T20 World Cup,

England thrashes the West Indies

In the T20 World Cup, England thrashes the West Indies by eight wickets, with Phil Salt scoring thirty runs in an over.

England defeated the West Indies by eight wickets to start their T20 World Cup Super 8s campaign; Jonny Bairstow made an unbeaten forty-six from 26 balls; Phil Salt (87 not out of 47) smashed three sixes and as many fours in the thirty-run 16th over. England’s next match is against South Africa on Friday (3.30 pm UK and Ireland).

at the opening T20 World Cup Super 8s match at Saint Lucia, England defeated the host side, West Indies, by eight wickets thanks to six boundaries in a single over from Phil Salt and Jonny Bairstow.

The defending champions reached their target of 181 with 15 deliveries remaining in Gros Islet for a decisive victory as Salt (87 not out off 47 balls) blasted three sixes and as many fours in West Indies seamer Romario Shepherd’s 30-run 16th over.
In a third-wicket stand of 97 from 44 balls with Salt, Bairstow smashed 48 not out off 26 deliveries and hit three consecutive boundaries off left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein in the 15th over.

The Yorkshireman also smoked two consecutive boundaries off paceman Alzarri Joseph at the start of the 14th, which had begun with England requiring 70 from 42 balls following a West Indies fightback in the middle overs after England had reached 58-0 at the end of the powerplay through Salt and Jos Buttler (25 off 22).

Buttler’s side sit top of Super 8s Group 2, above South Africa on net run-rate, ahead of their clash with the Proteas in Saint Lucia on Friday (3.30 pm UK and Ireland).

Spinner Adil Rashid (1-21) was earlier the pick of the England bowlers, conceding only two runs and dismissing the potentially dangerous Andre Russell (1) in the 17th over, with fast bowler Jofra Archer (1-34) shipping only four runs and removing Nicholas Pooran (36 off 32) in the 16th – those overs crucial in limiting West Indies to 180-4.
Brandon King (23 off 13) dazzled briefly for the hosts in the powerplay, including smashing Reece Topley for a 101-metre maximum over deep midwicket, but then retired hurt with a side strain that could rule him out of the rest of the tournament.

West Indies, who will be disappointed by Pooran’s early chase-ending Salt on seven off Hosein, will play the USA in Bridgetown, Barbados on Saturday at 1.30 a.m.

Saint Lucia’s salt stars as England sets a precedent

At the beginning of the 16th over, Salt smoked Shepherd for four runs over the covers, then smashed a six down the ground and uppercut a slower ball over wicketkeeper Pooran for four to finish with a 38-ball fifty.

Once he finished a run-laden over with a full toss through the off-side, the opener maintained his assault, hitting sixes over long-off and deep backward square. His team needed just 10 from 24 deliveries to win the game.

Earlier, Buttler was trapped leg before wicket by off-spinner Roston Chase after Salt had dominated his opening partnership of 67 from 46 balls. Moeen Ali (13 off 10) then holed out off Russell as England managed just 53 runs throughout overs seven to thirteen.

However, Bairstow rekindled the innings before Salt’s spectacular displays.

Spinner Liam Livingstone (1-20) took some tap in his opening over with the ball, and West Indies captain Rovman Powell (36 off 17) hit three sixes in four deliveries before being removed by the bowler. Meanwhile, paceman Mark Wood’s eighteenth over was taken for 19 runs, mainly because of Sherfane Rutherford (28no off 15).

However, the hosts were mainly kept in check as England spinners Rashid and Moeen (1-15) kept the run rate low and top scorer Johnson Charles (38 off 34) lumbered along.

England once again appear to be serious contenders for the crown after just edging Scotland to go to the Super 8s based on net run-rate.

Buttler: Jos Buttler, the captain of England, said that his team was calculated at the bat.
“I felt the performance was excellent. We had a great plan, and I felt like we played with the bat and ball and earned the victory.“We did a great job of stopping such a potent batting lineup. We were chasing a respectable score, so we had to play well to catch up, but we were astute with the bat.

Guys were calculating when they made their decisions, and I felt that the Bairstow-Salt collaboration was excellent. Salty broke the back of the chase with that one massive over, but Bairstow came with all intent and regained the momentum.
..”I think you learn when you win as well, even though a lot of people say you learn when you lose. We should take a moment to consider our strengths before moving on to the next game.”
Powell: The Caribbean should focus on the positives
Captain of the West Indies, Rovman Powell:

“I believe we batted out between fifteen and twenty runs. Though we normally dominate the final five overs, we must give the England bowling unit credit. As you can see, they executed their ideas with clarity.

“As a bowling club, we also could have presented a more impressive show. Although Phil [Salt] always manages to hurt us by scoring runs against the West Indies, I thought we deviated a little from our original approach.“As a batting and bowling unit, we need to reflect and learn from this match. Since we still control our destiny, we must play excellent cricket.”

Watch all of the T20 World Cup matches live on Sky Sports, including the Saturday, June 29 final in Barbados.

What comes next?

West Indies head to Barbados to play the USA on Saturday (1.30 am UK and Ireland), while England remains in Saint Lucia to play South Africa on Friday (3.30 pm UK and Ireland).

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