England not worried about Windies pace

SOUTHAMPTON, England (CMC):

Hosts England are not having any sleepless nights over the Windies’ pace attack.

In fact, head coach Trevor Bayliss said yesterday that the tournament favourites were quite capable of handling the hostility from the likes of Oshane Thomas and Sheldon Cottrell when the two teams clash at the Rose Bowl on Friday.

“We can handle anything that is thrown at us,” he said.

“I have not seen too many with express pace here just yet, but we have a couple of good ones too, so I expect it to be tit for tat.”

Thomas, Cottrell, and all-rounder André Russell have all bowled aggressively in the ICC World Cup with good effect and have given the Windies excellent starts in their three games so far.

Blasted out Pakistan

In their opener, they blasted out Pakistan for 105, reduced Australia to 38 for four in their second game, and had South Africa on the run at 29 for two in their third outing before rain forced an abandonment of the fixture.

However, England also boast the likes of Mark Wood and Barbadian Jofra Archer, both of whom have consistently topped speeds of 95 miles per hour.

Bayliss said that he expected it to be a heated contest, especially after the 2-2 draw in the five-match series in the Caribbean earlier this year.

“We will have to play at our best to come away with a win. In the Caribbean, we were a little bit up and down. They bowled fast, but then Mark Wood made a few of their guys jump up and down,” he pointed out.

“The wicket here is reasonably flat, and it has been in the past. There have been a few more wickets in the World Cup than there has been in the last few years, so I expect the fast bowlers are rubbing their hands together.”

The Windies lie sixth in the 10-team standings on three points following a win, a defeat, and a no-result in their three matches.

England, meanwhile, are second on four points after pulling off two wins and tasting defeat to Pakistan in three outings.