The Viper
T20I Debutant
- Joined
- Sep 19, 2018
- Runs
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England head to St. Kitts in attempt to seal first series win of tour
West Indies must win the second T20I to stay in with a chance of a series win.
Overview
West Indies v England
2nd T20I
Warner Park, Basseterre, St. Kitts
Friday, 8 March; 4:00pm local, 8:00pm GMT
England’s tour of the West Indies has rarely followed the formbook. First in the Tests, England, not long ago ranked No.2 in the MRF Tyres ICC Test Team Rankings, were turned over 2-1, while in the ODIs, the tourists, ranked No.1 and red-hot favourites for this summer’s ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup, were held to a 2-2 draw, bowled out for a humbling 113 in the final ODI.
The first T20I followed a similar but different pattern. Though England are again ahead in the rankings, this time West Indies, current world champions and the only team to have twice won the Men’s World T20, were the favourites, and the tourists caused the upset, restricting their opponents to 160/8 before chasing it down relatively comfortably.
In some ways, the narrative of this tour – one of West Indian resurgence and English reality checks – is already set in stone. A T20I series win at the end would be little more than confirmation and consolation respectively. But for individuals, there is much at stake with fringe players involved and World Cup places up for grabs.
As a long, gruelling and often joyous tour comes to an end, neither side will be thinking of relaxing quite yet.
Key players
Chris Jordan (England): The opening T20I was just another reminder of Jordan’s multi-faceted skill-set. There was the yorker to dismiss Chris Gayle, the variation to entice a leading edge out of Darren Bravo, and then the breathtaking athleticism and unparalleled fielding to change direction, dive, and grab hold of the chance himself.
He has become, in some ways, the ideal T20 bowler, and in some ways too ideal, with England perhaps pigeonholing him and restricting his chances in ODIs. Ahead of the World Cup, the second T20I will be another opportunity to show that his abilities, even if tilted towards the shortest format, are too valuable to not be useful in 50-over cricket.
Chris Gayle (West Indies): The Universe Boss has re-discovered his best form on this tour. Two centuries, two fifties and a world-record number of sixes flowed in the ODI series. But, thanks to Jordan, his contribution in the first T20I, in the format in which he has made his name most of all, was limited to just 15. Nonetheless, England will still be wary; they’ll know now more than ever that if Gayle goes big, the game could be as good as done.
Conditions
There is a minor chance of showers in the morning but those will clear by the afternoon, when temperatures in the high 20s will prevail. In the past, the ground has not been a high-scoring one. The highest T20I score at the ground is 147, while Afghanistan were bowled out for 93 there back in 2017.
Squads
West Indies: Jason Holder (c), Fabian Allen, Devendra Bishoo, Carlos Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, John Campbell, Sheldon Cottrell, Chris Gayle, Shimron Hetmyer, Shai Hope (wk), Ashley Nurse, Nicholas Pooran, Rovman Powell, Andre Russell, Oshane Thomas
England: Eoin Morgan (c), Jonny Bairstow (wk), Sam Billings, Tom Curran, Joe Denly, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Dawid Malan, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, David Willey, Mark Wood
https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/1088505
West Indies must win the second T20I to stay in with a chance of a series win.
Overview
West Indies v England
2nd T20I
Warner Park, Basseterre, St. Kitts
Friday, 8 March; 4:00pm local, 8:00pm GMT
England’s tour of the West Indies has rarely followed the formbook. First in the Tests, England, not long ago ranked No.2 in the MRF Tyres ICC Test Team Rankings, were turned over 2-1, while in the ODIs, the tourists, ranked No.1 and red-hot favourites for this summer’s ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup, were held to a 2-2 draw, bowled out for a humbling 113 in the final ODI.
The first T20I followed a similar but different pattern. Though England are again ahead in the rankings, this time West Indies, current world champions and the only team to have twice won the Men’s World T20, were the favourites, and the tourists caused the upset, restricting their opponents to 160/8 before chasing it down relatively comfortably.
In some ways, the narrative of this tour – one of West Indian resurgence and English reality checks – is already set in stone. A T20I series win at the end would be little more than confirmation and consolation respectively. But for individuals, there is much at stake with fringe players involved and World Cup places up for grabs.
As a long, gruelling and often joyous tour comes to an end, neither side will be thinking of relaxing quite yet.
Key players
Chris Jordan (England): The opening T20I was just another reminder of Jordan’s multi-faceted skill-set. There was the yorker to dismiss Chris Gayle, the variation to entice a leading edge out of Darren Bravo, and then the breathtaking athleticism and unparalleled fielding to change direction, dive, and grab hold of the chance himself.
He has become, in some ways, the ideal T20 bowler, and in some ways too ideal, with England perhaps pigeonholing him and restricting his chances in ODIs. Ahead of the World Cup, the second T20I will be another opportunity to show that his abilities, even if tilted towards the shortest format, are too valuable to not be useful in 50-over cricket.
Chris Gayle (West Indies): The Universe Boss has re-discovered his best form on this tour. Two centuries, two fifties and a world-record number of sixes flowed in the ODI series. But, thanks to Jordan, his contribution in the first T20I, in the format in which he has made his name most of all, was limited to just 15. Nonetheless, England will still be wary; they’ll know now more than ever that if Gayle goes big, the game could be as good as done.
Conditions
There is a minor chance of showers in the morning but those will clear by the afternoon, when temperatures in the high 20s will prevail. In the past, the ground has not been a high-scoring one. The highest T20I score at the ground is 147, while Afghanistan were bowled out for 93 there back in 2017.
Squads
West Indies: Jason Holder (c), Fabian Allen, Devendra Bishoo, Carlos Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, John Campbell, Sheldon Cottrell, Chris Gayle, Shimron Hetmyer, Shai Hope (wk), Ashley Nurse, Nicholas Pooran, Rovman Powell, Andre Russell, Oshane Thomas
England: Eoin Morgan (c), Jonny Bairstow (wk), Sam Billings, Tom Curran, Joe Denly, Alex Hales, Chris Jordan, Dawid Malan, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, David Willey, Mark Wood
https://www.icc-cricket.com/news/1088505
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