Match report
182 looked to be a competitive total but England’s batting was shown up there by Gayle and, to a lesser extent, Samuels and Russell. They were probably 15-20 runs short in the end and, on reflection, didn’t hit enough boundaries especially given Gayle slowed up when near his hundred. The bowling too, showed up its now-familiar deficiencies: 10 wides is far too many to concede and really does make life easy for someone like Gayle.
What a batting performance that was from the big man though. Eleven sixes is a new World T2o record, beating his own 10. He’s also the first player to hit two hundreds in the competition. The amazing thing is how unsurprising such a performance is from him: like the very best sportsmen, the extraordinary has become the norm and you’d have been disappointed if he hadn’t done something this special in the torurnament.
England’s next match is against South Africa on Friday when they’ll only have to face AB de Villiers and co. Do join us again then to see if they can avoid their tournament being ended two days after it began.
If you’re looking for further reading you could do worse than revisit this piece on Gayle from Dileep Premchandran, written after Gayle demolished Zimbabwe with a double hundred in the last World Cup. That’s all from me though. Cheers for all your emails and suggestions of athletes with backwards names. Sorry I couldn’t use them all. Bye!
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West Indies beat England by six wickets with 11 balls remaining
19th over: West Indies 183-4 (Russell 16, Gayle 100) target 183 Topley to bowl. Russell has a mow at the first ball, gets an inside edge and the ball runs away past the stumps, down to fine leg. The batsmen jog through for the single and, in the end, it’s a pretty thumping win for the West Indies.
18th over: West Indies 182-4 (Russell 15, Gayle 100) target 183 After Gayle brings up his century, Stokes bowls a full-toss that’s (a) called a no ball and (b) cut to the fence by Russell anyway. Free hit with five runs needed. However there’s a long pause while England adjust the field, Russell forgets it’s a free hit and leaves the ball. He smears a back-of-a-length ball out to midwicket for two more then Stokes sends a miserable wide dribbling down the leg side. Russell chips the fifth ball to long on for a single, levelling the scores and allowing Gayle the chance to administer the final blow. Nope, it’s a dot.
Chris Gayle brings up his 100 from 47 balls
17.1 overs: West Indies 173-4 (Russell 8, Gayle 100) target 183 Stokes to bowl with just 11 runs to defend. His two overs so far have cost 32. He begins with a yorker, Gayle opens the face and runs it down to short third man to bring up his second World T20 century.
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17th over: West Indies 172-4 (Russell 8, Gayle 99) target 183 The crowd has really found its voice now, with Gayle on strike facing Jordan. He smashes the first ball through the covers, but there’s a sweeper out there to keep it to a single. Russell drives for a single of his own. Gayle is then beaten by a slower yorker outside off stump. A waist-high full-toss and Gayle just drops that one into the on side for a single. Jordan appeals for an edge as a very wide ball moves late and further away, but there was daylight between bat and ball. They decline a single from the last ball.
16th over: West Indies 169-4 (Russell 7, Gayle 97) target 183 David Willey comes back. He starts with a full-toss that Russell slams down to long-on but Stokes runs round, fields it, and throws the ball back into play before stepping over the rope. Nice work to save three there. The field goes back with Gayle on strike, so Gayle simply sends the ball zipping between them for another four. Willey responds with a full-toss on off stump that Gayle thwacks over midwicket for his 10th (!!!) six! And the 11th – a new World T20 record – comes two balls later, off a length and lifted over square leg into the second tier of the stands. He takes a single off the last to move to 97 from 43. 14 more needed from 24 balls.
15th over: West Indies 151-4 (Russell 6, Gayle 80) target 183 Chris Jordan is back with the West Indies needing 37 from 36 balls. He does his damnedest it make the job tougher with a pair of dots to Russell and only concedes one from the next ball. Jordan comes in for an awful lot of flak but he’s been by no means England’s worst bowler today. At the non-striker’s end, Russell has to dive spectacularly out of the way to avoid having a hole punched in his torso by a Gayle drive. Topley dives at mid-off to keep them to one then Jordan bowls a wide outside off. One more to deep mid-on brings up the West Indies’ 150. Another wide and that’s a decent over from England. Albeit far too late.
