WEST INDIES Twenty/20 skipper Rovman Powell says his team's fate is in their hands following their loss to England in their first Super Eight match of the International Cricket Council (ICC) men's T20 World Cup at the Daren Sammy Cricket Ground in St Lucia on June 19.
Sent in to have first strike on a good batting strip at the Beausejour venue, the tournament co-hosts got to 180 for four, with the defending champions England romping to a comfortable eight-wicket win with 15 balls to spare.
After a resolute bowling effort, England were led by a brilliant unbeaten knock from opening batsman Phil Salt, who scored 87 off 47 balls and shared in a game-sealing 97-run stand for the third wicket with Jonny Bairstow (48 not out from 26 balls).
Salt, who scored back-to-back centuries when the teams met in a five-match T20 series in the Caribbean last December, showed his match-winning qualities once again, and he effectively put the game to bed in the 16th over when he took allrounder Romario Shepherd for 30 runs in the 16th over of the chase – striking three telling sixes in the process.
Powell's team got the better of the Brits last year with a tight 3-2 series triumph. However, captain Jos Buttler's men were large and in charge in the meeting between the two winningest T20 World Cup teams, and they surged above South Africa in Group 2 of the Super Eight phase.
"I think we left 15-20 runs out there as a batting group. Having said that, we could have given a better display with the ball as a bowling group," Powell said, during the post-match presentation.
Buttler and the Man of the Match Salt took a measured approach early on. Still, the pair took the score to 58 without loss through the power play. The first wicket fell in the eighth over with the score on 67, as Buttler (25) was trapped lbw by Roston Chase.
Moeen Ali (13) had a brief stay at the crease before he was dismissed by allrounder Andre Russell (one for 21) as England slipped to 82 for two in the 11th over. However, Bairstow and Salt dominated the West Indies bowlers to remind the hosts of their threat with the bat.
[caption id="attachment_1091441" align="alignnone" width="1024"] England’s Phil Salt (R) bats during the men’s T20 World Cup match against the West Indies at Darren Sammy National Cricket Stadium, Gros Islet, St Lucia, on June 19. 2024. - AP PHOTO[/caption]
The men in maroon don't have much time to lick their wounds as they will play fellow hosts the US at Kensington Oval in Barbados from 8.30 pm on June 21, before concluding their Super Eight campaign with a clash against South Africa in Antigua on June 23.
In the buildup to the World Cup, West Indies got a 3-0 series sweep against the Proteas, although both teams were without several players from their World Cup squad. With the top two teams in both Super Eight groups advancing to the semis, the Windies will need to replicate the form that saw them winning eight straight T20s before their stumble against the English.
"I think our destiny is still in our own hands. It's just f
