A 2016 final rematch between T20 heavyweights
Five years on from their epic clash at Eden Gardens, reigning champions West Indies and 2016 runners up England face again at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2016.
Much has been written of that famous final over in the 2016 decider and it has continued to dictate the narrative into Saturday night’s Super 12 match in Dubai. While it would be foolish to suggest the West Indies’ incredible win in 2016 against England won’t register in the collective mind of each team, the ghosts of that epic will not determine what happens tonight.
Indeed, many of the central characters from that game will not feature in this match between the world No.1s and the world champions. Ben Stokes and Carlos Brathwaite sadly aren’t involved in this tournament, nor are either team’s top scorers on the night, nor is Daren Sammy.
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Suffice to say, plenty of water has gone under the bridge since that night.
What hasn’t changed however is the explosive brand of cricket these two teams play. In Jason Roy and Jos Buttler, England have one of the most frighteningly aggressive opening pair’s T20I cricket has seen, and in Dawid Malan at first drop the No.1 men’s T20 batter in the world. Malan plays the lone anchor in a side that is either wise just rocket-fuelled propellers, with captain Eoin Morgan giving himself and the likes of Moeen Ali and Liam Livingstone the right to swing for the hills in a batting order without a tail. That’s if Malan plays at all, with Jonny Bairstow looking a serious contender to bat at No.3.
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On the other side of the ledger, the West Indies have the fastest man in the world to hit 100 T20I sixes in Evin Lewis, the first man to reach that mark in Chris Gayle and a handful of players within the XI all on course to join the club. In captain Kieron Pollard and all-rounder Andre Russell possibly the two cleanest strikers of a ball the format has seen and among its best ever finishers. They have a group that brings an unrivalled wealth of T20 experience to the table as well as an exciting crop of youngsters primed to pick up where the elder statesmen have left off.
In short, it’s a match you simply cannot miss.
Fixture details
- Match: England v West Indies
- Time: 17:00 local time on Saturday 23 October
- Venue: Dubai International Stadium, Dubai
England preview
West Indies preview
The Teams
England possible XI: Jason Roy, Jos Buttler, Jonny Bairstow/Dawid Malan, Eoin Morgan (c), Moeen Ali, Liam Livingstone, Chris Woakes, Chris Jordan, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood, Tymal Mills
West Indies possible XI: Evin Lewis, Lendl Simmons, Chris Gayle, Nicholas Pooran, Shimron Hetmyer, Kieron Pollard (c), Andre Russell, Dwayne Bravo, Hayden Walsh Jr, Obed McCoy, Ravi Rampaul
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