Sports Mole previews the first 2025 T20 match between England and the West Indies, scheduled to be played at the Riverside Ground on Friday.
With the ODI series wrapped up, England and the West Indies will now face off in the first of the three T20 internationals at the Riverside Ground on Friday evening.
The visitors will be looking to turn their fortunes around in this series after the hosts produced a commanding performance in the 50-over format, securing a 3-0 whitewash.
Match preview
© Imago
England completed their 3-0 ODI series whitewash over the West Indies in midweek with a seven-wicket victory chasing a target of 246 after a rain delay caused the match to be reduced the match to 40 overs.
Jamie Smith led the charge with an explosive 64 from just 28 deliveries, while an unbroken 46-run stand between captain Harry Brook (26*) and former skipper Jos Buttler (41*) got the Three Lions over the line with 10 overs and two balls to spare.
The hosts reached 100 runs in just eight overs, marking the joint-fourth fastest that any men’s side has reached three figures, while Ben Duckett and Player of the Series Joe Root also made important contributions of 58 and 44 runs, respectively.
While England’s dominance in the final ODI was certainly impressive, a cause for greater satisfaction was their resilience in the second match, when they pulled off a three-wicket victory despite a far-from-perfect performance.
England will head into the T20 series with all the momentum, but they have not fared well against the Windies in the shortest format, winning just three of their last seven matches against the Men in Maroon on home soil.
© Imago
Meanwhile, the 3-0 defeat which followed a 1-1 tie against Ireland last month has left the West Indies uncomfortably placed alongside Bangladesh in the race for automatic World Cup qualification.
However, despite the margin of defeat on Wednesday, there were a few positives that the West Indies would have taken from the match, most notably, the performance of Sherfane Rutherford, who scored 70 off just 71 deliveries in what was his first match of the series.
Young Keacy Carty is another who has shown glimpses of brilliance during this tour, having notched up a century in the second ODI, while Gudakesh Motie has been the spearhead of the middle-order with his aggressive batting.
The visitors are widely expected to be much more competitive in the T20 leg of this series, which is the first for newly appointed T20 captain Shai Hope, as they will be bolstered by the return of several key players who missed the ODI series.
Team News
© Imago
Liam Dawson is set to play his first T20I for the Three Lions in almost three years this week, while Phil Salt is expected to make the starting lineup after helping the Royal Challengers Bangalore win their maiden Indian Premier League title earlier in the week.
Adil Rashid, who is the most successful bowler against West Indies in T20I history with 36 wickets at an economy of 6.05, will be looking to carry his solid ODI form into this series, while Buttler was in excellent nick at the IPL, where he scored 538 runs at a strike rate of 163.03.
The West Indies will be bolstered by the return of Jason Holder, who last played for the national team in a T20 in February 2024, and was one of the standout bowlers for Islamabad United at the 2025 Pakistan Super League.
Additionally, Andre Russell returns to the squad after injuring himself in the opening match of last year’s series against England in Barbados, though he did play every match in the IPL for the Kolkata Knight Riders this season.
England squad: Harry Brook, Rehan Ahmed, Tom Banton, Jacob Bethell, Jos Buttler, Brydon Carse, Liam Dawson, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Saqib Mahmood, Matthew Potts, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Luke Wood.
West Indies squad: Shai Hope, Johnson Charles, Roston Chase, Matthew Forde, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Brandon King, Evin Lewis, Gudakesh Motie, Rovman Powell, Andre Russell, Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd.
© PA Photos
We say: England to win
We are expecting a much more closely contested T20 series over the coming week, but given the momentum the hosts gained from their ODI triumph, we feel they will get off to a winning start in this match.
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