England seeks win against West Indies to stay alive in T20 series

(Cricket news) The England tour of the West Indies has seen the visitors struggle in the ongoing T20 series. Three matches have been played so far with the former T20 champions getting hold of every match, while England secured victory in the 3rd T20 by one run there was little for them to rejoice as they only avoided a series whitewash.

 

The fourth T20 puts England in a must win situation as a loss will put the West Indies at ease with a series victory even before the 5th and final match. West Indies have been doing well with the bat as England batters have so far managed two half centuries in three games and both came in the 3rd match. The bowlers have also not been able to defend in the death overs and now with Eoin Morgan not playing the rest of the series the side needs Moeen Ali more than ever.

 

Adil Rashid has been the man that the team can depend upon amongst the bowlers. He has an impressive record against the West Indies and is the bowler from both teams to keep the economy under 6.50 in all the matches. The right arm spinner has given breakthroughs and has not let the batters take control in any of his spells. The rest of the team has had a poor follow through as their economy rate has not all helped the team defend targets. The bowling line-up has been changed in each match but it does not seem to be working for the team, 5 pacers have been used so far and 5 wickets have been taken in total. The spin formula has seen 4 players taking 8 wickets overall which shows the pacers are far behind.

 

Wicketkeeper Tom Banton has shown improvement in each game as he top scored with 73 runs in the previous match in just 39 balls. Banton gave a firm start to the team, he did not eat up the overs but hit boundaries while increasing the run rate. The rest of the team did not hold up as debutant Philip Salt almost brought the team an invaluable lead to the series as now they are now in a play to win situation.

 

The openers have so far not put up more than 40 runs while the middle order has only contributed to the collapse in the batting line. James Vince has not played more than 12 balls in a match and has not scored more than 16 runs. The 30 year old needs to support the middle order as the team has suffered similar fates in all the matches, they need to bring in more runs especially after the powerplay. 

 

Also read: Tamim Iqbal to stay away from T20 cricket for next six months

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