After three washouts in four days for this tournament, the skies relented at Southampton despite dark clouds in the horizon, as England faced West Indies, in what was expected to be a close contest.
However, the Windies in a T20 frame of mind, making generous mistakes, were in the end, routed by a more clinical England.
Put into bat, the Windies folded for a paltry 212, despite laying a decent platform & reaching 144 for 4 around the 30th over mark. With powerhitters in their line up, it was expected that they will come close to a 300 or 300+ total, but instead of patiently trying to build & then go for a final assault, the batsmen went for expansive hits, resulting in getting out cheaply. Barring NIcholas Pooran & to some extent Hetmyer, who consolidated after the top three had fallen cheaply, none applied themselves in a batting friendly track. Both Gayle & Russell, arguably the biggest hitters in this tournament, could not capitalise on dropped chances &were caught in the deep after getting aggressive starts - such a shame, as the West Indies paid a heavy price in losing a match that they had a good chance to win.
Even Joe Root picked up two crucial wickets in the middle, as pacers Jofra Archer & Mark Wood picked up 3 apiece to derail the much expected Windies slog.
In reply, England cruised past the target with ease, as Joe Root went on to get his 2nd hundred of the tournament. Opening with Bairstow, who scored a fluent 45, they put on 95 runs & then Chris Woakes, surprisingly promoted up the order, made a solid 40 runs snuffing out any sting that the Windies pace attack had. England romped home in a 8 wicket victory, with more than 16 overs to spare. Roe Root was the unanimous choice for the Man of Match award.
The West Indies will have to do a lot of introspection & bring in discipline if they have to progress ahead - they have the potential as well as the talent - question is, will they work with a plan & its application ??
England, on the other hand are looking solid & secure to go the distance. Despite having injury scares, they look sorted in their game plan.
However, the Windies in a T20 frame of mind, making generous mistakes, were in the end, routed by a more clinical England.
Put into bat, the Windies folded for a paltry 212, despite laying a decent platform & reaching 144 for 4 around the 30th over mark. With powerhitters in their line up, it was expected that they will come close to a 300 or 300+ total, but instead of patiently trying to build & then go for a final assault, the batsmen went for expansive hits, resulting in getting out cheaply. Barring NIcholas Pooran & to some extent Hetmyer, who consolidated after the top three had fallen cheaply, none applied themselves in a batting friendly track. Both Gayle & Russell, arguably the biggest hitters in this tournament, could not capitalise on dropped chances &were caught in the deep after getting aggressive starts - such a shame, as the West Indies paid a heavy price in losing a match that they had a good chance to win.
Even Joe Root picked up two crucial wickets in the middle, as pacers Jofra Archer & Mark Wood picked up 3 apiece to derail the much expected Windies slog.
In reply, England cruised past the target with ease, as Joe Root went on to get his 2nd hundred of the tournament. Opening with Bairstow, who scored a fluent 45, they put on 95 runs & then Chris Woakes, surprisingly promoted up the order, made a solid 40 runs snuffing out any sting that the Windies pace attack had. England romped home in a 8 wicket victory, with more than 16 overs to spare. Roe Root was the unanimous choice for the Man of Match award.
The West Indies will have to do a lot of introspection & bring in discipline if they have to progress ahead - they have the potential as well as the talent - question is, will they work with a plan & its application ??
England, on the other hand are looking solid & secure to go the distance. Despite having injury scares, they look sorted in their game plan.
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