West Indies batsman Chris Gayle plays a shot during the ICC World Twenty20 cricket tournament warm-up match between England and the West Indies at the Khan Shaheb Osman Ali Stadium in Fatullah on the outskirts of Dhaka on March 18, 2014. PHOTO: AFP
Batting first, the English team stuttered to a below-par score of 131 for seven in their allotted overs. The two teams, who had played a three-match Twenty20 series in the Caribbean before arriving in Bangladesh for the mega event, tried a variety of combinations in the practice game.
Defending champions West Indies opened their bowling with spinners Krishmar Santokie and Samuel Badree. Santokie was the best bowler on display in spin-friendly conditions; he claimed three wickets in his four-over stint. Paceman Sheldon Cottrell credited his account with two scalps.
Stand-in captain Eoin Morgan top-scored with 43 off 42 balls as he struck four hits to the boundary and a solitary six.
West Indies overhaul score with ease
The West Indians got off to a belligerent start in reply. Gayle showed his prowess with a boundary-packed performance which must have warmed the hearts of his fans. He struck six fours and a brace of sixes in his unbeaten knock.
The left-hander was given good support by his opening partner Dwayne Smith, who scored 36 off 30 balls with the help of two sixes and four boundaries. Smith, Johnson Charles and Marlon Samuels fell in quick succession, yet Gayle and Lendl Simmons eased their team past the target in the 17th over of the innings.
England had a generally fruitless outing in the field. James Tredwell, Ravi Bopara and Stephen Parry all took a wicket each, yet failed to exert pressure on the free-flowing West Indian batsmen.
England have a tough task at hand in the main round, as the conditions are expected to suit slow bowlers.
The likes of Tredwell and medium-pacer Bopara would need to provide wickets to keep their team in the hunt.
The two teams are drawn in separate pools in the main round; the West Indians are bunched with Australia and former champions India and Pakistan and one qualifier.
England, who won the championship when it was held in the Caribbean in 2010, are placed with a qualifier, New Zealand, South Africa and Sri Lanka, who have featured in two finals of the event.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 19th, 2014.
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