If this had been a football match, it would have been Southampton 4, Man City 1. England never recovered from a start so bad that it could have come straight from Australia, like Sam Billings. Another continent, another collapse. West Indies, tenth in the T20 table, were terrific in all three departments. “Tough times don’t last,” says the winning captain Kieron Pollard, “tough people do.”
That’s it from me. Thanks for your company and your correspondence, sorry not to get through it all. Simon Burnton’s match report will be along shortly and Tanya Aldred will be here tomorrow, from 7pm GMT, to talk us through the second episode of a series that has just got more interesting.
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Eoin Morgan is measured in defeat. “Not at all [the start we were after],” he says. “The opposite conditions to the practice match and we didn’t adapt well. Gotta come back tomorrow, fresh game plan, execute it better. It’s the nature of international cricket, you get tested, exposed to different challenges.”
The player of the match, quite rightly, is one of Bridgetown’s favourite sons: Jason Holder. “I was happy to see the ball go through,” he says. “The challenge is repeating it tomorrow. We’ve got a hectic schedule but I’m up for it.”
West Indies, who normally get ’em in sixes, cleared the boundary only once today. They won by treating T20 like a Test match, taking early wickets, posting slips and holding their catches. England’s top order were so bad, they could have been playing Test cricket too.
West Indies win by nine wickets! With 17 balls to spare
A cut for two from King, and that’s that. West Indies have pulled off a resounding victory and a delightful upset.
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17th over: West Indies 103-1 (King 51, Pooran 27) Sweet Caroline suddenly rings out, continuing its bid to take over the world and lighting up the crowd. Pooran, facing Mahmood, rises to the “oh-oh-OHs” with a classy cut for four. King sees it and thinks he’ll have a bit of that too. That brings up the West Indies hundred. A wristy push for a single brings up King’s fifty off 47 balls. A pull from Pooran for a single brings up the fifty partnership, off 46 balls. Yet another single from King levels the scores.
16th over: West Indies 91-1 (King 45, Pooran 21) Mills continues, varying his pace and his length, demanding respect, but somehow not taking the double hat-trick that England need.
15th over: West Indies 85-1 (King 41, Pooran 19) This turns out to be the moment Eoin Morgan was saving Adil Rashid up for. He smacks Pooran on the boot but it’s outside leg, and Rash finishes with one for 21.
“I’m hugely biased,” says Nick Butler, “but the ECB might as well just send Nottinghamshire to play white ball games for them instead of this lot. Hales, Slater, Clarke, Duckett, Patel, Mullaney, Harrison, Moores, Carter, Fletcher, Ball would surely do a better job than this team. That would never happen of course but in terms of the individual players – I know Hales has been blackballed but surely Joe Clarke must be off the naughty step by now. And Duckett.
Cheers for the coverage.” Pleasure!
14th over: West Indies 81-1 (King 40, Pooran 16) Mills returns too, so after all that spin, it’s suddenly seam at both ends. King likes the sound of that, cutting the first ball for four, “with a touch of class” as Mark Butcher says. King has made the highest score of the day at almost a run a ball and has, I reckon, no chance at all of being the man of the match.
13th over: West Indies 75-1 (King 35, Pooran 15) Jordan returns and Pooran deals with him brusquely, slapping his first ball down the ground. When Jordan produces a sharp yorker, King is good enough to dig it out. The required rate is four an over – derisory stuff.
12th over: West Indies 66-1 (King 32, Pooran 9) Morgan takes Rashid off, saving his last over for I’m not sure when. On comes Moeen, whose off-breaks were rather under-used in the World Cup. The miscues continue, with the ball three times going in the air but not to hand. West Indies need 37 from 48 balls.
11th over: West Indies 60-1 (King 30, Pooran 5) Dawson bowls his last over and he’s still giving a fruitless masterclass, all mistimed drives and strangled appeals. “Bowled Daws,” says Billings. He finishes with figures of 4-0-12-0 and the fates owing him one.
