Key events
6th over: England 58-1 (Duckett 27, Buttler 26) Joseph and his pace enters stage left. Buttler welcomes him by clipping him up and over the leg side for four. That was a sweet pick up. Joseph then bangs in a viscious bumper but when he pitches it up, Buttler spanks him down the ground. A slightly wider one is sliced high towards backward point but lands between three fielders.
That’s the end of the powerplay. England are up with the required rate but it’s pretty even if you ask me.
“It’s good to see England battling properly,” says John Starbuck “West Indies doing a good job is essential for world cricket and I hope they win this one, if only to boost their confidence, and not to annoy the statisticians. I hope we can see a sensible solution to allow the Windies to enter the cricket Olympics next year, even if they have to pretend to be all Barbadians. Enter the white lie solution. Complicated, eh?”
5th over: England 47-1 (Duckett 27, Buttler 15) Shepherd’s into the attack. Duckett escapes a mix-up in the middle. A direct hit from backward point would have hid him on his way. That would have been a sad end to what is fast becoming a fine knock. A slashing drive off the front four adds four through the covers and he closes the set with a scoop over the ‘keeper that clears the rope for six.
4th over: England 33-1 (Duckett 16, Buttler 12) Buttler uses his feet to holder, charging out his crease and clobbering a six over wide mid-on. He gets lucky from his next ball as an edge from an attempted scoop misses his stumps and bounces down for four. Duckett swats off the back foot but it drops just short of the fielder at short midwicket.
3rd over: England 21-1 (Duckett 15, Buttler 1) Duckett is combatting Hosein with reverse sweeps/switch hits. The first is drilled into a big gap past past for four. Hope responds by plugging that gap but Duckett goes agaib. The second switch is hit hard and the diving Lewis got a stiff hand to it. Would have been a helluva catch. Instead it trickled away for four.
2nd over: England 11-1 (Duckett 6, Buttler 0) Excellent start from Holder. The wicket of Smith – caught at mid-off on the slog – was supplemented by a miserly that cost just four runs. There was an lbw appeal against Buttler’s first ball, but it was sliding down leg.
WICKET! Smith c Motie b Holder 4 (England 9-1)
Second time unlucky for Smith! Smith hoisted Holder’s first ball high and just long enough to evade Motie at mid-off. But the second ball landed safely in the fielder’s fingers. Another attempt to smash a lofted drive down the ground sees Smith fall early. Great fielding from Motie. Catching over the shoulder while running away from the wicket is never easy.
1st over: England 7-0 (Smith 2, Duckett 5) Tidy start from Hosein, who only arrived in the country this morning. He’s followed the lead from the English spinners and is zipping his finger spinners onto a tricky length, erring on the fuller side. Ducket tries a revers sweep and mistimes it. he then brings out a conventional sweep and nails it, picking up for fine of deep square.
Right then. Big job for the England batters.
The Windies are out there and have a little spring in their step. Holder shares a joke with Smith who is practicing some flicks off his pads. Hosein, fresh from his visa troubles, has the ball in his hand and will kick things off with some spin.
After 16 overs West Indies had 121 runs on the board.
They biffed 75 from the final 24 balls. An almighty display of power hitting.
I was so occupied with what I was seeing that I missed Colum Fordham’s message around the time Powell was dismissed in the 18th over:
“The West Indies have been becalmed by excellent England bowling in the middle overs but the Rovman Powellplay has put them back in with a shout.
”Entertaining match in prospect. Windies will have to go beserk in the final two to set a competitive total.”
He’s right, England were excellent in the middle overs. But those lusty blows probably have the Windies with their noses in front.
West Indies post 196-6
Chase hits his first ball for six! Wow, I thought West Indies would fall short of a competitive score but the last three overs have been immense! This final set, bowled by Wood went for 16. It started with Holder slamming a four down the ground and then edging another four to deep third. The run-out of Shepherd brought Chase on strike and the Test skipper drilled his one and only ball for half a dozen over long-off.
Holder ends not-out on 29 and it’s game on! England will have to bat well to haul this in.
