Adil Rashid

Vaughan revealed earlier in November that his name appears in a 100-page report into institutional racism at Yorkshire but strongly denies the allegations against him.

Rafiq brought allegations against Yorkshire, which has already led to the resignations of chairman Roger Hutton and chief executive Mark Arthur.

Vaughan, who played for Yorkshire between 1993 and 2009, allegedly said to a group of Asian team-mates that there were "too many of you lot, we need to do something about it".

Rafiq's version of events were supported by fellow former Yorkshire player Rana Naved-ul-Hassan and now England star Rashid, who had been playing at the T20 World Cup, says he heard Vaughan's alleged comment as well.

In a statement to The Cricketer, Rashid – a Yorkshire player since 2006 – said: "Racism is a cancer in all walks of life and unfortunately in professional sports too, and is something which of course has to be stamped out.

"I wanted to concentrate as much as possible on my cricket and to avoid distractions to the detriment of the team but I can confirm Azeem Rafiq's recollection of Michael Vaughan's comments to a group of us Asian players.

"I'm encouraged by the fact that a parliamentary committee seems to be trying to improve the situation, whether that's holding people accountable or getting changes made at an institutional level.

"These can only be positive developments. I will of course be more than happy to support any official efforts when the time is right.

"For now, though, these matters are of an intensely personal nature and I will not be commenting on them further. I ask you to respect my privacy and allow me to focus on my cricket.

"I want to thank the ECB, the fans and especially my teammates for all of their support. We didn't get the result we wanted in this World Cup, but I hope that the unity of our dressing room and the leadership of our captain will propel us forward to achieve what we deserve in the future."

Stats Perform has approached Yorkshire, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and Vaughan's representation for further comment.

Rafiq is expected to give evidence in front of the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) select committee on Tuesday.

England selected both frontline leg-spinners in their T20 series opener against the West Indies in Barbados and were vindicated as the pair shared five of the home side’s six wickets to fall.

Rashid, who made his 100th T20 international appearance in England’s four-wicket defeat at the Kensington Oval, thinks he relies more on flight and variations, while reckoning Ahmed bowls quicker.

But Rashid, 35, does view Ahmed as his protege and the duo might end up dovetailing in England’s T20 World Cup defence next year in the Caribbean and United States if they continue to impress in tandem.

“That’s way down the line,” Rashid said. “There’s a lot of cricket yet to be played. Myself and Rehan are going to keep coming out, try to do the best we can and leave the rest to the selectors.

“But I definitely look at him as a younger brother. He’s 19. He’s got his own journey. We’re completely different bowlers. He’s got the tricks. He’s got the ability and he’s got the confidence.

“We’re always talking; just keeping it simple, enjoying it and let nature take its course. The more he plays and the more experience he gets, things will get better for him.”

Rashid marked his landmark appearance on Tuesday by becoming the first England male bowler to take 100 wickets in the format although it was not always such smooth sailing in his career.

He first earned England recognition in 2009 but leg-spin was still a distrusted art at the time and after a couple of innocuous displays, he was thrown on the scrapheap for half-a-dozen years.

It was only through careful nurturing during Eoin Morgan’s transformative captaincy of England’s white-ball sides from 2015 onwards that Rashid got back in – and he has hardly looked back.

Rashid is pleased that Ahmed, who bounced back from conceding 19 in his first over to record figures of three for 39 against the Windies, should not have to suffer a similar fate.

“As time’s gone on, it’s definitely got a lot better in that sense and people understanding more about leg-spin which is a great thing,” the double World Cup winner said.

“It’s completely different from 2009, times have moved on. You always learn as time goes on, you always develop and with Rehan now, with what he’s doing, hopefully he can develop as he is.”

England falling behind in the five-match series continues a disappointing sequence of white-ball results after their shock group-stage exit at the World Cup and an ODI series loss to the Windies.

They have precious little time to digest their latest setback as the series resumes on Thursday in Grenada, where Reece Topley could play his first match since a broken finger ended his World Cup early.

England’s bowlers leaked 14 sixes to the Windies’ battery of big-hitters, but Rashid insisted conviction remained high within the group despite limited success of late.

