RASH MACHINE PAYS OFF
REMEMBER the game. Five years on from the heist of the century, England wiped the floor with thewindies in a onesidedworld Cup opener. Not even Carlos Brathwaite could have pulled a rabbit out of the hole thewindies dug for themselves in an abject effort with the bat to be skittled for just 55.
England’s bowlers were outstanding, from the brilliance of Moeen Ali to claim 2-17 off the reel at the start, to the ridiculous figures of
2.2-0-2-4 that belonged to Adil Rashid in Dubai.
“I don’t think we could have asked for a better start,” said Rashid.
“Moeen (right) started it and I thought we all bowled exceptionally well. He set the tone. He kept it tight and bowled so well and showed he is a quality bowler.
“We didn’t expect that coming into this, it wasn’t over until it was over, but that is a great start.”
Jos Buttler marshalled the chase with 24 not out as England strolled with a whopping 70 balls to spare.
They lost four wickets in the push for a quick chase to help their net run rate, which is why Dawid Malan was pushed down the order.
But this was a night to remember for the five bowlers and perhaps the most satisfying of the wickets to fall was the first of Tymal Mills’ double to remove Chris Gayle. Mills softened the 42-year-old left-hander with the same searing pace he used five years ago when he castled Gayle in the T20 Blast for Sussex with a 93.3mph yorker. This time it was an 89mph back of a length ball that hit Gayle high on the bat and he could only sky it out to Dawid Malan to take a stunning catch.
“It was a dream start,” said Mills. “We bowled well. It’s been a long time since I played but it’s great to be back and take a few wickets.a great way to start.”
The bowling was first rate but the fielding was world class with eight out of ten wickets falling to catches as thewindies tried to blast their way out of trouble.
There has to be a licence to thrill for batsmen in T20, but after being reduced to 27-3 and then 31-4 by the end of the powerplay,windies have to be smarter than this.
Skipper Kieron Pollard said: “It is not the way you want to start but you just have to bin it.
“To get bowled out for 55 is unacceptable, but we have a chance to put it right.”