England’s batting was exposed, having been spun out by West Indies in Mumbai as Harry Brook’s side fell to a 30 run defeat in their second match at the T20 World Cup.
England made a flying start in pursuit of 197 but slipped from 74 for one to 166 all out, with six wickets in succession taken by the Windies spinners through the middle overs. Gudakesh Motie conjured a spell of 3 for 33, dismissing Jacob Bethell for 33, Tom Banton for 2 and Brook for 17, while part timer Roston Chase chipped in with the wickets of Jos Buttler and Will Jacks. Sam Curran held firm for 43 not out but ran out of partners when Adil Rashid holed out at the end of the penultimate over.
Earlier, England leaked runs, Jofra Archer’s one wicket cost 48 runs, while Curran’s single victim came at a cost of 36 in three overs, to allow West Indies to post 196 for six at Wankhede Stadium. Sherfane Rutherford was the main beneficiary, scoring 74 from 42 deliveries, while being dropped on 23 and 56. There were contributions of 34 from Chase and 33 in 17 balls by Jason Holder as well.
The defeat is not terminal for England’s hopes, victories against Scotland on Saturday and Italy on Monday in Kolkata would likely send them through to the Super 8s, but it leaves them little room for manoeuvre. England’s struggles against spin are not unique to this latest side. They go back generations. If fans hoped this iteration had found a successful method when in Sri Lanka before this tournament, this result, under the pressure that comes with a World Cup chase, suggests otherwise.
When the ball was hard and with pace to face, England, who were beaten by West Indies in the final of the 2016 T20 World Cup in India, had no issues.
Phil Salt took 24 from the second over, bowled by Holder, and West Indies’ total looked 15 runs below par. The game changed when Buttler miscued Chase to long on for 21. It opened the door to Motie, who impressively mixed wrist and finger spin to have Banton and Brook chipping catches either side of zipping one through Bethell’s defence and onto the stumps.
Curran was England’s hero with the ball in their final over win against Nepal but he never really looked like finding the boundaries needed when pace returned at the death. It was a fine all round performance from West Indies, who caught every chance in the field, and now top the group with two wins from two. They face Nepal at this venue on Sunday, before playing Italy in Kolkata on Thursday, 19 February.
Though Archer had captain Shai Hope caught in the first over and fellow opener Brandon King slashed Curran to deep point in the second, West Indies were always dangerous given their stacked batting line up. England continued to take regular wickets but only Adil Rashid, who claimed 2 for 16, managed to slow the scoring.
Whereas Chase took 2 for 29 after being brought into the XI, England’s part time off spinner Will Jacks was hit for 32 in two overs, Brook’s decision to give him one over in the powerplay costing 19 runs. Archer, who also struggled against Nepal on Sunday, was wayward with his lines.
Rutherford had his moments. The first chance offered was a leading edge that flew to deep third man, with Rashid unable to take the catch or flick the ball back inside the rope.
That was a tough chance but Rashid would be disappointed not to take a chance off his own bowling when Rutherford skied a slog sweep in the 18th over. The left hander added another 18 runs from seven balls after that miss while Holder hit four sixes, three of which came in the 18th over bowled by Curran.
With dew not playing a part in making the ball harder to grip for the West Indies bowlers, it proved too much for England when the ball turned.