“You can’t always win World Cups. You can’t win series every time,” Rashid said. “Obviously we’d love to do that but it’s part and parcel of sport.

“It’s not just in cricket, in football you see the best in the world – one minute they win a World Cup, the next minute, they lose. That’s just natural and part of life.

“We’re still confident and have got belief in ourselves, we’ve still got a really aggressive team. All we’ve got to do is go out there and just really have that self-belief in ourselves.”

As for whether he took any satisfaction from his achievements, Rashid added: “It’s always nice to get a milestone like that for myself but it would have been better if I’d got the milestone and we’d won.”

Flintoff is continuing his ad hoc role as a team mentor for England in their five T20s against the West Indies and, ahead of the series opener, he spoke glowingly of Rashid before his landmark appearance.

In the team huddle before England’s four-wicket loss in Barbados, Flintoff recalled his first memories of a then 20-year-old Rashid when they were at opposite ends of their playing careers in late 2008.

Rashid, now 35, has since gone on to establish himself as one of the finest white-ball bowlers of his era, helping England win both ODI and T20 World Cup trophies.

But Flintoff also shone a light on the work Rashid does away from the field, including mentoring the next generation at his academy in Yorkshire and the advice he doles out to spinners of all ages.

“I remember you coming into the side as this young lad, full of mystery, full of wonder, full of mischief and loads and loads of ability,” Flintoff said in a video released by www.ecb.co.uk.

“Over the years, everyone in this group: myself and anybody who’s played with you has been so proud at how you’ve gone about your business – a multiple World Cup winner, the best in the business at what you do around the world but more importantly, Rash, you as a person.

“You’re such an integral part of this squad and the other thing is you give back, whether it’s in Bradford with your academies (or) the other day I saw you spending all this time with a leg-spinner, a young kid, and just coaching him. To me that is just as important as everything else you do.

“To me, you epitomise everything that England cricket is about. It’s a privilege for me to tour with you, it’s a privilege for me to give you this cap.

“So Rash, come and get this cap, (it is) 100 but you’ve not stopped yet, there’s plenty more in you. Well done, son.”

During the English summer, Flintoff presented Tom Hartley with his maiden England cap, telling his fellow Lancastrian: “This will change your life forever.”

The ex-England captain also touched upon “the hardest time” of his life in his message to Hartley after a crash on the BBC show Top Gear in December last year that left him with facial and rib injuries.

Archer has been released by Mumbai Indians, along with his replacement Chris Jordan, while Brook and Rashid have been released by Sunrisers Hyderabad.

Archer took just two wickets in five matches for Mumbai earlier this year before being sidelined.

The 28-year-old returned to India to continue his rehabilitation from an elbow injury alongside England’s World Cup squad, but was not considered to replace Reece Topley after his fellow fast bowler suffered a broken finger.

England Test captain Ben Stokes announced on Thursday he would not be available for the IPL.

Stokes was purchased by Chennai Super Kings for £1.65million last December, but struggled with his fitness and played only twice for his new franchise in the 2023 tournament.

Stokes is due for surgery on a longstanding knee injury to ensure he is fit for England’s five-match Test series with India which begins in January.

Joe Root followed the lead of Stokes two days later, confirming he would not join up with a Rajasthan Royals squad which contains England white-ball captain Jos Buttler next year.

Top spot was on the line at the Rose Bowl, after England twice beat Aaron Finch's side to make sure they would win the series. This third and final game presented a chance for England to swipe away Australia's proud world-leading status, but the tourists raised their game to protect that position.

Rashid's 3-21, including a glorious googly that outfoxed Finch, almost turned the match England's way, but their attack was blunted once his allocation was used up, and the tourists stayed calm to get the job done.

Mitchell Marsh made his highest T20 international score - 39 not out - to guide Australia beyond England's 145-6, his chancy single off Chris Jordan securing the win with three balls to spare.

It means Australia remain premiers in the International Cricket Council's T20 standings, albeit with England perched right behind them.

Tom Banton was promoted to the top of the England order in the absence of Jos Buttler, with Moeen Ali captaining the side for the first time with Eoin Morgan ruled out by a finger injury.

