The State of Play
The West Indies will look to reignite their hopes of making the T20 World Cup semi-finals when they take on the United States in a battle of the tournament co-hosts tomorrow.
The Windies went into Wednesday’s Super Eight clash with England on the back of eight straight T20 wins but were blown away by Jos Buttler’s men, who won by eight wickets with 15 balls remaining.
Read our other sports news stories:
Williamson steps down as New Zealand captain following T20 World Cup exit
T20 World Cup: Australia v Bangladesh preview
T20 World Cup: England v South Africa preview
It means they have little margin for error in their two remaining Group Two games, the first of which comes against the States in Barbados.
They will be without opener Brandon King, who could miss the rest of the tournament after suffering a side strain in the defeat to England.
Captain Rovman Powell said: “Yes, a little bit worrying but hopefully he can pull through for the next game.
“We know how important a player he is for us.”
Should he be ruled out, the Windies may call up Kyle Mayers.
18+ Gambling Can Be Addictive. Please Play Responsibly. BeGambleAware GamStop Gambling Commission
The States did wonderfully well to qualify for the Super Eight but haven’t won a match in regulation since their opening-round win over Canada.
They saw off Pakistan on a Super Over before defeats to India and South Africa either side of a washout against Ireland.
They played well against South Africa with the match in the balance until the latter overs of their chase.
Trying to reach 195 proved beyond them, though, despite a wonderful 80 not out from Andries Gous.
“Hard to take a defeat after coming so close,” said captain Aaron Jones. “But we did lack discipline in the bowling at times. Once we play good cricket we can beat any team in the world. But we need to be a lot more disciplined.”
WI keep moving, WI keep rallyin’.👏🏿
On to the next Super8️⃣ battle at Kensington Oval.🇧🇧#WIREADY | #T20WorldCup | #WIvENG pic.twitter.com/FlB2mt4agY
— Windies Cricket (@windiescricket) June 20, 2024
Expected line-ups
West Indies: Mayers, Charles, Pooran (wk), Powell (c), Russell, Rutherford, Shepherd, Chase, Hosein, Joseph, Motie
United States: Taylor, Gous (wk), Kumar, Jones (c), Anderson, Jahangir, H Singh, J Singh, Kenjige, Khan, Netravalkar
How to watch
Sky have the rights to show the T20 World Cup to UK viewers in 2024 and will broadcast every game live. Coverage gets underway on Sky Sports Main Event and Sky Sports Cricket from 1am UK time on Saturday morning.
In India, the games can be streamed on Disney + Hotstar app and website. They are also available across the Star Sports Network.
#TeamUSA is off to Barbados for their next @ICC @T20WorldCup clash against West Indies on June 21st! 💪🔥#T20WorldCup | #WeAreUSACricket 🇺🇸 pic.twitter.com/hWXMl5AfU2
— USA Cricket (@usacricket) June 19, 2024
Prediction
The Windies are a good side and with no doubt boisterous backing from the Bridgetown crowd, they will take some stopping.
The States don’t look out of their depth in this esteemed company but continue to fall short and we think this pattern will continue.
We’re going for a Windies win.