10th over: West Indies 57-1 (King 29, Pooran 3) So West Indies finally lose a wicket after knocking off half the runs. Morgan rewards Rashid with a slip, his mate Moeen. But Nicholas Pooran is off the mark in style, lapping for two, and the runs keep coming from King. West Indies’ chances of a win, on CricViz, are now 100 per cent.
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Wicket! Hope st Billings b Rashid 20 (West Indies 52-1)
The breakthrough! Rashid’s leg-break bamboozles Hope, and Billings whips off the bails before you can say “How’s the old body clock, Sam?”
9th over: West Indies 52-0 (King 27, Hope 20) Dawson again causes problems, and again a miscue falls just short of a fielder as King top-edges a cut. This could be the best none-for you’ll never see.
8th over: West Indies 48-0 (King 28, Hope 18) It’s Tymal time! The man England badly missed at the end of the World Cup is back in business, or at least in harness. He cuts Hope in half, but gets chipped by King, who picks up four as Jordan, for once, fluffs it on the rope. West Indies are 48 for none; England were 49 for seven.
Here’s Andrew Benton, armed with a theory. “The common denominators linking doing badly at red ball cricket and doing badly at white ball cricket are clearly ‘ball’ and ‘cricket’, so I suggest doing away with the ball to give us a sporting chance.”
7th over: West Indies 41-0 (King 19, Hope 17) Dawson is getting both turn and bounce, inducing one false shot after another, but the ball keeps refusing to take the edge.
“Is there any chance of a technical fault,” asks Charles Shedrick, “or could you just switch to the good old fashioned test card?
Please stop keeping up the good work, it is starting to hurt.” Ha. We love to hate it, don’t we?
6th over: West Indies 37-0 (King 16, Hope 17) Rashid can threaten both edges, with his excellent googly, but Morgan doesn’t feel able to give him any men round the bat. King steps out and slog-sweeps him for six, the first of the innings. Here endeth the PowerPlay, without a wicket.
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5th over: West Indies 28-0 (King 9, Hope 15) It’s spin at both ends, in the PowerPlay, as Liam Dawson gets the call. He bustles in and persuades King to flat-bat in the air, but the ball drops a few yards short of James Vince at long-off. A good over, only two off it, but West Indies can just about afford that.
4th over: West Indies 26-0 (King 8, Hope 14) On CricViz, West Indies’ chances of a win are 94 per cent. What can Morgan do? Send for Rash. His leg-break deceives Brandon King, only to flick the pad and elude poor old Sam Billings, so that’s four leg byes. The cameras find Sir Garfield Sobers, looking frail but cracking a smile.
3rd over: West Indies 19-0 (King 6, Hope 13) Mahmood finds some lift and Hope, flicking to leg, skies over square leg for a couple. A better flick zips away for four, and England’s total is already looking very small.
2nd over: West Indies 13-0 (King 6, Hope 7) The new ball goes to Chris Jordan, top scorer in England’s so-called innings. He’s greeted with a dismissive pull by Shai Hope, who sees it so early that that ball goes rasping past mid-on.
Jason Roy makes a good stop at backward point in the middle of giving an interview. Who says men can’t multi-task?
1st over: West Indies 6-0 (King 5, Hope 1) As the lights come on it’s Saqib Mahmood, so impressive last summer, to open the bowling. With fine leg up, he strays onto the hip and Brandon King tucks him away for four. Mahmood strikes back with a lifter that beats King outside off. The pitch is decidedly springy – half beach, half biscuit.
The lowest score England have successfully defended in a T20 is 130. This feels like a miracle too far, even for Morgan.
West Indies used seven bowlers. It’s not clear how many batters England used.
England all out! For 103 (Rashid b Holder 22)
Two in two! Rashid makes room outside off and gets bowled in the manner of Rory Burns. Holder finishes with four for seven, but hats off too to Rashid. With Jordan, he may just have made a game of it. See you shortly.