Australia put England in, and the reshuffling got off to a worrying start when Banton fell for two to Josh Hazlewood.

Opening partner Jonny Bairstow made a brisk 55, Dawid Malan added 21, Moeen chipped in with 23, and Joe Denly contributed 29 not out, but England's total always looked on the low side and proved to be so.

Moeen was given out after a moment of uncertainty, as he clubbed Mitchell Starc towards the deep midwicket boundary where Steve Smith, with his left foot devilishly close to the boundary, held on.

Australia were 86-2 in 10 overs, looking for all the world comfortable, having lost only Matthew Wade (14) and Marcus Stoinis (26) to that point.

Yet Rashid had the tourists rattled when he took two wickets in three balls, nicking out Glenn Maxwell and Finch, the latter removed for 39 by a dream of a delivery that befuddled the Australia skipper.

The Yorkshire leg-spinner took his third wicket from the final ball of his permitted four overs, having Smith caught and bowled for three.

Marsh had crucially survived a scare between Rashid's second and third wickets, when he edged Denly towards Malan at slip and the England fielder missed the chance.

Australia needed 46 from 42 balls after Rashid's stint, with five wickets standing and Marsh and Ashton Agar at the crease.

England swapped spin for pace by summoning Jofra Archer and Mark Wood, and it was a change of tack that Australia welcomed, Marsh pulling Wood for six from the first ball of the 16th over.

The Australians gathered 14 runs from that over, thoroughly calming their nerves, and it was steady all the way to the finish line from there.

Sam Curran (3-12) and Adil Rashid (2-22) bowled superbly to restrict Pakistan to just 137-8, though England's chase did not get off to the greatest of starts as openers Alex Hales and Jos Buttler were removed within the powerplay.

Stokes came in with England 32-2 after 3.3 overs, but smashed a sublime 52 off 49 deliveries to record his first ever T20I half-century and help his country to their second T20 World Cup title.

Stokes was keen to highlight England's bowlers as the reason for the win at the MCG in Melbourne, telling Sky Sports: "I think when you chase totals in games like this, you forget the hard work that goes in before.

"I thought the way that we bowled, Adil Rashid, Sam Curran, that's what won us the game. To restrict them to whatever we did, bowlers have got to take a lot of credit for that.

"We didn't feel under too much pressure with the run chase. I never felt it was out of our hands at all. It's never really panic stations when it's under eight an over."

England's triumph comes after a shock defeat to Ireland in the group stage that threatened to derail their tournament, having come in as one of the favourites.

Stokes referenced that loss after the final victory, saying: "I think with that [Ireland defeat] being so early in the competition, we obviously had to address it, say what we said and then let it go.

"In tournaments, you can't carry baggage. That was a little blip, but the best teams learn from their mistakes, they take it on the chin but they never let it affect them and they just let it go and move onto the next challenge."

England's success comes in new captain Jos Buttler's first tournament since taking over from previous incumbent Eoin Morgan, who led the team to ODI World Cup glory in 2019.

Stokes says Buttler has built on Morgan's good work to create history of his own, adding: "Jos has now created his own legacy.

"When the great man stepped down [pointing to Morgan] and Jos took over, you look how quickly he's managed to take control of the team and progress it from the legacy that Morgs [Morgan] has left.

"He's a guy who everyone follows. I think it shouldn't be taken for granted how hard it can be to make tactical decisions under pressure in this format. Ninety-five per cent of his decision-making he's got right. We're lucky to have him."

That was the message from new England white-ball coach Matthew Mott, who is also relishing the prospect of Adil Rashid returning after being granted leave to undertake the hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.

Buttler was appointed as ODI and T20I captain following the long-serving reign of Eoin Morgan, but started with back-to-back 2-1 defeats against India in white-ball cricket.

The wicket-keeper batter struggled in a bowler-dominated series against Rohit Sharma's side, passing 50 just once in six outings and failing to record double figures on three occasions.

Though Buttler seemed to regain some form with 60 in the third ODI defeat at Old Trafford on Sunday, Mott insists it will take time for his captain to become familiar with the role.

