England head coach Matthew Mott wants a response from his side after they were left with a mountain to climb in the T20 series against the West Indies in Grenada.
Sam Curran made amends after being thumped for 30 in an over, hit for four sixes and a four by Windies captain Rovman Powell, with 50 off 32 balls, having been elevated to number four in the batting order.
While there were several cameos, Curran lacked support as England fell 10 runs short of overhauling their opponents’ 176 for seven to fall 2-0 down in the five-match series after losing the ODIs 2-1.
The tourists struggled against left-arm spinners Gudakesh Motie and Akeal Hosein, who leaked a combined 33 in eight overs. Motie was especially successful, taking 4-0-9-1 on a tricky pitch to bat on.
“No one likes losing,” said Mott. “We played good cricket again for 90 per cent of the match. We had them under control up to the 15th-over mark and unfortunately, as West Indies can do, they hurt us.
“We fought back at the back end to keep them to 176 which was definitely chase-able. It’s light and shade with our batting, there’s some really good things happening but probably just too many dot balls.
“We have to respond from this. We will try to come up with more solutions. We are trying hard, we are close. We are a couple of good hits away from a win.
“The message in the changing room is that we are not far away. We just have to stay the course. We’ve got to win one first. That’s our first target.”
Curran averaged 11 from 26 previous T20 innings, albeit having only once before batted in the top five, but he has three Test fifties and sparkled with an unbeaten 95 in an ODI against India in 2021.
It was still a surprise to see him stride out after Phil Salt was England’s second batter dismissed, with Liam Livingstone, Harry Brook and Moeen Ali each nudged down one position.
Curran, though, was the pick of the batters and uncorked seven boundaries – including three sixes – and Mott revealed his promotion was down to how they thought he would fare against Hosein and Motie.
“He didn’t seem to get a heap of strike, it’s funny how it works out and he ended up taking down the medium-pacers,” said Mott, who added it was a “50-50 call” about whether to elevate Curran or Moeen.
“We just thought Sam was the one to try and really disrupt and get a free licence to go and go hard. He did it, not in the fashion we were expecting but he certainly did his job.
“We’ve always rated his batting and he’s been in some strong teams, as he showed. When he gets an opportunity, he’s a class player. He’s worked really hard on facing fast bowling.
“He’s got a great all-round game. We know he can hurt the spinners a lot but there’s certainly more layers to his batting which is exciting for the future. It was unfortunate he got out when he did.”
The Windies belted 13 sixes to England’s eight, with opener Brandon King and Powell sharing five apiece. King anchored the Windies innings with 82 off 52 balls and Powell registered 50 off 28.
Assessing Curran’s more ignominious offering on Thursday, Mott added: “When they line you up, it’s a tough place to be.
“Every time you clear the rope it’s a big win, particularly early in an over. It’s something we have spoken about and we have got some really good six hitters ourselves.”
Powell was on a run-a-ball 22 at the start of the 16th over having been kept quiet by Adil Rashid, who took 4-0-11-2, but followed up a streaky inside edge off Curran with some monstrous hits.
Jacqueline Williams, who became the first female umpire from the Caribbean to stand in a men’s T20 international, raised her arms skywards on four occasions before Powell ended the over by holing out.
“It definitely changed the game,” Powell reflected. “As a batter you sometimes look for that over.
“After being pegged down by the leg-spinners and then the pacer comes on, you think ‘maybe this is the opportunity to cash in’.”
Babar relieved after Fakhar and Rizwan guide Pakistan past Ireland
Babar Azam was left relieved after Pakistan made light work of chasing 194 to keep their T20I series with Ireland alive and take it to a winner-takes-all-decider.
Andy Balbirnie's 77 helped Ireland to their first victory over Pakistan in this format on Friday, but Babar's side responded in style on Sunday with their own seven-wicket triumph.
Lorcan Tucker's 51 powered Ireland to an impressive 193-7 in Dublin as Shaheen Shah Afridi registered figures of 3-49 and Abbas Afridi managed 2-33.
Yet that total was far from imposing as Pakistan chased the target down with 19 balls to spare thanks to a remarkable partnership between Mohammad Rizwan and Fakhar Zaman.
The pair combined for a 140-run stand off only 78 balls for the third wicket as Fakhar smashed 78 from 40, while Rizwan was unbeaten on 75 after facing just 46.
"I'm relieved, credit to all batters," Babar said after the win. "We lost a few wickets early on but we kept the momentum going.