Lucky Stuart Broad's so good on the telly - otherwise people would be wondering why he's not in the team.
— Daniel Harris (@DanielHarris) March 16, 2016
14th over: West Indies 146-4 (Russell 4, Gayle 79) target 183 Moeen is back and he gives away four more freebies, drifting down leg and offering up four leg-byes off of Gayle’s pad. Gayle shows what an ungrateful bastard he is by following this with three massive sixes straight back down the ground. This one’s almost got away from England. Moeen finishes with one for 28, including 22 from that last over.
Keegan Bradley suggests Ian Burch. I think I saw Payne Stewart among the deluge in my inbox too, but I haven’t got time to dig it out. Sorry, whoever sent that one in.
13th over: West Indies 124-4 (Russell 4, Gayle 61) target 183 With spin not working, Topley is back into the attack earlier – I imagine – than Eoin Morgan had hoped. He gets the wicket of Bravo and England have a chance while wickets keep tumbling. Gayle picks up four more, tucking one off his hips and down to fine leg to move on to 60 from 29 balls. A chip down the ground brings the new man, Russell – no mug with the bat himself – on strike. Couple of wides in the over too, which won’t help. The final ball is full and wide and Russell smears it hard through cover point for four more.
“Sulieman is absolutely a traditional surname,” says Bc Cav. “Who could forget Sulieman the Magnificent, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire?” Before my time, that one. Similarly:
@DanLucas86 Try telling that to Clive of India https://t.co/XyRar6ZJsN
— bobbrownsco (@bobbrownsco1) March 16, 2016
Wicket! Bravo c Hales b Topley 2
See below. The delivery was fine.
Wicket? Is Bravo out here?
He smashed a full toss down the throat of the man at deep mid-on but the umpires want to check for height.
12th over: West Indies 113-3 (Bravo 2, Gayle 56) target 183 After Ramdin falls to the first ball of the over, the batsmen exchange singles, the second of which brings up Chris Gayle’s 50. One more single to Bravo then a howitzer down the ground for six more.
“One of them is in the commentary box today – Russell Arnold,” points out Darren Kilfara. Thomas Hopkins offers Hedley Verity.
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Wicket! Ramdin c Rashid b Moeen 12
Ramdin goes, getting a big thick top edge trying to sweep. Up high it goes and Rashid is safely underneath it.
11th over: West Indies 103-2 (Ramdin 12, Gayle 48) target 183 We’re back and there’s a change of bowling. Stokes returns and starts with a bit of too-straight rubbish that Ramdin effortlessly tucks round the corner for four. A single brings Gayle on strike and Stokes has him swaying out of the way of a bumper. An utterly filthy wide outside off follows, then another bumper gets the treatment, swung high over square leg for his fourth six! And he follows that with his fifth, just clear of the leaping Root in the same spot!
I’m just going to clarify that the likes of Clive Lloyd and Sulieman Benn don’t count, as their first names aren’t traditional last names.
In the meantime, here’s that Martin Crowe piece in case you missed it earlier.
10th over: West Indies 85-2 (Ramdin 7, Gayle 36) target 183 Moeen to Gayle then. Much to the bowler’s relief, the big man takes a single. Moeen then beats Ramdin with a lovely flighted, straight delivery. Buttler takes the bails off but Ramdin had his feet back. One from the last and I think we’re having a short break to clear the dew off the outfield now.
Baseball player Handsome Monica is suggested by Richard Meade. That’s the best so far. Sam Hedges is back with former Spurs defender Mitchell Thomas.
@DanLucas86 Michael Vaughan
— Martin (@martiancomedy) March 16, 2016
@DanLucas86 Dean Headley count?
— bobbrownsco (@bobbrownsco1) March 16, 2016
Yes, as I had an IT teacher once called Hedley Dick. Yes, really.
@DanLucas86 Michael Owen?
— Chad Thomas (@ChadThomas7) March 16, 2016
9th over: West Indies 83-2 (Ramdin 6, Gayle 35) target 183 Rashid again. This is the crucial period of the match: it’s going to come down to how much of a choke England’s spinners can put on and how quickly they can drive the required run rate up. Ramdin tucks him round the corner for a couple. He cuts for one more then Gayle absolutely destroys the ball, lifting it effortlessly straight back down the ground and into the top tier of the stand. That was huge. And he repeats the trick next ball! The crowd seems to have filled out a bit now. One from the final ball means he’ll keep the strike.
