NEWS
Follow UsOn June 19 (Wednesday) in St Lucia, England snapped West Indies’ eight-match winning streak in T20Is to hand the hosts their first loss of the 2024 T20 World Cup, but the team’s skipper Rovman Powell insisted that there is absolutely no need for his side to hit the panic button.
West Indies entered the clash against the Three Lions as marginal favorites, but, on the night, were blown away by a Phil Salt storm as England chased 181 with 15 balls to spare to register a thumping victory.
The result means Windies cannot afford to slip up again in the Super 8s, but despite the defeat, Powell believes his side will be ‘OK’ if they continue playing good cricket.
“I think our destiny is still in our own hands. It's just for us to continue to play good cricket. And once we do that, we think we'll be OK,” Powell said at the press conference after the England game.
It was one way traffic in the second innings as England knocked down the target without breaking a sweat, with Salt (87*) and Jonny Bairstow (48*) tearing into the Windies bowling.
In hindsight, it felt like the hosts did not put up a par score, but Powell asserted that 180 was a defendable target.
“Nah, the halfway stage we think that 180 is a fighting total. , we knew that if we bowled well, we could have defended 180,” Powell said.
The Windies skipper added that he would have sent England into bat had he won the toss.
“If we won the toss we would have bowled also. It's a general it's a general thing for teams when the wicket is good you kind of unsure as to what is a good total on the wicket so you generally bowl first.”
On the night, the Windies made a bold selection call by dropping Obed McCoy, who took 3/14 against Afghanistan, to draft in Romario Shepherd. But the move backfired as Shepherd went for 0/41 off his two overs, with 30 of those runs coming in a single over, against Salt.
When asked about the move to drop an in-form McCoy, Powell said: “I think when you're selecting a team and you have players that are playing good you will always have to make the tough decision. We sit down as a selection group and think that the team that played today is our better team to face England. It just didn't work out tonight.”
West Indies next take on United States in Barbados on June 21 (Friday) in what’s a must-win encounter for both sides.
The injury to Brandon King added salt to West Indies’ wound. The in-form opener started off like a dream, racing to 23* off 13 balls, but then had to retire hurt due to a suspected side strain. Powell said there is no clarity, yet, on the extent of King’s injury.
“It's a little bit difficult for us to actually find out what is wrong with Brandon. Hopefully tomorrow during the duration of the day we will find out,” the Windies skipper added.
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