"Fakhar is very experienced and played according to situation which demanded positive intent. It's a good side, we got positives in this match and will look to give 100 per cent in the next match."
Rizwan added: "They played really well against us. It was not an easy chase because the Ireland bowlers knew their conditions better.
"They gave us a difficult time early on, but we decided that chasing 194, we have to attack. You're always under pressure when you lose especially with World Cup around the corner."
The two sides will meet again in Dublin on Tuesday to settle the three-match T20I series.
IPL: RCB keep playoff hopes alive after dominating Capitals
Royal Challengers Bengaluru kept their unlikely Indian Premier League playoff hopes alive after a fifth straight win as they defeated Delhi Capitals by 47 runs on Sunday.
Faf du Plessis' side leapfrogged the Capitals with this victory, moving into fifth in the standings and just two points behind fourth-placed Sunrisers Hyderabad ahead of RCB's final game with Chennai Super Kings.
Rajat Patidar set the tone with a 32-ball 52, alongside Will Jacks' rapid 41 runs from 29 deliveries, before Cameron Green added an unbeaten 32 to guide RCB to 187-9.
Impact substitute David Warner mustered only one in response, with number three Abishek Porel also out for just two runs, as Delhi limped to 30-4 inside four overs of the second innings.
Yash Dayal managed to run out opener Jake Fraser-McGurk on 21 before Axar Patel – in as captain for the suspended Rishabh Pant – offered resistance with 57 from 39 balls in the middle order.
Yet Dayal dismissed the Capitals captain to claim an impressive 3-20, assisted by Lockie Ferguson's 2-23, as RCB wrapped up a convincing victory in bowling Delhi out for 140.
Data debrief: Capitals contained
Kuldeep's last over went for 22 as the Capitals leg-spinner finished with 1 for 52 off his four overs, the second time he has gone for over fifty runs after the four for 55 versus Sunrisers.
That dismal showing with the ball was in stark contrast to the RCB bowlers, with Green also chipping in with an economical 1-19 and Mohammed Siraj's 1-33.
Despite victory, Dinesh Karthik claimed an unwanted piece of history for the most ducks in IPL history, moving onto 18 and past Glenn Maxwell after falling to Khaleel Ahmed (2-31) in the first innings.
Broad fears for inexperienced England bowling attack after Anderson retirement
Stuart Broad fears an inexperienced England bowling attack could be exposed to problems after James Anderson announced his Test retirement decision on Saturday.
England's all-time leading wicket-taker Anderson will end his remarkable red-ball career after the first Test against West Indies on July 10.
Anderson has taken 700 wickets in 187 Tests, the most by any pace bowler in history, but the 41-year-old will play for a final time after Brendon McCullum signalled a change of plans for the future.
Matthew Potts, Brydon Carse, Josh Tongue and Gus Atkinson are all potential replacements, though Broad remains concerned for Ben Stokes' bowling options going forward.
"England could easily go into a Test match this summer with a very, very inexperienced bowling group," Broad told Sky Sports Cricket podcast.
"If you don't play a [Chris] Woakes, Mark Wood has a rest and there's no Jimmy Anderson, you could have three seamers and a spinner out there potentially with 20 caps between them.
"That's quite scary as a Test captain I would have thought. We don't know how much [Ben] Stokesy's going to bowl – we hope he does.
"But that could leave you a bit exposed. There's only one way to find out with bowlers, and that's to give them a go."
Anderson's opening-bowler partner Broad retired after last year's Ashes, having finished his illustrious career with 604 Test wickets.
Having neither of the pair available to lead the line with the red ball in future may pose problems and Broad reiterated his concern over the gaping gap Anderson's retirement will leave.
"There's going to certainly be a huge hole left by Jimmy Anderson that someone is going to have to step into," he added.
"And not just by swinging the new ball. But by communicating, by keeping calm if the boundaries are leaking, by tactically being aware of what field works at certain grounds, pitches and times of Test matches.
"Ultimately, you don't learn that unless you're thrown in."
Broad, however, remains hopeful that Stokes and McCullum will find the right combinations to take England into a new era of Test cricket.
"I think exposure for some bowlers now is really important, because there's talent out there," Broad continued.
"There's bowlers out there that need a bit of exposure to see what it's about in Test match cricket.
"They may need time to adjust their training plan and how they operate before a tour in two years' time."
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