8th over: West Indies 67-2 (Ramdin 2, Gayle 22) target 183 Moeen into the attack and he opens with a half-tracker that Gayle whips dismissively over midwicket for four. Three singles follow, then a dot, then a final single.
After 10 overs the super soppers are going to come on to clear away some of the dew. To give you an idea of how wet it is, I’ve never seen that before.
7th over: West Indies 59-2 (Ramdin 1, Gayle 16) target 183 The good news for England is that the power play is done, so Morgan can turn to Rashid with the seamers struggling. Samuels drives for a single, before Gayle nudges for the same. That’s his first actually-run run of the innings. Samuels goes for 37 from 27 balls and Rashid has one for four from the over.
More sportspeople with backward names.
“Lewis Hamilton? Sulieman Benn?” suggests Sam Hedges. Adrian Ward says Devon Malcolm.
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Wicket! Samuels c Willey b Rashid 37
Samuels’ eyes light up and he can’t resist trying to dispatch the spinner over cow corner. He can only pick out the man in the deep though and that’s a big wicket for England.
England already missing Finn massively. Have to be playing Plunkett. This seam attack is proper bobbins
— Peter Miller (@TheCricketGeek) March 16, 2016
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6th over: West Indies 55-1 (Samuels 34, Gayle 14) target 183 Jordan again, with Samuels once again on strike, and the batsman backs away and batters the first ball down to long on for four. A single next ball and, for the first time since the second over of the innings, Gayle has the strike! Jordan floats a wide down the leg side to bring up the West Indies’ 50 for them. Which is nice of him. Then another wide but this is followed by three excellent yorkers that keep Gayle from scoring. The final ball is in the slot and smacked back over the bowler’s head for the inevitable four.
@DanLucas86 Legendary itinerant Trinidadian footballer Stern John
— Frank Ramsey (@thefrankramsey) March 16, 2016
@IML91 @DanLucas86 Collins John!
— Tom Howard (@tomhoward87) March 16, 2016
And therefore, as Chris Chadwick and Richard Mead have pointed out, John Collins. I’m not accepting Richard’s suggestion of Gladstone Small though as I’m not convinced Small is a particularly common first name.
5th over: West Indies 44-1 (Samuels 31, Gayle 10) target 183 Stokes replaces Willey. Four from his second ball: a good fullish, straight delivery that Samuels backs away from and gets a thick outside edge down to straight third man. The next one is driven hard again, through extra cover this time and past the diving fielder for four. Jordan goes back on to the boundary and, ah, lets a drive straight through him for a third consecutive four. In fairness, it is very dewy out there. A dot, then Samuels cuts straight into the hands of Hales at point, but it was a nipple-height full-toss and therefore a no-ball. Samuels lifts the free hit out to mid-off for a single.
4th over: West Indies 30-1 (Samuels 18, Gayle 10) target 183 Chris Jordan is into the attack for England. Luckily for him, Samuels took a single from the final ball of the last over so retains the strike and keeps Gayle out of the danger zone. Three dots, then Samuels backs away from a short one and cuts very well, up and over backward point for a one-bounce four. It’s a very good over from Jordan though, with just a further single from its last ball.
@DanLucas86 Johnson Charles. Any other sportspeople who's first name is a surname and vice versa?
— Ismail (@IML91) March 16, 2016
Good question. Any ideas?
3rd over: West Indies 25-1 (Samuels 13, Gayle 10) target 183 Willey beats Samuels all ends up with a lovely slower ball that beats the outside edge. Then finds a thick inside edge when the batsman is tempted to drive. Samuels looks like a walking wicket against Willey. Beaten outside off again next up. After three excellent balls though he goes a touch too straight and Samuels gets a thick inside edge down to fine leg for four. Oh and he follows this with a beautiful drive, up on his toes and stroking classically though cover for another four.
My colleague Paul Campbell has just sent me this lovely piece by Martin Crowe for The Nightwatchman a couple of years ago. It’s well worth a read once you’ve finished this, far superior, OBO.
