England will bowl first against West Indies in tonight’s T20 World Cup group match at Mumbai after Harry Brook won the toss and, armed with a few numbers, decided chasing was the safer bet.
“We had a look at the stats and it favours the team batting second so we’d like to have a chase tonight,” he explained, sounding calm rather than bullish.
Key selections
• England replace left-arm seamer Luke Wood with Jamie Overton, the right-armer offering extra pace and a bit of late-order muscle with the bat.
• West Indies also make a single switch: out goes Matthew Forde, in comes Roston Chase – a move skipper Shai Hope labelled “tactical”, aimed largely at England’s collection of left-handers.
“We would have bowled first, but have to set the tone with the bat,” Hope said. “It can be a blessing and a curse when you play an opposition you’ve played against so many times. We’ve got to bring our A game.”
Form guide
England squeezed past Nepal by four runs in their opener, Sam Curran nailing his yorkers in a nervy final over after Will Jacks’ clean 39* from 18 balls had dragged a below-par total to something workable. Not perfect, but two points bagged.
West Indies looked tidier first up, beating Scotland by 35 runs. Shimron Hetmyer’s measured half-century steadied them from 58 for 2, then Romario Shepherd’s late burst – five wickets, including a hat-trick – slammed the door.
Why Chase?
Apart from his steady middle-order batting, the tall off-spinner can be awkward against England’s lefties – Salt, Curran and Dawson among them. On a red-soil Wankhede surface that often grips, Hope figures a few overs of tight off-spin could be handy.
Venue memories
This ground hasn’t forgotten Chris Gayle’s 47-ball hundred that floored England in 2016. That tournament ended with West Indies nicking the title in Kolkata, Ben Stokes’ name etched into Caribbean folklore for all the wrong reasons. Different players now, but those stories still hover.
Teams
England: Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (wk), Jacob Bethell, Tom Banton, Harry Brook (capt), Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Liam Dawson, Jamie Overton, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid.
West Indies: Brandon King, Shai Hope (capt & wk), Shimron Hetmyer, Rovman Powell, Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd, Roston Chase, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Shamar Joseph, Gudakesh Motie.
Outlook
Early-evening humidity should aid the quicks before dew arrives – another nudge toward bowling first. England have followed the numbers; West Indies must now put something on the board worth defending.
First ball is due at 7.30 pm local.