WICKET! Shepherd run-out Buttler 19 (West Indies 190-5)
Swift stuff from Buttler gets rid of Shepherd! It was a slower ball that beat Holder’s swishing bat so Shepherd ran immediately. Buttler gathered, whipped off a glove and shied at the stumps. Shepherd was nowhere near safety so new man, Chase will have one ball to add to West Indies’ score.
19th over: West Indies 180-5 (Shepherd 18, Holder 20) 31 off the over! Five sixes! Rashid was absolutely demolished there! Holder kicked off with three consecutive maximums. He tried a fourth but fluffed it. But that wasn’t the end of Rashid’s pain. Shepherd smoked two in a row himself. I did say that the batters would try and hit every ball for six. I didn’t think they’d actually do it!
18th over: West Indies 149-5 (Shepherd 6, Holder 1) Carse started with 0-30 from his first two overs but ends with 1-42 from four. A great comeback from the seamer. Powell was visibly annoyed with himself as he trudged off the pitch, but that was a handy cameo. I reckon the batters are going to try hit every ball for six from hear on. I can’t see anything short of 170 being enough.
WICKET! Powell c Wood b Carse 34 (West Indies 148-5)
Wood is having a day out! Powell had just nailed a six off Carse – back into the attack – over midwicket but he couldn’t beat the diving Wood at deep extra cover. Spliced off the bat, it looked to have the distance. But Wood, flying across the ground, launched himself at the ball and held on with both hands. Excellent fielding and a big wicket just as Powell was climbing through the gears.
17th over: West Indies 141-4 (Powell 28, Shepherd 5) Spin is back so Powell has his cap on. As John Starbuck says, “On TMS they reckon that Powell is batting without a helmet as a psychological ploy against the bowler, who is supposed to believe the batter isn’t going to sweep or reverse sweep. Any views?”
My view is that he doesn’t have to bother with sweeps when he can thump it down the ground for six, as he did to Dawson’s second ball. The first, a short ball, was spanked for four and the third was edged for four. Good balls don’t always get wickets, do they? Powell ends the over by carving a short ball to the vacant cover boundary. That’s 20 off the set. West Indies needed that.
16th over: West Indies 121-4 (Powell 9, Shepherd 4) Brilliant from Wood. His wicket came off the second ball of his second spell (sorry about my earlier report that it was first ball). Some lovely slower balls and cutters. One was from the back of the hand that Shepherd bunted for two. Wood’s got 2-9 from three overs. A handy return to the side I’d say.
WICKET! Charles b Wood 47 (West Indies 117-4)
Wood’s back with another! It’s a half-volley around a sixth stump line but Charles moved early and committed to the flick behind square on the leg side. He gets a good piece of it but squirts it back onto his own stumps.
15th over: West Indies 116-3 (Charles 47, Powell 8) Carse is back and has changed ends from the one where he shipped 30 runs from two overs. He’s banging it in short of a length and gets a slower ball to grip in the surface to keep Charles to a dot ball. This is much better from Carse who is bowling with a rhythm that eluded him in his opening spell. Apart from a wide down the leg side, he had it on a string and might have had a wicket had Powell’s scoop – that fell short of long leg – been better timed.
14th over: West Indies 112-3 (Charles 46, Powell 6 Charles recognises that a gear shift is needed and that, as the set batter, it’s on him to make the play. Rashid flights one and the big opener plants his front foot and hoists a long six down the ground. Four singles and a two for Powell elsewhere means it’s a decent return for the tourists.
This is not the only cricket on the go today, as reader Simon McMahon points out:
Hi Daniel. A bumper day of sport and if anybody, apart from me, is interested, Scotland are playing Nepal in an ODI in Dundee today, and after winning the toss and batting, made 323-6 in their 50 overs having been in trouble at 162-5. A decent effort, thanks largely to a hundred from captain Richie Berrington and an unbeaten 96 (from 62 balls) from Michael Leask. Nepal 27-2 after five in reply.
13th over: West Indies 100-3 (Charles 38, Powell 2) In three overs the West Indies batters have added just 18 runs and lost two wickets. Bethell is on the scoreboard and England are on a roll.
WICKET! Rutherford c Banton b Bethell 6 (West Indies 98-3)
They’re on a roll now! England are turning the screw with some shrewd bowling changes and a deluge of spin. Bethell’s back and he’s full at Rutherford after getting cut for four. So Rutherford tries to launch it long but the ball seemed to get caught in the breeze. As it swirled, Banton had to steady himself and get into position. That was smart fielding in the deep. Made a tricky catch look routine.