"I think his leadership has been a baptism of fire. I thought it was a gutsy knock [on Sunday] – a real captain's innings," Mott told reporters. 

"He was hit in the head a couple of times, he'd have been shaken up, but he showed a lot out there.

"Jos brings a nice calmness. He's a hugely empathetic person. He won't be someone who stands up and makes big speeches, he'll do it in his own quiet way, one-on-one, working out what makes players tick. And he's an amazing player – that helps."

Buttler has sizeable experience as vice-captain to Morgan, who retired from international cricket after scoring the most runs in both white-ball formats for England – 6,957 in 50 overs and 2,458 in T20.

Morgan also led England to dramatic Cricket World Cup success over New Zealand at Lord's in 2019, three years after guiding his side to the T20 World Cup final.

The former England captain has moved into TV punditry, working for Sky Sports, but Mott insists that Morgan's presence is not overshadowing Buttler's start to his new era.

"There's no doubt his legacy is huge, his leadership is renowned. But at the start it wasn't like that," Mott added. 

"He had his early struggles when the team wasn't firing as well. You get judged at the end of your tenure, not the start.

"[Morgan] developed that experience over six or seven years, making a few mistakes, learning, getting better. We know we've been off in a couple of departments and India made us pay heavily.

"I felt lucky Eoin went on that first trip to Holland – he showed me the ropes, how the team ticks. He'll be a great sounding board for both Jos and myself about what he's seen from the outside.

"He clearly loves the team. Now he's on the other side of the fence, he has a really good perspective and will give us some good feedback.”

England struggled without the presence of leg-spinner Rashid throughout the middle overs against India, whose leg-break bowler Yuzvendra Chahal regularly tormented the hosts' batters.

Only four players – James Anderson (269), Darren Gough (234), Stuart Broad (178) and Andrew Flintoff (168) – have taken more ODI wickets for England than Rashid (162), and Mott is glad to have the leg-spinner back for the three-match series against South Africa, which starts on Tuesday at Durham.

"We fully respect the reasons why [Rashid] wasn't here and I think it's great he’s made that journey," said Mott.

"But we'll definitely welcome him back with open arms. It will have freshened him up nicely as well."

Jos Buttler returned to skipper England as captain Eoin Morgan sat out and he top scored with a stunning 59 from 39 deliveries at the top of the order.

Moeen Ali (36) and Liam Livingstone (38) supplied explosive middle-order contributions, but England lost wickets frequently and there was a suspicion their 200 all out in 19.5 was a touch shy of what was required in perfect batting conditions in a sweltering Leeds.

But a Pakistan batting line-up that posted 232-6 in a 31-run win at Trent Bridge on Friday were effectively shackled by leg-spinners Adil Rashid (2-30) and Matt Parkinson (1-25) and Moeen's off-spin (2-32), with paceman Saqib Mahmood the pick of the attack thanks to 3-33 that began with the vital wicket of visiting captain Babar Azam (22).

Jason Roy set the tone for England's innings with a huge six and a four off slow left-armer Imad Wasim (2-37) before holing out within the first over.

Dawid Malan scratched around for one off five deliveries – top-edging a sweep off Imad to be caught by Azam Khan – although there were no such problems for Moeen in his blistering 16-ball stay, nor Livingstone, who followed up his incredible century in Nottingham by bludgeoning two fours and three sixes. One of those remarkably cleared the grandstand at the Football Ground End.

Buttler was in typically sublime touch through extra cover and only fell to Mohammad Hasnain (3-51) with a thunderous hit straight to Babar at mid-off.

Jonny Bairstow, Tom Curran and Chris Jordan came and went without being able to produce anything of similar substance and the sense England had been slightly wasteful was heightened as Babar and Mohammad Rizwan (37) added 50 for the first wicket.

Babar skewed a cross-seam delivery from Mahmood to a diving Malan and, as Rashid and Parkinson got into their work, Pakistan were unable to regain their momentum.

A fine return catch from Rashid accounted for Rizwan, while Moeen had Mohammad Hafeez caught behind for 10 and bowled Fakhar Zaman with a beauty to scoop the player of the match award.

