Harry Brook insisted England can still salvage something from a chastening winter ahead of two crunch T20s against the West Indies.
England’s woeful group-stage exit at the World Cup was followed by an ODI reset getting off to a false start with a 2-1 defeat in the Caribbean, while they then lost T20s in Barbados and Grenada.
But Phil Salt’s maiden T20 hundred and Brook’s 31 not out off seven deliveries – thumping 24 off the final over – saw England chase down 223 on Saturday.
The tourists arrived in Trinidad on Sunday with hope renewed and Brook believes a pair of wins this week could do wonders for them a few months out from the T20 World Cup in the region.
Brook likened England’s predicament to last year’s series in Pakistan, where they came from behind to win 4-3 before sealing T20 World Cup glory.
“We’re a fair way away from the World Cup but these two games can make a big difference, especially getting the experience of these pitches and these crowds,” Brook said.
“We had it against Pakistan before the last T20 World Cup where we needed to win the last two games and we just tried to play them all like finals. We’ve got to do that for the rest of this series.
“We can take a lot of confidence from that win. You’ve got so much clarity chasing a big score like that, you know you’ve got to get out the blocks quickly.”
England were behind the eight ball at the start of the 20th over with the Windies calling upon Andre Russell, who has been confronted with this situation many times.
Requiring 21 to avoid losing the series and with Salt on 109 at the other end, Brook, on seven off two balls at the time, whipped the all-rounder fine for four.
Russell overcompensated by bowling too wide, allowing Brook to free his arms for a six over extra cover, before a full toss was larruped over the rope to leave England needing five off three balls.
The Yorkshireman clipped to midwicket for a couple before taking England to a seven-wicket victory in style by carving another wider delivery over backward point.
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“I’m just trying to be as cool as I can be,” Brook said. “I’m trying to be free-flowing – as soon as I get tensed up in any format, I’m never as good.
“It was really nice to go out there and finish it off. Hopefully I can do it plenty more times in my career.”
Brook has been conspicuously bowling a lot in net sessions, most notably attempting to improve his off-spin.
He memorably snared New Zealand captain Kane Williamson in Wellington earlier this year – so far his only Test wicket – but as a military medium-pacer.
While adding extra depth to England’s bowling is still a way off, Brook is optimistic of being able to turn his arm over in The Hundred for Northern Superchargers next year.
“It was jokey at the start but then I’ve actually started to get pretty good at it,” Brook added. “I’m just trying to work on it and see what can happen.
“The seamers are still there for Test cricket. But I am trying to look towards The Hundred. I might not bowl but it’s a little target I’ve got.”
Guardiola has 'not decided anything' amid England job speculation
Pep Guardiola has played down expectations that he has decided to take over as the next permanent England manager.
The 53-year-old would be a popular choice for the job, given the success that has followed him at every club since becoming a manager.
Guardiola has won six Premier League titles at City, including each of the last four, while he won three league titles each with Bayern Munich and Barcelona. He is also a three-time Champions League winner and 10-time domestic cup winner as a manager.
But when asked about the England job amid reports claiming his next step had been decided, he was not drawn on any speculation.
"It's not true. I'm Manchester City manager," he told Che Tempo Che Fa, as per transfer football expert Fabrizio Romano.
But despite his dismissive comments, Guardiola stopped short of shutting down the rumours that he could be considering becoming the next England manager.
"I've not decided anything, everything can happen. So I don't know," he said.
"Let's see on my future. I still need to reflect and decide what I want to do."
Guardiola's contract at City is up at the end of the 2024-25 season, with the Spaniard yet to make a decision on his future at the club.
Alongside any potential sanctions that City might face in their long-running battle with the Premier League, speculation about their manager's future has been rife in recent months.
He is far and away City's most successful manager of all time, maintaining a win percentage of over 70% after 483 matches in charge, while he is second to Alex Ferguson as the manager with the most Premier League titles.
Stokes fit to return for second Pakistan Test
England captain Ben Stokes is fit to play in the second Test against Pakistan and returns alongside pace bowler Matthew Potts.
Stokes suffered the hamstring injury in August and has missed the last four Test matches, including England's record-breaking win last week as they beat Pakistan by an innings and 47 runs.
He replaces Chris Woakes in the side for the second Test, with Potts, returning for the first time since the Sri Lanka series in August, replacing Gus Atkinson, who misses out on his first Test since making his debut in July.
Meanwhile, Pakistan have made radical changes to their own line-up, dropping star batter Babar Azam along with pace bowlers Naseem Shah and Shaheen Shah Afridi.
It has also been confirmed that the second Test, beginning on Tuesday, will be played on the same pitch used for the first in Multan.
England are targeting a victory that would confirm their second consecutive series win in Pakistan, with the hosts looking to end a two-and-a-half-year winless streak at home.
England XI for the second Test against Pakistan: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jamie Smith, Brydon Carse, Matthew Potts, Jack Leach, Shoaib Bashir.
Carsley 'definitely not' ruling himself out of permanent England job
Interim England manager Lee Carsley is adamant that he has not ruled himself out of the job on a permanent basis after hinting that he was not yet the world-class coach needed.
England responded to their shock 2-1 defeat at home to Greece on Thursday with a 3-1 victory in Finland on Sunday.
While the Three Lions were still not at their brilliant best, it was a marked improvement on their last match. However, conversation was dominated by Carsley's future and questions over who will take the role after the match.
"Definitely not," Carsley said after being asked in the post-match press conference whether he felt it was too soon for him to become the senior manager.
"I tried to make it as clear as I could. My remit was for three camps. The point I was trying to make is it is one of the top jobs in the world.
"I'm not part of the process, but it deserves a top coach. The players we have available, we've got a real chance of winning. That was the point I was making."
Plenty had assumed that the 50-year-old's comments about still being on the path to becoming a world-class coach were effectively him putting himself out of the running for the job.
Among a volley of questions about the future of the job, he was asked directly if that was an incorrect conclusion to draw from those remarks.
"Yeah, definitely. Like I say, it's important that I do the best that I can," he said.
"It's a privilege to do this job. I feel well trusted, it's a great job and, you know, whoever gets it will be fully deserving."
Regardless of his comments in Helsinki though, Carsley does have a track record of being non-committal when asked about the potential of getting the job permanently.
That is, according to him, because he has been deliberately trying to keep an open mind about things after learning from previous experiences.
"I'm definitely reluctant [to say whether I want the job] because in the past, when I've done this caretaker/interim role, I've gone so far down the 'I don’t want the job' [route] that I've actually not done the job," he said.
"One of the things I spoke about when I was asked to take temporary charge is that it's important I keep an open mind because in that case, I’m not being reckless with my decisions.
"I'm thinking thoroughly about how the team should play, the squad I should pick, which is a challenge because squad selection is very difficult.
"The amount of players we have to leave out and what we've got available for us, and I've got another camp to do. It's just a shame we can't play Greece next week."
England's away game in Greece will be their most important in deciding their Nations League fate, with their upcoming hosts top of the group with a three-point buffer to second.
Carsley's side will need to win and then better Greece's result at Wembley if they are to have any chance of returning to the top division in the competition. But the interim manager was ultimately pleased with what he saw on Sunday.
"We won the game, scored three good goals," he added. "It was a shame we couldn't keep a clean sheet.
"I still don't know the players that well yet in terms of the way the team reacts to a defeat and a setback, so I was thrilled with the way they responded."
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