12th over: West Indies 93-2 (Charles 37, Rutherford 2) More spin but from a different source. It’s Jacks’ finger spin and it’s tidy stuff. Just the two singles off that over. Charles now has to play the destroyer in chief but he’s battled for fluency against the slower bowling. England have fought back well.
11th over: West Indies 91-2 (Charles 36, Rutherford 1) Success for Rashid. A drag down was spanked for six by Hope, though it might have brought a wicket had Wood, down in the deep, got his hand around the ball rather than tip it over rope. The very next ball bagged the breakthrough with some delicious leg spin bowling; flight, drift, dip and turn. Classic stuff from England’s white ball GOAT.
WICKET! Hope st Buttler b Rashid 49 (West Indies 90-2)
Got him with a ripper! That’s a beauty from Rashid. After getting spanked for six from a drag down, Rashid showed some sand and flighted it up. Hope took the bait but was beaten in the air. Buttler had the simplest task of gathering and knocking off the bails. England have their breakthrough.
10th over: West Indies 82-1 (Charles 29, Hope 48) A blustery breeze blows across the ground as Buttler, Brook and Dawson convene for a rethink. They need an end to this partnership. Dawson’s continuing with his darts and keeps Hope on strike for two balls until a swipe to deep points gets him a single. Charles scampers a single of his own before Hope gets another one. Whatever the chat was at the top of the over worked as only three runs were scored.
Halfway through the innings, I’d say West Indies are edging it. Just. Time for drinks.
9th over: West Indies 79-1 (Charles 28, Hope 46) Charles recognises that he has to go fetch Bethell’s darts and the big unit creates his own length with big strides forward. He has to reach for his slow sweep but gets enough wood on it to clear the man sweeping on the leg side. Then he swats a missile straight back to Bethell who can maybe count himself lucky that he didn’t get a hand to it. 13 runs off that one. Suddenly West Indies are ticking along quite nicely at 8.7. They’ve hit 51 off the last five.
8th over: West Indies 66-1 (Charles 17, Hope 44) Adil Rashid joins the party. Will be interesting to see how he approaches this. Will he give one a bit of air? Not just yet. Like Bethell and Dawson he’s flatter and quicker through the air. Seven runs – all run – off that over, including a couple for Charles that’s chopped through point after a misfield.
7th over: West Indies 59-1 (Charles 13, Hope 41) It’s going to be a trial by spin for a while I reckon. Bethell is up next, landing back of a length darts. It’s a smart strategy given the dimensions of the ground and he gets away with just four singles.
6th over: West Indies 55-1 (Charles 11, Hope 39) Carse is getting carted. Bit harsh maybe. It’s brilliant batting from Hope who is such a natural timer of the ball. Twice he gives himself room to swing his arms and launches sixes down the ground. That’s the end of the powerplay. Despite Carse going at 15 an over, I think England will be OK with how that went.
5th over: West Indies 40-1 (Charles 11, Hope 25) Dawson is back into the attack and starts with a wide down the leg side. The straight boundaries are very short so he doesn’t want to float it up, but that means there’s little margin for error with his length. Twice Dawson drags down and twice Charles cuts for four off the back foot. England review for a caught behind appeal that was turned down, but it missed both glove and bat as Charles attempted to sweep.
4th over: West Indies 28-1 (Charles 2, Hope 24) Carse into the attack and he gets the business from Hope as this over goes for 15. A spray onto the pads is clipped fine for four so Carse adjusts his line but it’s in the slot and Hope wallops it down the ground for six. So Carse adjusts his length but it’s short enough for Hope to throw his hands at it and carve it down to deep third for four. Charles is struggling, though, and wafts aimlessly at a slower ball that somehow squirts past Buttler for a bye.
3rd over: West Indies 12-1 (Charles 2, Hope 9) Another top set from Wood, holding a tight line and tucking up Charles. Hope managed a single off the first ball but Charles couldn’t get a run off the next five. Wood was zipping it through between a good length and the occasional yorker. Very impressive so far.
Long delay here as they sort out the sightscreen behind Wood’s arm.
