2nd over: England 21-1 (Hales 2, Root 6) Cottrell’s last ball driven straight for four, beautifully by Joe Root. West Indies fielding showing the fruits of a two-hour fielding session this morning. Bairstow curses from the boundary.
WICKET! Bairstow c Bishoo b Cottrell 12
I didn’t jinx him! Super catch by Bishoo, diving low and long at backward point
2nd over: England 15-0 (Hales 2, Bairstow 12) Jason Holder brings himself on and immediately extracts some zip from the pitch which Hales bunny hops away to the off side. Ah, Bairstow, you again: a thick edge through the non-existent third slip for the first boundary of the innings. Some super fielding at backward point prevents another four, but no-one can do anything about the pull over deep backward square leg. Bairstow continuing where he left off on Tuesday.
1st over: England 5-0 (Hales 1, Bairstow 3) A dry pitch, an overcast sky and a huge bare patch spreading out like a bloody stain into Hales’ leg-side. Sheldon Cottrell keeps it tight for a couple of balls, there’s a misfield off the third – England try to steal a third and Hales would have been out if Shai Hope had gathered the ball smartly.
The umpires are out, the batsmen have taken their places… we’re off!
Root sits in the dug out. Photograph: Gareth Copley/Getty Images,
Updated
Some stats to be masticated over with your Friday fish n chips
The Cricket Prof.
(@CricProf)The Windies have won the toss & will chase. This is a sensible decision given the global trend favouring chasers, but this is also a good venue for chasers who have won 62% of matches. Teams batting first have required an average total 184 to end up on the winning team. #WIvENG pic.twitter.com/Aq4Qm4S0dT
Mark Butcher says this is a BIG scoring ground “You’ve got to be looking at 190 plus from the off.”
West Indies have left out Oshane Thomas and brought in a left-armer, Obed McCoy, 22 years old and making his IT20 debut.
Morgan says that he would have had a bowl too. And England have gone with the same team as the last match.
West Indies have won the toss and will bowl . It is cool and overcast and Morgan and Holder’s trousers are blowing rapidly in the breeze – perhaps the West Indies bowlers can take advantage of that.
Preamble
Hello, from St Kitts, via Manchester this filthy Friday night. And a very happy international women’s day to you all!
In that vein, please excuse a first brief sideways grin to England’s Women for yesterday winning their T20 at Guwahati against India to take an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three match series, after losing 2-1 in the ODIs. Also – I came across this smashing opportunity for any young girls who love playing cricket, please pass it on.
England Cricket
(@englandcricket)It’s #IWD2019!
To celebrate, an amazing opportunity…
To join #HeathersPride & train with the team!
Find out more ?https://t.co/k7UJUR8cMa pic.twitter.com/FxejtIApWI
But back to today’s main event – the second of three T20s between West Indies and England, the last leg of a freewheeling tour. England won the last one by four wickets with seven balls remaining, thanks to a career best 4-36 for Tom Curran, a carefree 68 from Jonny Bairstow and Adil Rashid twisting the thumb-screws with 1-15 from his four overs.
West Indies have never lost a T20 at Basseterre, but will have to improve their sloppy fielding to stand a chance of keeping England at bay here.
We wait to see whether Mark Wood will be rested again or whether Joe Root, out for a duck on Tuesday, and who hasn’t scored fifty in this format for nearly three years, joins him on the bench. In other news, David Willey has questioned whether now is the right time to bring in Jofra Archer – a pertinent question perhaps, but one that runs the teeny-tiny risk of sounding a bit defensive.