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2nd over: West Indies 16-1 (Samuels 4, Gayle 10) target 183 It’s double-left-arm-seam for England as Topley, who came in for a fair amount of criticism for his bowling in South Africa, takes the ball from the other end. He begins with a very wide one outside off that Gayle pays no attention to. Another dot then Gayle tees off, sending a juicy half volley skimming over the man at mid-off and away for four. Same again next ball, only this time he gets it harder and further and over the rope for six! Moeen goes back on the rope, which seems sensible to me. It becalms Gayle, who sees off the final two balls.
1st over: West Indies 6-1 (Samuels 4, Gayle 0) target 183 David Willey opens the bowling, over the wicket with his left-arm seam to the right-hander Johnson Charles. He finds some swing but, unfortunately for him, his first two swing down the leg side for wides. He won’t be too fussed by that though as he gets Charles for a duck! His next ball comes back into Samuels and raps him on the knee roll, but the appeal is turned down as it looked to be sliding just down leg. It was mighty close. And the exact same thing happens next ball! In fact Hawkeye says the first appeal was umpire’s call on height. The fifth ball is a leg-stump half-volley and Samuels tucks it through square-leg for four. Great shape for Willey in that over.
Wicket! Charles c Moeen b Willey 0
Charles slaps his second legal ball straight to midwicket and Moeen takes a comfortable as you like catch at chest height!
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@DanLucas86 England to win by single figures, Gayle to lose three balls over the top of the stands.
— Darren (@DarrenMWinter) March 16, 2016
The players are coming back out. Anyone fancy predicting the result? I’m going with England by 14 runs and the West Indies finishing their 20 over seven down.
Is that enough for England? I honestly don’t know. The pitch is slow but the outfield fast. The West Indies might easily collapse but then they do have Chris Gayle. And only four times in World T20s has 180+ been successfully chased.
Join me in a few minutes for the chase. In the meantime, enjoy this Joy of Six World T20 innings from my friend and yours, John Ashdown.
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End of innings England 182-6
20th over: England 182-6 (Morgan 27) The final over is going to be bowled by Bravo. Morgan on strike. First ball in the slot and Morgan just clears long on for six! A good yorker follows, which Morgan digs out for one. Stokes then gets medieval on the ball’s sorry ass, hitting it as hard a junior doctor might want to hit Jeremy Hunt, down the ground for four. He goes next ball so Moeen Ali, who can’t buy a run these days, is in for the final two balls. He lifts his first ball into the hands of Jason Holder at deep midwicket, but he can only parry the ball over the rope for six! That’s the 180 up. Moeen is run out for seven coming back for a second off the last ball.
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Wicket! Stokes lbw b Bravo 15
Lovely slower ball, Stokes is through the slog far, far too early and gets hit on the boot in line with leg-stump. That was perfect.
19th over: England 164-4 (Morgan 20, Stokes 11) Russell with the penultimate over. Stokes gets a boundary from the first ball of it, swivel-pulling past a despairing dive and down to the rope behind square. I’m pretty certain he nicks the next one, trying to swing down the ground, but the ball bounced through to the keeper in any case. Stokes gets hold of the next one though, lofting a full delivery over mid-on for six. Russell comes back well though, a great yorker that Stokes can only punch out to wide mid-on for one. Morgan tries to go big but mistimes a slower ball completely, chipping and luckily seeing the ball drop short of mid-on. The West Indies will take 12 from the over I reckon.
18th over: England 152-4 (Morgan 19, Stokes 0) Bravo, with a decent 0-13 from his two so far, comes back. Two singles, then a slower ball that Buttler finds easier to read than an illustrated JK Rowling book: over mid-on and deep into the stands it goes. He goes harder and flatter at the same region next ball and Johnson Charles makes another great save, diving to his right and palming the bouncing ball back into play. Buttler goes next ball though for 30 from 20 balls.
Wicket! Buttler c Brathwaite b Bravo 30
Full-toss on Buttler’s ankle from round the wicket. The batsman picks it up and tries to get it over square leg for six, but doesn’t quite get enough on it and Brathwaite dives forward to take the catch.
