WI aim to prove their mettle

TAROUBA, Trinidad (CMC):

West Indies will be looking to regain their mojo and win the fourth Twenty20 International against England today at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy ground in Trinidad.

After confidently winning the first two matches of the series, the Caribbean side were almost powerless in the third T20I this past Saturday at the National Cricket Stadium in Grenada, where England completed their third-highest successful run chase to cut the deficit in the series to 2-1.

The hosts have proven across the first three matches that they have plenty of firepower even after being asked to set a target, but their bowling failed to contain a rampaging Phil Salt in the thriller in the Spice Isle, and England got a timely boost of confidence on this Tour of the Caribbean with a seven-wicket win with only two balls remaining.

West Indies needed all five matches to seal a 3-2 series win when England last visited the Caribbean in January last year, but they will be keen to complete the job with one match remaining in this series and provide their swarm of fans with an early Christmas gift.

In response to the reversal, the Caribbean side has brought Johnson Charles in to replace the out-of-sorts Shimron Hetmyer, and they have opted to give strike bowler Alzarri Joseph a well-earned rest, replacing him with rugged Leeward Islands Hurricanes fast bowling teammate, Oshane Thomas.

West Indies captain Rovman Powell said he was bitterly disappointed to score more than 200 and lose.

“We have quality guys on the field to do the job,” he said after the defeat. “It’s just unfortunate it didn’t come off.

“It’s just down to us to sit down, take the flight and come up with plans. I think the plans are still very good against these English batters.”

The bowling will have to shoulder a lot of the blame for the defeat, and there may be consideration given to tweaking the attack with the places of both left-arm spinners Gudakesh Motie and Akeal Hosein likely to come under the microscope.

With Charles, as well as all-rounders Romario Shepherd, uncapped Marvin Forde, and Roston Chase to choose from off the bench, the selection panel of Desmond Haynes, Roland Butcher, and head coach Daren Sammy will have several hard decisions to make.

West Indies have won three of their last five T20Is against England, and they hold a 16-11 edge in head-to-head battles, so they are still heavily favoured to find the right tempo and come out on top in the match.

The pitch will hold the key to the outcome because the surface is a typically a balanced surface, offering equal assistance to both batsmen and bowlers, but there is little historical data to make a decisive bet about the ideal choice for the captain winning the toss.

The average first-innings total at the venue in the last 20 T20I matches is 104, and the team batting first has won 50 per cent of the matches.

West Indies squad: Rovman Powell (captain), Shai Hope (vice-captain), Johnson Charles, Roston Chase, Matthew Forde, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Gudakesh Motie, Nicholas Pooran, Andre Russell, Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd, Oshane Thomas.