ST Lucia sees England aim to win series against Windies after a convincing performance in the Barbados leg.
St Lucia sees both teams arrive in different mindsets after the conclusion of the Barbados leg.
Both the finest and the worst of times were present. Although England’s T20 World Cup defence didn’t quite go as planned in the Caribbean five months ago. They can at least claim to have performed better than the hosts by making it to the semi-finals. West Indies entered the tournament with a unique sense of optimism and anticipation. But they were unable to go past the Super Eights, in large part because of their previous encounter at Daren Sammy Stadium.
At the time, it seemed like an exception. A wildly successful England victory, driven by Phil Salt’s powerful 87 off 47 balls, and a return to the dominant style that had changed their white-ball fortunes in their prior World Cup cycles. However, two equally decisive victories in Barbados, by eight and seven wickets, respectively, have since followed that eight-wicket triumph, putting England’s T20I team on the verge of winning just their second bilateral series in two years.
Even though England coasted to a seemingly insurmountable 183 in match one with 19 balls remaining. The West Indies’ prospects have not been improved by two devastating dropped tosses. However, they have also had to deal with internal disruptions. Such as the loss of Andre Russell due to an ankle injury sustained in the opening Twenty20 International. Add the two-match suspension given to Alzarri Joseph for his odd outburst during the ODI series.
Despite their somewhat lacklustre performance in the ODI portion of the tour, England has discovered a promising balance between consistency and assurance in the shorter format. Not least in the opening game, when Reece Topley’s injury to his knee hardly affected Buttler’s options, their impressive assortment of all-rounders has been exploited more effectively in 20 overs than in 50.
Though their entire batting depth hasn’t put to test. It’s obvious that Sam Curran, Dan Mousley, and Jamie Overton are waiting for their first series hit rather than having to make constant bailouts. In any of the three formats, England has three chances in St Lucia to win their first Caribbean series since 2019. Based on the current trajectory, it would require a significant breakdown in determination to eventually deny them.