BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, CMC – West Indies and England will start to fine-tune their preparations for the ICC Men’s Twenty20 International Cricket World Cup 2024 in the Caribbean and the United States today in Barbados.
The two teams will meet in the first match of a series of five T20Is at Kensington Oval and will be keen to start finding the formula that may ultimately lead to them winning the global showpiece next June-July at the iconic ground.
“It’s a very, very important series,” West Indies captain Rovman Powell said on the eve of the series opener. “It’s good that we have played T20I series before, so we have an idea of the squad, and we have an idea of the combinations that will work out for us.
“These five games against England provide another opportunity for us to look at that and another opportunity for us to fine tune whatever areas that we need to fine tune.”
The Caribbean side will be high on confidence, having won the preceding One-day International series 2-1, but it also sets a tough act for Powell’s side to follow, though nine members of that squad have been retained for the T20I series.
“It’s important to try my best and lead from the front,” Powell said. “Once you lead from the front, the players will follow. I am looking at my personal game, and once I come to the party as a leader, naturally the guys will follow.”
Both sides have announced strong squads bearing the World Cup in mind, and there will be great focus on Andre Russell after the rugged all-rounder was recalled to the 15-member West Indies squad for the series for the first time since the T20I World Cup two years ago.
“It’s always good to have a player such as Andre Russell in the squad,” Powell said. “We know the quality that he comes with, and he’s fit and ready and raring to go, and he’s ready to put on the maroon again for the people of the Caribbean, so it’s an exciting time for not only me, as captain, but it’s also exciting times for the fans.”
Former captain Jason Holder and Nicholas Pooran, as well as ambidextrous all-rounder Kyle Mayers were not available for the ODI series, but they will return for this series hoping to make a big impact.
“It all comes down to man-management, how you handle players,” Powell said. “At the international level, it’s always best not to manage players as a collective unit, but to manage players from an individual perspective, so I try to do that as captain. I try to deal with individual personalities and see how best I can get them on board.”
All-rounder Matthew Forde is also one of the players to watch after he received his maiden ODI cap this past Saturday and responded with a sparkling spell of pace bowling to end with three for 29 and made 11 not out in a match-winning partnership with fellow all-rounder Romario Shepherd in the deciding ODI against the visitors to seal a four-wicket win for the Caribbean side to clinch the series 2-1.
Left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie, one of the new centrally contracted players, may also play a major part after missing the India series in August due to injury, and could form a dynamic spin duo with fellow left-arm tweaker Akeal Hosein.
West Indies lead the head-to-head battles with 14 wins in the 24 T20Is the two sides have played in the past, so England will need to come up with a solid strategy to improve their record.
The hosts have seven wins in 13 matches on Caribbean soil, including another bilateral T20I series in January last year when they clinched another five-match affair 3-2, and they will be aiming to put together another formidable challenge.
Different to the ODI squad, England have banked on several experienced players along with white-ball captain Jos Buttler to get them through this short jaunt.
Off-spin bowing all-rounder Moeen Ali, leg-spinner Adil Rashid, pace bowling all-rounder Chris Woakes, and left-arm pacer Reece Topley add an edge to their squad.
Batting all-rounder Will Jacks has been in sublime form in T20 cricket this year, having slammed more than 1 000 runs besides scalping 19 wickets at 12.84 with his uncomplicated off-spin, and Harry Brook remains their most gifted batting talent and could be a match-winner on his day.
Squads:
WEST INDIES (from): Rovman Powell (captain), Shai Hope (vice-captain), Roston Chase, Matthew Forde, Shimron Hetmyer, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Gudakesh Motie, Nicholas Pooran, Andre Russell, Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd.
ENGLAND (from): Jos Buttler (captain), Rehan Ahmed, Moeen Ali, Gus Atkinson, Harry Brook, Sam Curran, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Liam Livingstone, Tymal Mills, Adil Rashid, Phil Salt, Josh Tongue, Reece Topley, John Turner, Chris Woakes.
