West Indies v England, 1st T20, Barbados - March 9, 2014

[Bitter]

WI look for T20 feelgood factor

http://www.espncricinfo.com/west-indies-v-england-2013-14/content/current/story/726397.html

Match Facts
March 8, Barbados
Start time 2.00pm (1800GMT)

The Big Picture
Now the serious World T20 preparations can begin. The week ahead provides a valuable opportunity for the teams to fine-tune their plans ahead of Bangladesh.

Chris Gayle's return is crucial for West Indies although there will be plenty of crossed fingers that he is over his injury problems. Their top order did not pack anything like the same fear-factor without him in the ODIs and the stagnant starts were a major reason England were able to rebound and take the series

For England the whole trip has been geared towards the World T20, with a bespoke squad given a longer time to work together, and these three matches will provide a clearer idea of what Ashley Giles and Stuart Broad have in store. Their plans have taken a hit, however, with the injury to Joe Root although Alex Hales should be fit to resume his role at the top of the order

There will be a balance to strike for the captains and coaches: there is a series at stake, and professional pride will want to win it, but there may also be a temptation to ensure every player who is boarding a plane to Bangladesh gets at least one run out over these three matches.

Form guide
(completed matches, most recent first)
West Indies WLLLL
EnglandLLLWL

In the spotlight
He's back. And West Indies will hope that Chris Gayle's return is not a false start this time. He can win Twenty20 matches in 10 overs; few players hit the ball harder or further. His comeback against Ireland - following the hamstring injury suffered against India last November - was a brief affair as a cautious approach was taken with a view to this format. A lack of cricket may hinder him, but then again Gayle could still swagger in and club the ball all over Kensington Oval.

Eoin Morgan has had a stop-start tour so far, struck by a knee injury during the warm-up match and playing just one of the ODIs where he was bowled third ball by Sunil Narine. Therefore this series is especially important for him to find his stride before reaching Bangladesh. In the absence of Kevin Pietersen, the onus will be on Morgan to bring that sprinkle of something special to the middle order and it will be interesting to watch how high he bats and how flexible the strategy with him is.

Team news
Having stuck with their main ODI squad in Antigua, West Indies now bring in their T20 specialists. Johnson Charles and Andre Fletcher are batting options, Samuel Badree provides a rolling legspinner, Andre Russell adds to the lower-order hitting, while Krishmar Santokie and Sheldon Cottrell provided the much sought-after left-arm angle.

West Indies (possible) 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Dwayne Smith, 3 Johnson Charles, 4 Marlon Samuels, 5 Dwayne Bravo, 6 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 7 Darren Sammy (capt), 8 Andre Russell, 9 Sunil Narine, 10 Ravi Rampaul, 11 Samuel Badree

Alex Hales will return to partner Michael Lumb after missing his one-day chance through injury so Moeen Ali could slip down a spot to cover for the absent Joe Root. Spin was a major success in the ODIs, but the Kensington Oval surface is unlikely to offer as much assistance so room may need to be found for an extra paceman, either Chris Jordan or Jade Dernbach. The latter will cause consternation among many England supporters.

England (possible) 1 Alex Hales, 2 Michael Lumb, 3 Moeen Ali, 4 Eoin Morgan, 5 Ben Stokes, 6 Jos Buttler (wk), 7 Ravi Bopara, 8 Tim Bresnan, 9 Stuart Broad (capt), 10 James Tredwell, 11 Chris Jordan

Pitch and conditions
The pitch is expected to be true and not favour the spinners so heavily as Antigua. Barbados can be, when the groundsman wishes, one of the surfaces in the Caribbean that retains some bounce to encourage the quicks.

Stats and trivia

• England's previous Twenty20 on this ground was when they secured the World T20 title in 2010, beating Australia by seven wickets in the final.
• The two sides last met in this format in the previous World T20 when West Indies won by 15 runs Chris Gayle and Charles added 103 for the first wicket.
• West Indies' series-levelling win against Ireland in Jamaica ended a run of five defeats on the bounce.
• The total number of sixes hit by players in the England squad is 136 (not including the injured Root): the total number for West Indies is 212

Quotes
"Yes, England did win the one-day series. But we've shown that, once we put them under pressure, they don't respond too well."
Darren Sammy

"It's going to be difficult to find a strategy that will work here in Barbados and also would work in Bangladesh as well."
Paul Collingwood

Andrew McGlashan is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo

[Quags]

Smith on fire 19 of 1st over

[Quags]

Now Gayle waking up !

[Aviator]

Now Gayle waking up !

Indeed he has. A final score of less than 170, would be a failure after this start.

[Quags]

Destruction in Barbados

[Quags]

last time I see batting like this fron WI ,was Polly and Russel few years ago.

[Bitter]

Destruction in Barbados

Is a little early for that. This is the west indies we talking about eh.

And as I say that, Smith is gone.

[Quags]

He lost his eye ,when Gayle join in on the fun

[Quags]

Akeal start his spell in the TnT game

[Quags]

loss ball

[Quags]

So Simmons could not just see off Bopara steuppss

[Bitter]

So Simmons could not just see off Bopara steuppss

This is the west indies we talking about eh.