Malan, who remains without a central contract with the England and Wales Cricket Board, was fifth in the previous standings but scored a series-leading 129 runs across the three encounters with Australia.

Having amassed a combined 108 in the first two T20s, Malan had a higher average than Virat Kohli - the highest T20 ranked batsman of all time - though his average has slipped to 48.71 from his 16 internationals after he was out for 21 on Tuesday.

His previous highest place in the rankings was second last year but Malan has now gone ahead of Pakistan captain Babar by eight points.

Babar, Australia captain Aaron Finch, India's KL Rahul and New Zealand's Colin Munro make up the rest of the top five.

Afghanistan spinner Rashid Khan remains the top-ranked T20 bowler, though England's leg spinner Adil Rashid has moved up two spots to seventh in a top 10 that features just one seamer - Australia's Kane Richardson in 10th.

There was no change at the top of the all-rounder rankings either, with Rashid's international team-mate Mohammad Nabi remaining ahead of Australia's Glenn Maxwell, who moved up to second above Zimbabwe's Sean Williams.

England won the toss and decided to bowl first, and it almost looked to be the wrong choice as Pakistan raced to 59-0 within the first six overs.

However, Adil Rashid and Jofra Archer quickly bowled Mohammad Rizwan and Babar Azam to turn the tide as Pakistan suddenly collapsed.

England's bowlers turned on the style as Liam Livingstone got a double wicket maiden (2-17), with Rashid (2-27) and Mark Wood (2-35) also doing their part to limit Pakistan to 157 all out in the final over.

England comfortably chased down 158, with Phil Salt (45) and captain Joss Buttler (39) getting them off to a strong start as the openers.

Will Jacks added a further 20 before Jonny Bairstow and Harry Brook, who finished the game off with a final six, saw England to 158-3 with 27 balls remaining.

After two washouts disrupted the series in Leeds and Cardiff, England got a confidence-boosting victory ahead of their World Cup title defence, which will begin against Scotland in Barbados on Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Pakistan will play the United States in their World Cup Opener on Thursday. 

Data Debrief: Buttler breaks records

Buttler has broken the record for playing the most T20Is (116) for England, surpassing Eoin Morgan.

Though he did not quite reach the heights of England's win at Edgbaston, his knock saw him hit seven fours and one six on their way to a comfortable victory. 

After a washout stopped their first game against Scotland, England lost to Australia and knew that a defeat on Thursday would see them knocked out of the World Cup.

Oman just could not get a foothold with only Shoaib Khan able to reach double figures with 11 as England put in a stellar bowling performance.

Adil Rashid was the standout with his 4-11, but Jofra Archer (3-12) and Mark Wood (3-12) helped to cap the performance as Oman were all out for 47 after 13.2 overs.

With a target of 48, England came out to bat on a mission, with Phil Salt hitting two sixes on the first two balls before being caught.

In the end, it would only take them 19 balls to hit their target, with captain Jos Buttler getting an impressive 24 off eight balls, though it was Jonny Bairstow who got the important four to take them to 50-2.

Data Debrief: England came out on a mission, and smashed it

Oman's tally of just 47 is the fourth-lowest total a team has managed in a T20 World Cup match, while it also proved to be England's best bowling performance in the competition.

With 101 balls remaining following England's successful chase, they set a new World Cup record.

Jos Buttler’s side headed into the match with nothing to lose, rock bottom in the standings after four defeats from five and with their semi-finals chances up in smoke, and finally put in a performance worthy of their reputation.

David Willey took three crucial wickets, including star man Virat Kohli for a nine-ball duck to silence a partisan 50,000 crowd, while Adil Rashid and Chris Woakes took two apiece.

India, who boast a 100 per cent record after five games, relied on captain Rohit Sharma’s 87 and will need to bowl well under lights to retain their unblemished streak.

After Buttler won the toss the day began with an intriguing skirmish between Willey and Sharma. The Englishman started the match with a maiden over, only for Sharma to blast two sixes and a four from his next visit.

Before the pair had the chance for a third round, Woakes landed a blow of his own that floored Shubman Gill. Attacking the stumps and finding a big slice of seam movement, he snaked the ball between bat and pad to get England on the board.

