England defeated West Indies by 6 wickets in Dubai on Saturday. The English bowling unit ripped through the Calypso side and bundled them out for 55 and then chased the target in the 9th over.
WHO SAID WHAT?
Eoin Morgan | Winning captain – This is as good as it gets, to start a campaign is a credit to the bowling unit. I thought the wicket was a good one, but the bowling was spot-on, we took all our chances and deserved this win. He is someone who does the basics well (on Moeen), he finishes off matches for us, hasn’t bowled a lot or played in a lot of games, but we did have someone like Ben Stokes in the middle. Mo has put in a huge contribution to the team. He’s as good as he has ever been with the ball (on Tymal Mills), his ground fielding has improved a lot and he’s at his best at the moment, bowling wise. Some of our catching was superb, full credit to the coaching staff. We were thinking about the net run rate and so sent in guys who could have a go from ball one. But I’m sure that he’ll contribute to the team in the next few games (on Malan’s demotion).
Kieron Pollard | Losing captain – There’s not a lot to explain – it was an unacceptable performance, but we do need to take this on the chin and move on. It’s a matter of finding our straps, we have to find a way to get a fighting total on the board, today was a day where we couldn’t find that balance, but we need to forget this and move on. This is an international sport, such days happen, but we need to find a solution. We have played a lot of T20 cricket around the world, this is something we have all experienced, you’ll have to accept such days. Each game is important, we still have four games in the tournament and we’ll have to look forward. Got an opportunity due to the injury, things do happen for a reason, he (Hosein) has worked hard in domestic cricket, his attitude is fantastic, he has plenty of energy and that ‘s fantastic. I told the guys to give our best at the halfway stage.
Moeen Ali | Player of the Match: It was always nice to catch one like that, I saw CJ running and thought about leaving it to him as he’s so fast and great in the field, but then it was on my side and I stuck my hands out. It gives you confidence, my first over was nice until that six, but yes it does give you confidence. It helps with so many left handers in their team, but I have been bowling alright in the nets, quite confident and as I have been playing cricket, I was not that nervous. The role in that team (CSK) is really good for me, I felt comfortable and involved with both bat and ball, it is great to be playing those big games like the semifinals and finals and then coming to the World Cup.
