Right. That’s that, then for day one of the Super 12 games of the ICC T20 World Cup. Australia and England register wins over South Africa and West Indies respectively to begin their campaign with a win. Windies will hope to forget this performance and hope to move on from it. Tomorrow, it’s a big day for Indian cricket with the marquee India vs Pakistan taking place in Dubai. But before that, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh face-off in Sharjah, in Sunday’s first game. Hope you enjoyed our coverage today. Until tommorrow, it’s goodbye and good night!
Eoin Morgan, England skipper: “It’s as good as it gets. To start our campaign like that, all credit to our bowling unit. The guys were very disciplined, and we took our chances. I think Moeen Ali read the conditions beautifully, he took chances when his match-up was in his favour, and to take his opportunity like he has, after the success he’s had in the IPL was brilliant.”
Kieron Pollard, West Indies captain: “It’s unacceptable, we accept that. For us, it’s just a matter of finding our straps. We haven’t batted well in our three games so far. We went out, guys tried to play their shots, and it didn’t come off. I don’t think any sort of panic will come into our camp. It is what it is, we just need to take it on our chest and move on, this is international sport. Obviously, we play a lot of cricket around the world, and this is not the first time something like this has happened.”
Moeen Ali is the Player of the Match. “They (West Indies) do have a lot of left-handers at the top, so I knew I would be bowling early on. The role at CSK is very important for me, it feels like I’m always involved with bat and ball and on the field too, and it was the perfect preparation coming into the World Cup.”
After 8.2 overs,England 56/4 ( Jos Buttler (W) 24 , Eoin Morgan (C) 7)
GAME OVER! Jos Buttler seals the match with a boundary, beating the long leg fielder with a big pull shot. England begin their T20 World Cup campaign with a win, to avenge their defeat of the 2016 final.
After 8 overs,England 50/4 ( Jos Buttler (W) 18 , Eoin Morgan (C) 7)
Oben McCoy continues. Morgan beats the fielder at deep midwicket to find a boundary. Hayden Walsh there tried everything to stop the ball but eventually failed. England need just a six to win the match now.
After 7 overs,England 43/4 ( Jos Buttler (W) 16 , Eoin Morgan (C) 2)
A divng effort from Akea Hosein completes the dismissal of Liam Livingstone. It’s a caught and bowled dismissal but there’s a review to see if the ball had been grounded before completing the wicket. But replay shows it’s a clean dismissal. Skipper Eoin Morgan is the new batter. England need 13 more runs to win.
After 6 overs,England 39/3 ( Jos Buttler (W) 14 , Liam Livingstone 1)
Obed McCoy is introduced. There’s a mix-up between Moeen and Buttler, and Moeen rushing back to the non-strikers’ end, misses out on safety by a couple of yards as McCoy breaks the stumps, seeing Moeen off. Liam Livingstone is the new batter, and England need 17 more runs to win.
After 5 overs,England 34/2 ( Jos Buttler (W) 11 , Moeen Ali 3)
Akeal Hosein begins his third over with a wicket, that of Jonny Bairstow. Moeen Ali, not Dawid Malan, is at number four. A wicket and four runs off the over, with Buttler keeping strie with a single. England need just 22 runs off 90 balls.
OUT! Caught and bowled by Akeal Hosein as Jonny Bairstow departs. England are two down now. Bairstow c and b Akeal Hosein 9