Press Trust of India
Mumbai, March 15: With a plethora of their players plying their trade in professional leagues around the world, West Indies will take on a well-balanced England side in what could be a potentially close Super 10 Group 1 fixture of the T20 Worlds here Wednesday.
The Caribbean charmers, who clinched the title in 2012, have a string of all-round cricketers to bank upon as they seek to establish themselves again among the top-notch teams in the shortest format of the game.
England, the 2010 winners, on the other hand, have the wherewithal to stop the marauders from the West Indies to continue their pursuit of a second World T20 crown after.
It all may boil down to how the two teams play against the spin bowlers on a Wankhede Stadium track that could offer some turn and bounce. England definitely have a better spin attack in the form of leg-spinner Adil Rashid, off-spinner Moeen Ali and uncapped Hampshire all rounder Liam Dawson who bowls left-arm spin. On the other hand, the Windies in the absence of Sunil Narine will have to depend on leg-spinner Samuel Badree, left-arm orthodox Sulieman Benn, and part-timers Marlon Samuels and Chris Gayle.
In spite of the presence of that left-handed maverick Gayle, the West Indies will surely miss the explosive power of Kieron Pollard and the innovation of Lendl Simmons at the top of the order. But then all of these issues will fade into oblivion if Gayle gets going.
England’s batting line-up comprising captain Eoin Morgan, Joe Root, Ben Strokes and Jos Buttler definitely look better. In Jason Roy and Alex Hales they have two explosive openers who can attack the opposition right from the start.
In the warm-ups West Indies have lost one and won the other, while England have won both their games Both teams are tied at 3-3 in the T20 Worlds matches Windies are without two of their key players – Sunil Narine and Kieron Pollard.