Wicket! Mahmood c Allen b Holder 5 (England 103-9)
Jason Holder is back and he resumes here he left off, fooling Mahmood with his slower ball.
19th over: England 102-8 (Rashid 21, Mahmood 5) Rashid mows Allen over midwicket, is dropped by Holder in the deep, and gets four from the fumble. Up comes the hundred, greeted by rueful cheers from the England fans. Since Rashid came in, they’ve doubled the score.
18th over: England 95-8 (Rashid 15, Mahmood 4) Saqib Mahmood, facing Pollard, shows the top order how it’s done with a wristy on-drive. And then Adil Rashid plays a gorgeous dab, taking the bat away from the ball, just brushing it through the vacant first slip for four. Pollard strikes back with a warning to Mahmood as he backs up too far, but the over belongs to the batters.
17th over: England 87-8 (Rashid 10, Mahmood 1) That was an inspired change from Pollard and a fine first over from Allen, with his slow left-am. The only crumb of comfort for England, with their three spinners, is that there’s plenty of turn.
Wicket! Jordan c Cottrell b Allen 28 (England 85-8)
There it is! A change of bowling and a spot of flight do the trick as Fabian Allen lures Jordan into a chip to deep mid-off. It was fun while it lasted.
16th over: England 84-7 (Jordan 28, Rashid 8) As the partnership has raced to 32 off 20 balls, Kieron Pollard decides it’s time to bring on his big gun: himself. He does well, conceding only three singles, but these two old stagers are still there and the one born in Barbados is having a ball.
15th over: England 81-7 (Jordan 27, Rashid 6) Sheldon Cottrell is back for his last over. He keeps Jordan honest with a couple of dots, then goes for a couple of singles and a two, and finally condos a six as Jordan slaps him over cover. “Magnificent strike that is,” says Mark Butcher. On the artificial beach, a topless man takes a fine falling catch.
14th over: England 71-7 (Jordan 18, Rashid 5) And another one! Jordan spots a friendly bouncer from Shepherd and pulls it for a regal six. And then he’s dropped, but it’s a very hard chance to Shepherd himself – no blame attached. Jordan takes over as top scorer for England, with 18 off 13 balls, replacing Morgan, whose 17 occupied 29 balls. And Adil Rashid joins in with a pull for four, so that’s 12 off the over. For the past ten minutes, it’s been back to Twenty20 as we know it.
13th over: England 59-7 (Jordan 9, Rashid 0) Another six! Swung straight by Jordan off a half-volley from Hosein. Will it be six-and-out again? No! Jordan goes back and pulls for two. He adds another two, to backward point, to make 10 from the over. It’s going to be all right.
“I started work at pretty much the same time as this match commenced,” says Phil Withall. “It’s probably fair to say I’ve put in more of a shift than the England players have.”
12th over: England 49-7 (Jordan 1, Rashid 0) Last time these teams met, West Indies made 55 all out. Can England do any better here?
Wicket! Morgan c Pollard b Shepherd 17 (England 49-7)
You know what a six means – impending doom. Morgan chips the next ball straight to his opposite number at extra cover.
Mid-12th over: England 49-6 (Morgan 17, Jordan 1) Morgan plays his best shot yet, which isn’t saying much – a caress of an off drive, And then he goes inside-out for six. “Pressure on the bowler!” says a commentator. Are you sure?
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11th over: England 41-6 (Morgan 9, Jordan 1) Dawson pushed Hosein into the covers, said yes-no-wait, and was run out by yards. The commentators reckon he was bamboozled by Hosein’s turn and bounce, but he may just as well have been befuddled by the match situation.
“England’s players,” says Gary Naylor, “play too much red ball cricket.”
Wicket!! Dawson run out 2 (England 39-6)
What could make things worse? A suicidal run, first ball after the drinks break.
“You thought it was an OBO,” says Steve Rackett, “but got a comedy gig instead.” You’re not joking.
