England put in their most impressive performance of the 2024 T20 World Cup so far, comfortably beating hosts West Indies in St. Lucia – but where was the game won and lost?
Archer outdoes Pooran
After a cagey start where England struggled to make inroads and West Indies failed to capitalise on a solid foundation, the hosts threatened to post an imposing target with five overs of their innings remaining. At 137-2 with Nicholas Pooran and Andre Russell in the middle, a score around 200 was perfectly achievable.
Seeing two of West Indies’ dangermen at the crease, Jos Buttler called upon Jofra Archer. Archer delivered a thrilling over of high pace. Bowling exclusively at Pooran, the plan was simple – bowl full, bowl fast and keep the ball well outside the left-hander’s off-stump.
Pooran squeezed one delivery through short third for four, but that ball aside the over was emphatically Archer’s as Pooran struggled to get bat on ball. The England speedster finally dismissed the in-form Pooran with the final delivery of the over, one that cost England just four runs.
Rashid and Moeen apply the squeeze
England’s spin twins were outstanding in the middle overs. Between them, they bowled six overs for 36 – impressive work on what is generally a high-scoring ground.
Moeen only bowled two overs but nine of those deliveries were to right-handers, supposedly the match-up not in his favour, surviving by hiding the ball well outside the off-stump and out of the hitting arcs of Johnson Charles and Rovman Powell.
Rashid’s final over, the 17th of the innings, was exemplary, conceding just two runs and picking up the huge wicket of Andre Russell. He remains England’s most irreplaceable player.
Running between the wickets
Rarely is this a noticeable difference between teams in a T20 game but the contrast was stark on this occasion.
There were a whopping 51 dot balls in the West Indies and just 29 in England’s, a difference of more than one run an over. It’s not the most eye-catching aspect of T20 batting but when the margins are fine at the business end of a World Cup, it can matter.
Bairstow’s assault
Salt’s 87* stands out in the final analysis of the game but Bairstow’s 48* off 26 was arguably the more decisive contribution.
When he came to the crease, England needed around 10 runs an over and were having their own struggles against spin – at this point, Roston Chase had figures of 1-8 from two overs. It was Bairstow who brought that required run rate under control, first releasing the shackles with a bludgeoned straight drive off Chase, and then a further six boundaries in the next three overs.
After 15 overs, the rate was back down to eight an over. Bairstow was on 46 off 21, Salt was on 49 off 37. Salt provided the flourish at the end, but it was Bairstow who ensured the game was England’s to grasp.
Salt’s innings management
An aspect of Salt’s extraordinary recent development in T20 cricket is his ability to switch either up or down through the gears depending on the match situation.
Here in St. Lucia, Salt was aggressive in the powerplay (35 off 21) before slowing down after the loss of Jos Buttler, acknowledging that it was then his role to see the innings through. He scored 13 off his following 16 balls before brutally leaning into Romario Shepherd, taking 30 runs off his second over to effectively seal the deal.
Against spin, Salt struck at 111; against pace that figure was 285. He chose his moments to attack well.
It was Salt’s best World Cup performance to date.
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