The crowd’s momentary disappointment was eased by the knowledge that Kohli was next up, with the stadium announcer hailing the arrival of ‘the King’ to deafening roars.

Yet his response was anything but regal, unable to get off strike as Willey ploughed away on an awkward length and waited for a mistake. It came sooner than he might have expected, with Kohli’s patience failing him.

Attempting to break the shackles with a smash down the ground, he got a poor connection and popped a gentle catch to a delighted Ben Stokes. Willey’s howl of celebration pierced the deathly quiet from the stands, which were filled with thousands of replica ‘Virat’ shirts, while the man himself was forced to vacate the stage.

England’s control in the powerplay was outstanding, with India failing to score off 47 of their 60 balls as they crawled to 35 for two. Woakes was backed to keep the pressure on and did just that, hurrying Shreyas Iyer with a short ball that sailed to mid-off via a top edge.

Rohit proved more durable, surviving a run out attempt from Stokes and overturning an lbw on 33 thanks to DRS. He exuded calm as he shepherded KL Rahul in a stand of 91, assuming almost full responsibility for building a total.

Rahul (39) clubbed the returning Willey straight to mid-on and Sharma’s spirited knock ended with a slog-sweep off Rashid. Liam Livingstone held on well in the deep, despite jarring his knee in the process.

India managed 49 for four in the last 10 overs, Suryakumar Yadav cut off in his prime on 49 as Willey landed the last of his three big scalps.

Rehan Ahmed is loving life as Ben Stokes’ leg-spin wildcard, admitting he finds bowling maidens “boring” and may have struggled to find his place in a different era of English cricket.

Ahmed became the country’s youngest ever men’s Test cricketer when he claimed a five-wicket haul on debut in Karachi, but has had to wait almost 14 months for his next opportunity on turning pitches in India.

After playing a supporting role in the opening game at Hyderabad, the 19-year-old enjoyed a more central part in the second Test, claiming three wickets in each innings and volunteering himself for promotion in the batting order as the so-called ‘nighthawk’.

Spurred on by the attacking instincts of captain Stokes, Ahmed has been given full licence to make things happen without worrying about his economy rate and looks well placed to resist England’s historic aversion to wrist-spin.

“I don’t like bowling maidens. I think that’s just boring. I’ll try and change things,” he said, refreshingly honest about his role in the side.

“The leadership and the back-up we have has been very good. They just don’t care about how bad things can go, it’s always about what good you can get out of it.

“If I bowl four bad balls and get a wicket, that’s better than bowling 16 good balls in a row. I think that says more about the team and how comfortable I feel with this team.”

The story of talented English leg-spinners is a brief and largely unhappy one, with the likes of Ian Salisbury, Chris Schofield, Scott Borthwick and Matt Parkinson all failing to turn potential into a long-term place.

But the one that really got away in the Test arena is Adil Rashid: a two-format World Cup winner in white-ball cricket and record T20 wicket-taker, but owner of just 19 red-ball caps and 60 wickets.

He helped mentor Ahmed when he first emerged on the international scene and the pair are still in regular contact.

While fans may wonder how a player like Rashid would have fared under the current regime, Ahmed realises he is lucky to operating in a different environment.

“Rash was in England cricket at a different time to me,” he said.

“The way he grew up and the way he played is how England cricket was then. Leg-spinners were always felt to not be the controlling ones. Obviously he would have wanted to play more Test cricket, but the time he played didn’t allow that.

“He’s had an unbelievable career and had a huge influence on a lot of players where I’m from, he has done so much for me in cricket.

“(But) Rash grew up with more traditional leg-spin. In this new era with attacking, positive mindsets, I think I fit into this team whereas he fit into that team. It’s just two different players at two different times.”

As well as helping Ahmed with his craft, Rashid and Moeen Ali also helped pave the way in making their Muslim faith an everyday part of life in camp.

Ahmed sat out an optional training session ahead of the second Test as he was fasting and earlier excused himself from a team together that clashed with prayers.

“My faith is obviously much more important than cricket, that’s first in my life,” Ahmed said.