17th over: England 142-3 (Morgan 18, Buttler 21) This is so nicely poised: England could end up with anything between 155 (advantage Windies) and 180 (advantage Windies until Chris Gayle gets out). It’s going to be closer to the latter if Benn keeps dropping short as he does here; Buttler murders it over mid-on and into the second tier of the stand. Benn almost makes a good comeback, conceding just four off the next four balls, but then the final ball is a full toss that Morgan lifts back down the ground for four.
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16th over: England 128-3 (Morgan 11, Buttler 14) Now to Brathwaite again. His first over wasn’t great – going as it did for 11 – and this one starts inauspiciously: he’s fortunate that Morgan can only pick out a fielder driving a full, wide one through point. Buttler pulls out the reverse scoop up and over third man, for just one run. The next three balls all also bring singles and the last one, well, doesn’t bring a thing. Well bowled.
15th over: England 123-3 (Morgan 8, Buttler 12) Russell returns and has Root, the set batsman, out two short of his half-century. Morgan comes to the crease and he can’t take too long to get going if he wants to get his side to 180. Well, no sooner have I written that than Morgan slaughters a short ball miles and miles into the stands over long leg! That was huge, easily the biggest six of the night.
Wicket! Root c Taylor b Russell 48
Root mistimes a short ball, looking to lift it over mid-off but the ball jammed in the pitch and he ended up slapping it meekly to the man on the edge of the circle.
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14th over: England 114-2 (Root 48, Buttler 11) It’s Badree again and he nearly punishes Joe Root for a momentary mid-pitch hesitation, but his throw on the turn after fielding from his own bowling is wide of the target. They make the single though and that bring Buttler on strike, and he smashes a mighty hard flat six over long off! Two more from the next ball.
“It’s an interesting point by Kevin Wilson,” begins Tony Rowlinson. “How much do teams adjust their game to the strength of their batting line-up? Considering that England bat deep and have a weak bowling attack, doesn’t it make more sense to attack hard as even if you get out early there’s another option right behind you?”
I’d say yes, to an extent. You don’t want to see what happened in the final T20 against South Africa...
13th over: England 103-2 (Root 46, Buttler 2) Back to Bravo and his second ball is a low full toss that Root cracks like a rocket back down the ground and nutmegs Russell on the boundary to get four. Neither fielder nor bowler is happy with that. The rest of the over is tidy enough though and England can only pick up three from it.
“Hi Dan,” writes Peter Salmon. “I thought I’d click on the Backstreet Boys for a bit of a lark, but then I saw it goes for six minutes! I have the afternoon off, am in a pub, two pints down, no deadlines, and yet - six minutes!”
Tell me about it! The radio version was only 3:44 and the extended album version 4:48!
12th over: England 96-2 (Root 40, Buttler 2) Benn again again he sends Hales back very first ball with what was very nearly a yorker from the left-arm slow bowler. It’ll be interesting to see who comes in next... indeed as suspected it’s Jos Buttler. That’s a good move I reckon, looking to ensure the wicket doesn’t stall momentum. They’re happy to deal in singles for the rest of this over, mind.
“Very worried England might leave loads of batting in the hutch here,” reckons Kevin Wilson. “Despite batting like chumps against South Africa, they still have too long a batting line up and too average a bowling line up. Willey shouldn’t be batting at ten.”
Wicket! Hales b Benn 28
Fast, flat and full from Benn and Hales’ stumps are sent a-clatterin’.
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11th over: England 92-1 (Root 38, Hales 28) Speaking of returning opening bowlers, here’s Jerome Taylor again. I don’t have a song for him. He begins with a wide down the leg side before Root brings up the 50 partnership with the sweetest of sixes, lifted right out the middle and over midwicket. Two balls later he drills a full one through mid on but again, Russell gets around to make a brilliant save, reaching down and flicking the ball back in one-handed. That’s two more runs saved. Two more singles and two more dots make up the rest of the over, from which came 11 runs.
Also if you refresh the page it’ll correct the score at the end of the last over, which I was distracted from updating by the Backstreet Boys. Huh, never thought I’d write that.
10th over: England 81-1 (Root 29, Hales 27) Everyboooody, yeaaaaah, rock your booooody, yeaaaahhh, everybooooody, rock your body right, Badree’s back, alright!
