Two-time champions but the currently languishing West Indies hope to take their game up a few notches when they open their campaign against favorites England in the ICC men’s Super 12 match. t20 world cup Here on Saturday.
A team full of some of the most destructive T20 players, West Indies cut a disappointing figure in the two warm-up matches against Pakistan and Afghanistan and the disappointment will need to be ironed out quickly before the tournament.
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What: England vs West Indies, Super 12 Group 1
where: Dubai International Cricket Stadium, Dubai
Time: 7:30 PM IS
West Indies Team News
It was poor batting that cost them both the warm-up matches. Against Pakistan, the Caribbean team failed to put up a total struggle of 130 for 7 with Kieron Pollard’s men chasing their target of 189 against Afghanistan, managing 133-5.
Roston Chase’s 54 off 58 balls against Afghanistan was the only highlight of his batting as none of the other batsmen could capitalize on their starts in both the matches.
Pollard showed some spark when he hit five fours in his 10-ball 23 against Pakistan and his finishing skills will play a big part for the team in the tournament.
West Indies will need players like Evin Lewis, Lendl Simmons, Shimron Hetmyer and Nicholas Pooran to get off to a good start and win at least three group matches to qualify for the semi-finals.
One of the major concerns for West Indies is the form of ‘Universe Boss’ Chris Gayle, who scored just 165 runs in 9 innings in the Caribbean Premier League and featured in just two matches for Punjab Kings in the UAE leg of the IPL.
Veteran all-rounder Andre Russell also often has fitness problems, the latest being a hamstring injury. He played only three matches for Kolkata Knight Riders in the United Arab Emirates.
With spinner Hayden Walsh (2/41) and left-arm pacer Obed McCoy (2/43) being their most successful bowlers in their two practice games, their bowling isn’t much to write home about.
With Oshane Thomas in the ranks, the pace still looks better than their spin department which has the likes of Fabian Allen, Chase and Akil Hossein.
england team news
England, on the other hand, are the world champions in ODI cricket and will be itching to put the ghosts of the 2016 edition to rest when Carlos Brathwaite hit four consecutive sixes in the final to end his dreams.
Against the same opponents, Eoin Morgan’s men will look to set the record straight when his men’s army takes the field on Saturday. England are a balanced side despite the lack of some key players like Ben Stokes, Jofra Archer and Sam Curran.
His batting has some big names like Jason Roy, Jos Buttler and Jonny Bairstow – all capable of destroying any bowling attack on their day.
While England lost to India in the first practice, they recovered quickly to beat New Zealand in the second match.
Bairstow’s 49 off 36 balls and Moeen Ali’s 43 off 20 balls were the highlights of their batting against India, while Buttler geared up for the showpiece with a 51-ball 73 against New Zealand.
Mark Wood and Adil Rashid took four and three wickets respectively to lead the clinical bowling performance against New Zealand and with David Willey, Chris Woakes and Moeen Ali, it looks like a formidable attack.
Full Squad:
West Indies: Kieron Pollard, Nicholas Pooran, Fabian Allen, Dwayne Bravo, Roston Chase, Andre Fletcher, Chris Gayle, Shimron Hetmyer, Evin Lewis, Obed McCoy, Lendl Simmons, Ravi Rampaul, Andre Russell, Oshane Thomas, Hayden Walsh Jr.
England: Eoin Morgan, Moeen Ali, Jonathan Bairstow, Sam Billings, Jos Buttler, Tom Curran, Chris Jordan, Liam Livingstone, David Malan, Tymal Mills, Adil Rashid, Jason Roy, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood.
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