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Key events
Our man on earth
Ali Martin
“Greetings from Saint Lucia where it’s a nice evening and a wonderful atmosphere is already building in the ground. There’s a great steel band belting out hits from David Rudder and Nadia Batson outside the stadium, then pulsating party juice – Shazam fodder territory for the names – blares inside. The Windies happily put a big one on the board against Afghanistan here on Monday, ever so slightly surprised by Jos Buttler’s call. England try to have a long tail tonight, the Windies revert to their strongest side from the first round. The crowd is growing and everything looks set for a belt and who knows, maybe the first centurion of the tournament.”
Very exciting email from old OBO friend and county blog James Walsh.
“Worst night here – big as ever for our amazing NHS – but I suspect my dad may not make it after a sudden and very violent illness. And so we keep vigil.
“He’s never been much of a cricket fan, although he’s happy to come to The Oval with his friend Chris to drink beer and toast John Major’s arrest.
No need to post if it’s a bit much for a cricket blog but I just wanted to say thank you for being there providing comfort and distraction in the toughest of times.’
James, I send all the love in the world to you and your dad. May England see you both safe in the night.
Ian Bishop towers over them all at the Darren Sammy Stadium where the wind whistled and Mark Wood cut in over his shoulder. . “They were spinning it well, very hard, not very long grass. You get extra bounce compared to other Caribbean pitches around the venue. But it’s a real bounce, hitters can pull or drive.”
West Indies XI
West Indies: Brandon King, Johnson Charles, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Roston Chase, Rovman Powell (capt), Andre Russell, Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd, Akeal Hossain, Alzari Joseph, Gudakesh Moti
A couple of changes for the West Indies, with Roston Chase and Romario Shepherd returning.
England XI
England: Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (captain and title), Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Moeen Alli, Liam Livingston, Sam Curran, Jofra Archer, Mark Wood, Adil Rashid, Reece Topley.
Liam Livingstone has recovered from his stomach upset. One change with Mark Wood replacing Chris Jordan.
England win the toss and will play!
Butler makes the right call in what appears to be a stifling St. Lucia night
“It’s the part of the tournament you want to be at,” says Butler, “it’s going to be a great atmosphere, a game to enjoy.” Rovman Powell says he would bowl too but “it looks a very good pitch” .
“I’m looking forward to tonight,” pats a cheerful Stephen Holliday. “I’m in Toronto, so the timing is great. The kids will be in bed. I have a few beers in the fridge and feel pretty relaxed about things. We’re kind of expecting New England to show up, not Morgan England, so anything positive will be a lovely bonus. I think as long as the weather doesn’t interfere, everything will be fine.
“As an aside, I reserve the right to be absolutely furious when a great start by England is undone within two overs.
Ah, cricket…”
We are with you Steven! Good morning all. Here is Nasser Hussain and the toss.
Preamble
Hello night owl prowling BST, hello sun worshiper from st lucian hello everyone in between. Welcome to the second match of the Super Eights – still without a knockout – between the reigning champions, Butler’s Boys, and the hosts and fellow two-time winners, the West Indies.
A quick reminder of what’s in the Super Eights – India, Australia, Afghanistan and Bangladesh (Group One) and West Indies, South Africa, England and USA (Group Two) are the qualifiers.
Teams play the other three teams in their group once, with the top two sides in each group advancing to the semi-finals. South Africa defeated the USA in the first match in Antigua on Wednesday and here we are now in the second.
England’s trip to St Lucia was torn apart, threatened by rain, Australia and then rain again. On the other hand, West Indies are reeling – four wins from four, against PNG, New Zealand, Uganda and Afghanistan, and a sense that this campaign could reignite a fire among the home population. Ali Martin wrote a great article about it and Akeal Hossain here:
The game starts at 1.30 AM Bulgarian Standard Time, and the toss at 1 AM. I’ll see you then!
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