Or is it an issue with an advertisement screen?
Either way, that took a while. They’re back now.
2nd over: West Indies 11-1 (Charles 2, Hope 8) Dawson’s finger spin opens the other end and he’s testing the Windies batters with a full length and a brisk pace. One drag down, though, is thumped over midwicket by Hope for six. Two singles elsewhere.
1st over: West Indies 3-1 (Charles 1, Hope 1) Brilliant opening from Wood. A wicket first ball with a piercing yorker, he kept it full and swining throughout. A beamer first up to Hope meant there was a free hit on offer, but the Windies skipper could only manage a single to mid-on. An inside edge onto the thigh pad gets Charles off the mark.
WICKET! Lewis lbw Wood 0 (West Indies 0-1)
He’s got him first ball! A snorter of a yorker beats Lewis for pace and bangs him right in front. The batter reviews but it’s more in hope than anything. Maybe he thought he made contact with the ball as he attempted to dig it out, but there’s a gap between leather and willow. A stunning start for Wood and England.
The players are now geared up and ready to roll.
Brook leads his troops out and the Windies openers, Charles and Lewis, two powerful hitters, follow.
Wood has his cap off. Looks like he’ll take the new ball first up.
The players are going through their drills.
While we wait for things to get going, why don’t you catch up on some cricket reading:
Josh Hazlewood reckons he’s in the form if his life ahead of the WTC final:
Temba Bavuma tells Don McRae all about his remarkable journey:
And Barney Ronay contrasts the fortunes of two of England’s young stars:
Sue in Southampton is having some technical difficulties.
“Hi there, Is it just me or is there no sound on Channel 5?”
Have you tried turning it off and then on again, Sue?
Anyone else having similar issues?
Teams
Changes for both sides from Friday.
Luke Wood is in for England in place of Matthew Potts. Brook backing him to add pace from that left arm.
Akeal Hosein is straight into the team with Andre Russell missing out with an injury.
England: Jamie Smith, Ben Duckett, Jos Buttler (wk), Harry Brook (c), Tom Banton, Jacob Bethell, Will Jacks, Liam Dawson, Brydon Carse, Adil Rashid, Luke Wood.
West Indies: Evin Lewis, Johnson Charles, Shai Hope (c, wk), Roston Chase, Sherfane Rutherfod, Romario Shepherd, Jason Holder, Rovman Powell, Gudakesh Motie, Alzarri Joseph, Akeal Hosein.
Brook wins the toss and bowls first
“We want to chase”, says Brook, who keeps winning at life.
Shai Hope would have bowled first as well.
I do know that West Indies will be boosted by the return of Akeal Hosein.
The world’s second best bowler – according to the ICC’s metrics at least – had some visa issues entering the UK.
Hosein, and his fellow Trinadadian Jyd Goolie, were unable to travel following recent changes to UK visa entry requirements for Trinidad and Tobago citizens, which came into effect on April 23 and May 12, 2025. These changes required the players to submit visa applications and attend mandatory in-person appointments.
We’ve got our first correspondence of the day.
Graham Holliday wants to know, “Is Joseph fit for today?”
Not sure. No word on his fitness as far as I can tell.
Toss and teams coming in at 2pm.
It’s been a productive fortnight for English cricket against the West Indies.
The women’s team, thanks largely to Nat Sciver-Brunt, secured a clean sweep over the Islanders in their ODI series.
Raf Nicholson was there to see what new head coach, Charlotte Edwards, called a “ruthless and clinical” display.
Preamble
Hello and welcome to this second men’s T20 between England and West Indies.
The last one went pretty well for the home side as Jos Buttler clobbered 96 before Liam Dawson snaffled four wickets in a 21 run win.
That was Harry Brook’s fourth win from four matches in charge. And after England’s white ball outfit managed just six wins from 24 ODIs and six from the 14 T20s before Brook’s ascension, it’s just as well “It’s Harry’s team now,” as Will Jacks recently put it.
Not that they’ve been tested much. The Windies really haven’t got out of second gear and, for England’s sake, as well as everyone watching, I hope they manage to raise their standards and show some fight today.
The toss, team news and other bits to come.
Play gets underway at 2:30pm.
Do get in touch with any thoughts you have.