10th over: England 39-5 (Morgan 8, Dawson 2) Ladies and gentlemen, we have a two! Cut away by Morgan, off Odean Smith, so Morgan now has eight off 24 balls. Four off the over, and at the halfway stage (they hope) England are still in deep trouble.
9th over: England 35-5 (Morgan 5, Dawson 1) Hosein beats Dawson with a near-bouncer. “Dawson’s a scrapper,” says Mark Butcher. All he has to do is scrap his way to a hundred partnership in the next 11 overs, and England will have a chance.
8th over: England 34-5 (Morgan 4, Dawson 1) A breather for Jason Holder (3-1-6-2), who gives way to Romario Shepherd’s medium pace. He takes pity on England and starts with a couple of wides, before they suddenly remember that you are allowed to score singles.
“Great to see what we’ve sacrificed all that red ball cricket for,” says Brian Withington. “James Vince out Vinces himself as the ultimate tribute act. Cap’n Morgan doing a passable imitation of a blind man with a cane for a bat – will presumably go on and bludgeon a century now.” Ha. I wouldn’t bet on it.
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7th over: England 29-5 (Morgan 2, Dawson 0) Kieron Pollard had made his first bowling change, replacing Cottrell (3-1-20-2) with the slow left-arm of Akeal Hosein. Morgan tried an early reverse sweep but found the man at backward point. And then Billings charged, missed and booked his place in a future pub quiz. Which batter took part in two England collapses in the same week and took four flights to get from one to the other?
Wicket! Billings st Hope b Hosein 2 (England 29-5)
Billings gives the spinner the charge and runs into some turbulence. This is so bad, it’s quite funny.
6th over: England 26-4 (Morgan 1, Billings 1) Morgan finally gets off the mark – with a nick! Close to the slip cordon (yes, there is one). And Sam Billings gets off the mark too, first ball, with a chop past gully. Good on him. That’s the end of the PowerPlay, or in this case the BitOfAShowerPlay.
Sam Billings is in...
... at 24-4, after five overs. Owing to previous passenger selection, he has to make a fifty here.
Wicket! Vince c Bravo b Cottrell 14 (England 24-4)
A slap to extra cover! The very next ball after the six, as with Roy.
Mid-5th over: England 24-3 (Vince 14, Morgan 0) There may be a case for a counter-attack here. James Vince, facing Cottrell, sees it and hits a four! Off his pads. And another, next ball – chopped away past backward point. And then a six! With a top-edged hook, but it was quite safe as fine leg was up. And then...
4th over: England 10-3 (Vince 0, Morgan 0) Morgan may still be there, but that doesn’t mean he can get bat on ball. He plays and misses for the fifth time in a row. Another maiden! And somewhere among the misses there was an on-pitch interview with Nicholas Pooran, who said “I was lucky, it hit my wrist and bounced up” before the connection failed. It’s all not happening.
Morgan not out!
So it could be worse for England: they’re not 10-4!
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Mid-4th over: England 10-3 (Vince 0, Morgan 0) Morgan’s turn to play and miss. And then he’s given out! Caught behind, flailing – but he reviews right away...
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3rd over: England 10-3 (Vince 0, Morgan 0) On the plus side, James Vince has time to play himself in, and Eopin Morgan has time to play himself into form. Vince, facing Cottrell, wafts outside off. And that’s a maiden! I don’t believe it.
2nd over: England 10-3 (Vince 0, Morgan 0) APOLOGY. We may have given the impression that this occasion would be quite different from the Ashes. Turns out, it’s just as bad!
Wicket!! Moeen Ali c Allen b Holder 0 (England 10-3)
You know those Moeen strokes that look as if he’s taking catching practice? This is one of them, caressed to the man at backward point. That’s a golden duck, and West Indies are running through England.
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Wicket!! Banton c Pooran b Holder 4 (England 10-2)
Banton takes his cue from Roy: one fine shot, and out. Jason Holder bowls him a Test-match outswinger, he plays a Test-match poke, and Nicholas Pooran, at slip, takes a Test-match catch.
