carting at the hands of Nepal on the adjacent Wankhede Stadium pitch 48 hours earlier when he conceded 42 runs in three overs.
But other parts of England’s game, including the bowling changes by Brook, were out of sync, meaning they head to Kolkata for a clash with late entrants Scotland on Saturday needing to get their campaign back on track.
Given the way they played spin here, it is arguably fortunate that they are not facing their original Group A opponents Bangladesh.
