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West Indies are making Group C look plain sailing, England are all at sea. Like, by and large, the ball – unless it was arrowing towards a fielder – England’s pursuit of a target of 197 never got off the ground, and at the end of a largely pedestrian performance that eventually veered towards a billious combination of slapstick and horror they had been dismissed for 166 and, with seven balls remaining, been beaten by 30 runs.
Had the knife-edge result against Nepal on Sunday fallen the other way this would already be another crisis in a winter full of them. As it is they will head to Kolkata on Thursday, where they complete their group fixtures against Scotland and Italy, confident given the nature of their opponents of securing the wins they require to progress to the Super Eights but knowing they can afford no further slips.
West Indies’ total of 196 was the third biggest of the World Cup so far, and none of the top nine had come in defeat. Even on a pitch that looked much better for batting than its neighbour on which England played Nepal, it proved more than enough.
England’s pursuit was always going to be judged either admirably or puzzlingly calm, depending on its outcome. Even as their task grew increasingly difficult, and until it blundered into the realms of the truly far-fetched – duly inspiring a couple of lunatic run-outs – there was no sense of panic, few wild swings and swipes.
Perhaps they were comforted by their comparatively brisk early scoring – they stood at 67 for one at the end of the powerplay where West Indies had been 55 for three, and 93 for four at the halfway stage where their opponents had been 79 for four – but given the speed at which Sherfane Rutherford and Jason Holder in particular had scored as the first innings neared its conclusion this was only storing up trouble.
Clearly, England felt they had the players to do it, and the decision to play Jamie Overton instead of Luke Wood had lengthened their batting and boosted that confidence. They simply had unshakeable faith that one or more among them would settle down, get their eye in and start peppering the stands. The problem was that no one did.
Phil Salt destroyed Holder’s first over, the second of England’s innings, hitting two sixes and three fours, but top-edged to mid-off soon afterwards. After a slow start Jos Buttler’s decision finally to pick up the pace was almost immediately followed by an easy catch for Rovman Powell at long-on.
Overton lasted six balls, Tom Banton only four and Will Jacks just three; Harry Brook hit one boundary off 14 before sending a leading edge back to the bowler, Gudakesh Motie – symptomatic of England’s struggles during 12 overs of spin during which their innings veered off course. Only Jacob Bethell and Sam Curran, who top-scored with 43, faced more than 15 balls in an innings that lacked outstanding individuals and destructive partnerships.
By contrast Rutherford had led the way for West Indies, also starting slow – after 13 deliveries he had scored only 10, off his next 16 he added 43 – before accelerating to finish unbeaten with 76 off 42 – though he was dropped by Adil Rashid, off the spinner’s own bowling, when he was on 56.
But really their innings was a tale of three partnerships: Roston Chase, promoted from his carded six after the loss of two early wickets – Chase’s role involves meandering around the order, and he has only appeared in the same position in successive innings once in his last 15 dating back to late 2024 – and Shimron Hetmyer combined for 47 off 28, then Rutherford added 51 off 29 balls with Rovman Powell – despite Powell scoring a sober 14 off 13 – and another 61 off 32 with the free-scoring Holder, who finished with 33 off 17.
For England supporters concerned that disappointing performances against Nepal presaged an extended period of poor form for key bowlers Jofra Archer and Rashid, the evening brought only partial reassurance. Rashid, after a rare wicketless outing in the opener, was back to his sparkling best, picked up two wickets – taking him past 400 in his T20 career – and conceded just 16 runs in four excellent overs.
But news of Archer was less positive: eight runs and two wides in the game’s opening over, one flying over Overton at slip and running away for five; nine off his second, 17 off his third and another 15 off his last. He did pick up the wicket of Shai Hope, but with a short, wide delivery that was asking to be hit, and not necessarily straight to Tom Banton at cover.
