West Indies are set to begin their T20 World Cup 2024 Super 8 campaign against England at the Darren Sammy Cricket Ground in Saint Lucia on Thursday.
England and West Indies locked horns in the T20 World Cup 2016 final in Kolkata, India, where Carlos Brathwaite’s heroics in the last overs propelled the Caribbean side to their second World Cup glory in four years. England will surely have bitter memories as they will take the field tomorrow.
Rovman Powell’s side didn’t have any trouble in their group as they won all of their matches including two massive 134 and 104-run victories against Uganda and Afghanistan respectively. The Windies have one of the best and balanced teams in the world and they will surely pose a challenge for Jos Buttler’s side.
The likes of Nicholas Pooran, Powell, Johnson Charles, and Shai Hope will be a headache for the English bowlers.
On the other hand, England needed Australia to beat Scotland in their last match of the tournament, a favour that they were given by the rivals. Buttler’s side showed promise in their last two matches against Oman and Namibia.
Against Oman, England bowled them out for just 47 runs and chased the target in 3.1 overs, which boosted their Net Run Rate (NRR) massively. Meanwhile, on a rainy day against Namibia, the defending champions posted 122 in 10 overs and recorded a 41-run victory with the DLS method.
Match time
Local time: 8:30PM (June 19)
GMT: 12:30AM (June 20)
PST: 5:30AM (June 20)
Pitch report
The surface in St Lucia favours batters greatly as in three matches played here so far, the average first innings score is 199 and the highest chase is 181 by Australia. Another high-scoring match can be expected between two of the best teams in the world.
Likely Lineups
England: Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (c & wk), Will Jacks, Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Moeen Ali, Liam Livingstone, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood, Reece Topley
West Indies: Brandon King, Johnson Charles, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Roston Chase, Rovman Powell(c), Sherfane Rutherford, Andre Russell, Romario Shepherd, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Gudakesh Motie
Prediction
Without a shadow of a doubt, it is going to be one of the best matches of the World Cup and we are going with England handing the West Indies their first defeat of the tournament.