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1st over: England 6-1 (Banton 0, Vince 0) So Jason Roy gets a hundred in the dress rehearsal and one scoring shot on the first night.
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Wicket!! Roy b Cottrell 6 (England 6-1)
... then Roy swats him for six – and Cottrell swings one back in to send the stumps cartwheeling. First blood to West Indies! You can guess the celebration.
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Mid-1st over: England 0-0 (Roy 0, Banton 0) It’s Sheldon Cottrell to Jason Roy. Is this a salute waiting to happen? Cottrell reels off four dots...
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Both sides take the knee. “All they’re doing,” says Ian Bishop, “is reminding the world that we need equal treatment for everyone, particularly people of colour.” Amen to that.
Time for the anthems: not two of them, oh no, but three. The first is the anthem of Barbados, ringing out proudly now that it has just become a republic. The Queen needn’t worry too much as she gets a mention in anthem number two. And top of the bill is Rally Round The West Indies.
An email! Thank you, Andrew Benton. “Nice to see Moeen Ali back in a team that’ll suit him,” he observes. “And I love the Art Deco pavilion. Proper quality all round for this game.” Let’s hope so.
Mark Butcher, whose Air Miles must be as impressive as Sam Billings’s, is having a feel of the pitch. He reckons it has plenty of runs in it. “It’s biscuit-coloured,” he says. Yes, and quite old-school – Rich Tea.
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Teams: Billings plays! Alongside three spinners
Both teams have gone with a radical mixture. Yes, it’s our old friends youth and experience. Sam Billings steps off the plane onto the pitch, and there’s a rare outing for Liam Dawson’s reliable slow left-arm.
West Indies 1 Shai Hope, 2 Brandon King, 3 Nicholas Pooran (wkt), 4 Darren Bravo, 5 Kieron Pollard (capt), 6 Jason Holder, 7 Fabian Allen, 8 Odean Smith, 9 Romario Shepherd, 10 Akeal Hosein, 11 Sheldon Cottrell.
England 1 Jason Roy, 2 Tom Banton, 3 James Vince, 4 Moeen Ali, 5 Eoin Morgan (capt), 6 Sam Billings (wkt), 7 Chris Jordan, 8 Liam Dawson, 9 Adil Rashid, 10 Saqib Mahmood, 11 Tymal Mills.
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“We were going to bat first anyway,” says Eoin Morgan. He’s changed his tune.
Toss: West Indies win and bowl
Eoin Morgan calls heads, it’s tails and Kieron Pollard fancies a chase.
Preamble
And there’s another country, I’ve heard of long ago. It’s called England, and it is actually quite good at cricket – perhaps because it’s in the capable hands of an Irishman.
Hello, good evening and welcome to a new chapter in the history of English cricket. The ball is white, the game is short, the sea is green, the hosts are West Indies, the captains are Kieron Pollard and Eoin Morgan and there’s a completely different cast from the Ashes – with the possible exception of Sam Billings, who has taken four flights to make his way from Hobart to Bridgetown. If he is picked tonight, his challenge will be to Partey like he has some idea what time of day it is.
While England are still top of the ICC rankings despite not making the T20 World Cup final, West Indies have gone from world-beaters in 2016 to tenth in the table, below Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. Over the past year they’ve played 22 completed T20 internationals and won only nine, whereas England have won 11 out of 17.
That said, West Indies are still pretty good at home, where eight of those nine victories have come – four of them in a triumphant series against Australia six months ago. And Morgan is without several of his regulars, from Jos Buttler and Jonny Bairstow to Jofra Archer. So my considered opinion is that this match could end in a win for either side.
Play starts at 4pm local time, 8pm GMT, and the forecast is fine – the Met Office app is promising both the sun and the moon, to make up for the missing stars. Do join me around 7.35pm GMT for news of the toss and the teams.