I’m so sorry. Seven from the over, all in ones and twos.
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9th over: England 74-1 (Root 24, Hales 26) The ninth over and the Windies are on to their sixth bowler already: Carlos Brathwaite the latest to have a go. After Root takes a good quick single Hales tries to smite a pull through midwicket, but he just misreads the pace a touch and can’t get it through the field. One more then Root goes up and over the same region for four. Hales gets another boundary off the last ball, leaning forward and flicking a full toss off his ankles and through backward square.
8th over: England 63-1 (Root 18, Hales 21) Back to spin and Sulieman Benn. Who is apparently 34! Five from his over, all in singles.
7th over: England 58-1 (Root 15, Hales 19) That’s the power play done and it’s pretty tough to say who’s on top; there is no pace at all in this wicket. Root goes for a big swing down the ground here and is probably an inch and a half away from getting an inside edge on to his stumps. His flick out to deep midwicket next ball brings two runs and raises the England 50. Short next and Root, ducking out the way, still manages to nail a flat six over backward square leg!
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6th over: England 49-1 (Root 6, Hales 19) Another change, which is no surprise after Badree suffered at the hands of Hales last time, with Dwayne Bravo coming in and bowling six slower balls. Hales tucks his first away through midwicket for three, Russell saving one with an excellent chase and slide. Another single to Root then Hales turns a very slow ball round the corner only to see Ramdin dive and cut it off on the bounce. That’s the kind of shot that brings four runs nine times out of 10. Two more singles and a wide.
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5th over: England 42-1 (Root 4, Hales 15) First bowling change of the day: Russell is on for Taylor and he strikes almost straight away, bringing Joe Root to the crease. As Russell Arnold points out on commentary, Root doesn’t look like a very good T20 player but the numbers tell you how deceiving appearances can be. He’s off the mark with a four, flicked down to fine leg when Russell strays off line a touch.
Wicket! Roy c Badree b Russell 15
Roy tries to use his wrists to flick a length ball through midwicket but can only pick out the tumbling Badree!
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4th over: England 36-0 (Roy 15, Hales 14) Hales begins the over with three boundaries on the spin. First, Badree serves up a freebie with a waist-high full-toss that Hales shovels over deep backward square for four. He follows this up with a firmer, more conventional sweep through the same region for the same result then punches a cut through cover point. One more single to complete the over.
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3rd over: England 23-0 (Roy 15, Hales 1) Roy gets the first boundary of the day with a nice pull off a length ball just in front of square for four. He adds two more next ball with a punch through midwicket, the ball again holding up in the pitch. Taylor is then called for a bouncer, adding an extra to the total. A slapped short arm jab brings another couple then some pretty shoddy wicketkeeping by Ramdin sees the ball shoot down the leg side for five wides. Then four more off the last, sent whistling through mid-on to take the tally for the over to 18.
Today’s first email comes from Christopher Dale. “Slightly delayed, but a brief comment on how refreshing New Zealand’s win was yesterday. Not just for the shock factor, or for Ish Sodhi’s bowling (anybody else think he has the same gait as Anil Kumble?), but for how much more compelling T20 is to watch on a pitch that assists the bowlers and rewards intelligent stroke play rather than indiscriminate, horizontal batted slogging.
“The IPL has never been better as a sporting contest than when it was played in South Africa, and although yesterday’s pitch turned rather than seamed or bounced, it was still refreshing to see traditional field positions, shots and bowling foregrounded, and players with rounded skill-sets (Kohli, Dohni et al) succeed.”
Hear, hear. It was also good to see New Zealand’s brilliantly clever selection rewarded.
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2nd over: England 5-0 (Roy 3, Hales 1) Bit of a surprise here: Samuel Badree takes the new ball from the other end rather than Andre Russell. He has teh best economy rate of anyone to have bowled 500 balls in this format. Roy pushes his first ball down the ground for a single to long on, Hales sweeps to midwicket for the same then a wide down the leg side when Roy misses a slog sweep. From the remaining four balls, Roy can only get a single off the last down the ground again.
