Sports Mole previews the fourth 2024 T20 match between West Indies and England, scheduled to be played at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground on Saturday.
England will be aiming to maintain their unbeaten record when they face the West Indies in the fourth of five T20 internationals at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground on Saturday.
The visitors took an unassailable 3-0 lead in the series by beating the hosts nation by three wickets in match three at this same venue on Thursday night.
Match preview
© Imago
After winning the ODI leg to post their fifth consecutive series win over England in the Caribbean, the West Indies will now be playing the remaining two matches in the shortest format of this series for nothing more but pride after that loss on Thursday.
The Windies were on the back foot from the off in the last match, as an incredible opening spell from Saqib Mahmood and Jofra Archer saw them reduced to 37/5 in the sixth over, with none of the top five batsman mananging to get into double digits.
Captain Rovman Powell spurred a fighback in the middle overs, scoring 54 off 41 balls including three fours and four sixes, and together with Romario Shepherd, they posted a 73-run partnership to set a defendable target of 145/8.
Akeal Hosein gave the hosts a solid start to their defence, knocking over the dangerous Phil Salt and Jos Buttler for four runs each inside the first five overs, but England’s middle order stood tough and saw out the match with three wickets and four balls to spare.
Notably, the Windies were fairly sloppy in the field – something we have not seen too often during this tour – with Nicholas Pooran and Shimron Hetmyer dropping three catches between them, which are the types of fine margins that saw them come up short in the low-scoring encounter.
© Imago
Meanwhile, although England managed to get the job done in the end in midweek, it was far from a straightforward victory, as the match hung in the balance right until the final two overs.
The Three Lions’ saw Salt, Buttler and Jacob Bethell depart for a cumulative 12 runs and had to rely on the in-form Liam Livingstone to stabilise the innings once again, which he did very well alongside Sam Curran, who top-scored with 41 of 26 balls.
However, it is that same key-man dependency that has also been a critiscm of England during this series and something the side will have to work on before heading to New Zealand and India in the next couple of months.
The biggest positive to come out of this series for the Three Lions, though, has been the rise of Saqib Mahmood, who notched up 3/17 in the last match and has potentially secured his spot as Jofra Archer’s partner with the new ball.
Despite the ups and downs during this tour, England have looked decisive in their thinking and gameplan – as we saw with Buttler allowing the quicks to bowl three overs apiece during the first powerplay – which was something they were noticeably lacking during the T20 World Cup earlier this year.
Team News
© Imago
Had the West Indies won the last match, Akeal Hosein would likely have received the Player of the Match award after tearing through the English top-order to end with an excellent 4/22 in his four overs.
Those figures were the left-armer’s second four-fer against England and he has now claimed 57 wickets in 63 T20 internationals, 21 of which have come against this opponent at an economy rate of 7.03.
Following his two-match suspension, Alzarri Joseph struggled to find his rhythm in the last match, ending on 1/37 in his four overs, which could see him drop to the bench here, potentially for Matthew Forde.
Rehan Ahmed got his first start in this T20 series in the last match, and while he did strike the winning runs in England’s chase, he failed to pick up any wickets with the ball, going for 29 runs in his three overs.
However, England’s spinners in general were fairly underwhelming, as Livingstone received only a single over which went for 14, while Dan Mousley‘s one over in the innings went for 10.
Adil Rashid was rested for the last match and could come back into the starting 11 here, while paceman Reece Topley has been ruled out for the remainder of the series due to a knee injury.
West Indies squad: Rovman Powell, Roston Chase, Matthew Forde, Shimron Hetmyer, Terrance Hinds, Shai Hope, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Brandon King, Evin Lewis, Gudakesh Motie, Nicholas Pooran, Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd, Shamar Springer
England squad: Jos Buttler, Rehan Ahmed, Jofra Archer, Jacob Bethell, Jordan Cox, Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Liam Livingstone, Saqib Mahmood, Dan Mousley, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, John Turner
Series so far
T20 1 of 5: England won by 8 wickets
West Indies – 182/9 (20)
England – 183/2 (16.5)
T20 2 of 5: England won by 7 wickets
West Indies – 158/8 (20)
England – 161/3 (14.5)
T20 3 of 5: England won by 3 wickets
West Indies – 145/8 (20)
England – 149/7 (19.2)
© PA Photos
We say: West Indies to win
While the West Indies have lost three in a row in the shortest format of the series, their ability to recover from a terrible start in the last match would have given them some much-needed confidence, and with the pressure now off, we feel they may be able to notch up a victory in this one.
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