[Quags]

So Simmons could not just see off Bopara steuppss

This is the west indies we talking about eh.

Well 120  is not enough with 4 over to goWhy not send in Ramdeen

[Quags]

5 x4s on the trot from Marlon.

[Aviator]

170/3. Good score, but we could have done 10 - 15 runs more.

[Bitter]

2 quick wickets for Badree.

 

[Aviator]

Birthday boy gettin' on!

[Quags]

[Quags]

everybody get hurt in that over

[Bitter]

The part of England today will be played by... England.

55/5

[Aviator]

This one is in the bag!!!

[Bitter]

Excellent hustle play by Russel. 133/9

[Bitter]

All over including the shouting.
Well done Windies.

 

[Quags]

Cut arse .team coming together for the WC.

[D.H.W]

The part of England today will be played by... England.

55/5

Lol...

[socafighter]

ALL-ROUND SAMUELS...stars with bat and ball in easy Windies win

By Ezra Stuart Barbados Nation
Story Created: Mar 10, 2014 at 12:06 AM ECT

DWAYNE SMITH was the real soca teaser while Chris Gayle and Marlon Samuels raised the tempo and birthday boy Samuel Badree enjoyed a slow dance to give the Caribbean’s calypso cricketers the perfect party at Kensington Oval, yesterday.
Before a capacity crowd of over 13,000 spectators, the West Indies emphatically trounced England by 27 runs in the first Twenty20 International to take a 1-0 lead in the three-match cricket series.

The victory also sent a warning that the Windies are starting to peak as they get ready to defend their title at the World T20 Championship which starts in Bangladesh, next week.
Smith set the tone with an 18-ball 27-run cameo while Gayle complemented with a 35-ball 43, studded with five fours and two sixes.
Their electrifying opening stand of 57 in 6.2 overs paved the way for Samuels to stroke an unbeaten 69 off 46 balls and carry the West Indies to a challenging total of 170 for three.
In reply, leg-spinner Badree stunned England with a triple strike as they surrendered wickets meekly to be restricted to 143 for nine in their 20 overs.

Ravi Bopara made 42 off 24 balls and Tim Bresnan got 47 off 29 balls to bring a measure of respectability to England’s final total after they were tottering on 73 for six in the 12th over.
Badree ended with three for 17 and Man-of-the-Match Samuels was tidy with his off-spin, taking two for 21.
After West Indies won the toss and batted, Smith started the match in grand style, pulling the first ball from England’s captain Stuart Broad over the Greenidge and Haynes Stand for six.
He then added three more fours in the expensive opening over which yielded 19 runs, the last one, a lovely check-drive between extra cover and point before repeating the same shot in the next over from Jade Dernbach.

Gayle, who started uncertainly, scooping a couple of deliveries short of fielders, finally found his groove in the fifth over when he powerfully smashed Bresnan for three fours.
In the next over, he charged medium pacer Ben Stokes and deposited him high over long-on for six and pulled the next ball through square leg to post the Windies’ 50 in 5.2 overs.
Bopara broke the opening stand in his first over, bowling a defensive Smith with a delivery which nipped back.

But Samuels looked in fine nick from the first ball he faced, which he elegantly cut behind point for four.
Gayle then casually whipped off-spinner James Tredwell on the top of the Greenidge and Haynes Stand for six but the bowler had the last laugh, trapping him LBW at 87-2 in the 12th over.
Samuels took over, savagely pulling the friendly medium pace of Stokes over the players’ dug-out as the Windies reached their hundred in 12.4 overs.
After Lendl Simmons, who just three, became Bopara’s second wicket, caught at long-on, Andre Russell hit two fours and a six in a 15-ball 24 not out to give the innings a final flourish.
He added 58 runs in the remaining 5.4 overs with Samuels, who smashed Dernbach for five consecutive fours in the 18th over after he was dropped off the first ball by Tredwell at point.

In reply, England made a disastrous start to their run-chase with Badree having both Alex Hales and Luke Wright stumped off successive balls by wicket-keeper Denesh Ramdin.
After missing a stinging return catch, Badree snared a third scalp in his final over when Michael Lumb pulled a short ball straight into Ravi Rampaul’s hands inside the backward square leg boundary.
Mystery spinner Sunil Narine also struck in his second over when wicket-keeper Jos Butler ill-advisedly attempted a switch hit and gave substitute Johnson Charles a simple catch at point.
But Narine had to leave the field shortly after hurting his knee after a fall while chasing a ball but his absence hardly mattered yesterday even though he will have a scan, today to ascertain if there is any damage.

Samuels filled the void admirably, accounting for the dangerous Eoin Morgan for 19, well caught by Charles over his head just inside the mid-wicket boundary, and Stokes, easily stumped by Ramdin for four.
There was one blemish when captain Darren Sammy called for a catch which wasn’t his and gave Bresnan a reprieve off Rampaul on three.
But Bravo didn’t make the same mistake, holding a skied catch offered by Bopara off his own bowling.
Broad was run out by Ramdin. He missed a ball which went straight to the keeper and moved out of his crease. And Russell beat Tredwell to the stumps to complete another run out and compound England’s woes.