England v West Indies T20 Series overview: England stars now have point to prove

Having suffered a defeat in the recent ODI series between the two sides, England will have wanted to get their white-ball cricket back on track in last night’s opening T20 clash, but those selected will certainly now have an extra point to prove after the West Indies emerged victorious.

Jos Buttler’s side will have to show some serious improvement if they are to be victorious over the remaining four matches.

We analyse the remainder of the series below.

Chance for England stars to impress

England will have been hoping for a bounce-back from their ODI series defeat but failed to hit the ground running in the 20 over format after suffering a four-wicket defeat in the first match early on Wednesday morning.

England appeared to be back to their formidable best as captain Jos Buttler and Phil Salt powered their side to 77 without loss. Sadly for England, that was about as good as it got, with five of their batting card scoring three runs or fewer – including three ducks.

England would finish all out for 171, not enough to resist a barrage from the West Indies as they strolled to a four-wicket victory.

England do have positives to take from the first match, most notably the first run partnership, and Jos Buttler will now have to find a way to make sure that his side can carry a bit more momentum with the bat next time out.

England’s real struggles came with the ball in hand as they gave up their total in just 18.2 overs, with six of the Windies batsmen scoring at over a run a ball, two of whom posting strike-rates of over 200.

It is fair to say that England still have work to do to get into competitive shape for next year’s T20 World Cup, but with the tournament being held in the West Indies, they will still benefit from the preparation, which could prove key if they are to justify their odds of 7/2 to win next year’s tournament.

Windies to get perfect World Cup prep

Having failed to qualify for the 2023 ICC World Cup, the West Indies are at a crossroads as a cricketing nation and the T20 format has often been a saving grace for them in recent years.

Rovman Powell led by example for his side in the first T20, finishing their batting innings not out, scoring 31 off of just 15 deliveries after finding the boundary rope five times, clearing it twice.

The West Indies’ main threat appears to be with the bat in hand as England found it near-impossible to stop a boundary-hitting onslaught, with 84 of their 172 runs coming via sixes alone.

Quick wicket-taking was the nature of the game with the ball and was what allowed Powell’s side to halt what looked to be a formidable England batting lineup. After allowing England to notch up 77 runs without loss, the Windies hit back and took their first five wickets for just an additional 52 runs.

As hosts of next year’s T20 World Cup, the West Indies will have every hope of impressing in front of a home crowd which were deprived of any ODI World Cup cricket this year. At 14/1, the hosts have certainly not been well-backed for their own tournament yet, but a continuation of their winning form against second-favourites England in this five match series could see those odds shorten before the tournament kicks off next June.