1st over: England 1-0 (Roy 1, Hales 0) Jerome Taylor is the man to open the bowling. He’ll be loving the look of this wicket, swinging it as he does both ways. Roy is on strike and he dead bats the first before driving the second to mid-off for a quick single to Bravo. He was out had the fielder hit though. Hales gets a leading edge to his first after going through with the shot too early but it lands safely. The ball seems to be sticking in the wicket a touch as evidenced by the fifth ball, which Hales looks to pull but can only bottom edge straight into the ground.
Sad to say the stadium looks very empty.
Jerome Taylor taking the new ball at a ground he once owned. Never quite lived up to that promise. #ENGvWI #WT20
— Dileep Premachandran (@SpiceBoxofEarth) March 16, 2016
If we were to have an anthem World Cup the West Indies win it at a distance #rally
— Peter Miller (@TheCricketGeek) March 16, 2016
France would have absolutely smashed the qualifying stage though, mind you. La Marseillaise has dominated this year’s Six Nations.
There is a strange advert on Sky, in which a load of players do various umpiring signals. Many of them do this thing where they clap their hands very deliberately together, either with fingers pointing up or flat and pointing to the side. Is there a new umpiring signal that no one told us about? A quick survey of the Guardian Sport desk suggests no one here knows.
Anyway, the players are coming out for the anthems.
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The teams in full
England
JJ Roy, AD Hales, JE Root, EJG Morgan*, JC Buttler†, BA Stokes, MM Ali, CJ Jordan, AU Rashid, DJ Willey, RJW Topley
West Indies
J Charles, CH Gayle, MN Samuels, DJ Bravo, D Ramdin†, AD Russell, DJG Sammy*, CR Brathwaite, S Badree, JE Taylor, SJ Benn
Toss and teams
Heads calls Eoin Morgan, tails it is. West Indies win the toss and Darren Sammy opts to bowl on a green-tinged pitch. Not much of a surprise there. The West Indies leave Nurse, Fletcher and Holder out.
Morgan says he would also have bowled first but hopes the dew remains on the outfield. He doesn’t think conditions at the Wankhede are much different to back in England. Hmm. One change from the New Zealand game, Plunkett out and Willey in.
On Sky, Mike Atherton noted an interesting tactic from Eoin Morgan during the warm-up match against Mumbai. Apparently, against the seamers, the wicketkeeper Sam Billings was back on the edge of the circle wearing only one glove. That has the dual benefit of making it difficult to take a late bye to the keeper and making the scoop shot far riskier.
Pakistan won that one in the end. Perhaps Bangladesh regret not picking Barney Ronay’s new favourite cricketer, Mustafizur Rahman?
Over in Kolkata Bangladesh are chasing a sizeable 201-5 against Pakistan. They need 64 from five balls. It’s not a tense one.
Preamble
Amid the excitement of a Six-Nations-winning grand-slam-chasing rugby side and a domestic football season that’s proven surprising to say the least, it seems to have almost slipped the average England sports fan’s attention that the cricket team is embarking on a quest to win its second major international tournament. Especially after the farce of – let’s call it what it was – the qualifying round that played out in near-empty stadiums and was pretty much an insult to the associate nations.
The exciting thing from England’s perspective though is that they might just be good enough to win this whole damn thing. Their T20 defeats to South Africa were their first since the last World T20 and, as we’ve been saying for two years now, this is a young side brimming with talent and intent and lacking entirely in fear. Yes, they’re erratic as you’d expect from a squad that has only one player over 30 (sob), but if they can click at the right time then who knows?
Their opening opponents are, in a way, the polar opposites of England. Eight players in the West Indies squad are over 30 [checks heritage] and they have plenty of established stars of the format. There is IPL experience abound and, again, eight of the squad have won this tournament before in contrast with England’s one. This is perhaps the best chance for a lot of these players to exit the international stage on a high.
Ian Chappell reckons England are the favourites for this match and I tend to agree with him. The Mumbai pitch might have a touch of grass on it and tends to be one of the more seam-friendly on the subcontinent. Then again, you’d have expected India to chase down 123 on a Bunsen yesterday and look what happened there. Such is the entirely random unpredictable nature of T20 cricket.
Play begins at 2pm GMT, which is 7.30pm local time or 9am West Indian time (I think). Toss and team news will be with you around half an hour before then.
In the meantime, holy moly.
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