“As long as I’m ticking that over properly, I’m fine whatever happens in cricket. I think that’s what helps me be so calm on the field. Stokes is so good with that.

“He messaged me and said ‘come to me whenever you want about this kind of stuff, I understand it fully’ and he’s stuck by his word. Every time I pray, he is so respectful and understanding. Everyone is on this tour.”

One thing that may prove more divisive is Ahmed’s views on the squad’s favourite pastime, which will feature heavily in the coming days as they take a break in Abu Dhabi ahead of the third Test.

He added: “Golf? Nah. I’m not sure how anyone plays that. It’s a shocking sport.”

The 28-year-old batted through the West Indian innings to help them post a formidable 176-7 from their 20 overs on a St. George’s pitch that offered a lot to the bowlers.

“We found it a bit difficult to start. It’s a low and slow pitch. Not what we’re used to here, we usually get a good batting wicket, so, we had to assess very quickly,” said King in a post-match interview.

“We lost some early wickets so we had to try and decide how to go about it in a smart way,” he added.

Individually, King made 82* off 52 balls, his eighth fifty in T20 Internationals, hitting eight fours and five sixes. His first run of the innings was also his 1000^th in T20Is.

“I think there’s always some level of luck involved as well,” King said about being able to bat through the innings on that pitch.

“I was the one that got the start in the powerplay. It was difficult for new batters to come in and get going, especially against the spinners. We lost some early wickets so, given that I got the start, I tried to take it as deep as possible,” he added.

The hosts lost the wickets of Kyle Mayers (17), Nicholas Pooran (5), Shai Hope (1) and Shimron Hetmyer (2) all within the first 10 overs of their innings before King and skipper Rovman Powell combined to put on 80 for the fifth wicket.

“Extremely crucial,” was how King described Powell’s innings of 50 from 28 balls including a 30-run 16^th over off Sam Curran.

“A fantastic innings from him. He eased the pressure off me a little bit as well. Nobody has the power that he has. There are some shots only he can play so it was very important at that stage of the innings that he got those quick runs,” King added.

Powell’s heroics were needed after England’s spin duo of Adil Rashid and Rehan Ahmed accounted for the wickets of Pooran, Hope and Hetmyer.

“The spinners. You could see from early they were getting some purchase from the wicket with the new ball. Adil Rashid is obviously a very experienced bowler who knows how to bowl around the world. He bowled an excellent spell. It was important to us to not give him too many wickets and take the majority of the runs off the pace bowlers,” King said.

On the bowling side for the West Indies, King said his teammates did well to follow the game plan and use information from their own innings.

“Taking the information from the first innings, we knew what lengths were difficult. We went out and tried to apply that in the field. The guys fielded well as well so we’re very happy with that,” he said.

He also singled out Gudakesh Motie for conceding just nine runs in his spell.

“Excellent spell from him. To bowl four overs for nine runs in a T20 game is amazing. A good call from the skipper and the coach to bring him in for this game. Obviously, they read the pitch very well so he was crucial for us today,” he said.

The West indies will have a chance to clinch the series with on Saturday in the third T20I beginning at 12:30pm Jamaica Time (1:30pm ECT) at the same venue.

Having overhauled the Proteas' total of 179-6 with four balls in hand in Friday's opener in Cape Town, England managed to reach a target of 147 from the penultimate delivery on Sunday.

A slow, low surface made batting difficult for both teams, though Dawid Malan played a crucial knock of 55 from 40 deliveries in the successful chase as England earned a four-wicket win.

The left-hander hit a six and seven fours as he overcame a sluggish start - he managed just 25 runs from his first 30 balls - to perfectly pick up the pace in the closing overs, putting on 51 for the fifth wicket with Eoin Morgan.

Lungi Ngidi (2-51) dismissed Malan courtesy of a stunning catch by Reeza Hendricks on the boundary, though England still managed 18 from that 18th over, leaving them with a simple requirement at the finish.

Chris Jordan struck the winning blow off Kagiso Rabada as captain Morgan finished unbeaten on 26, able to celebrate a 30th T20 victory during his time in charge of the team.

Tabraiz Shamsi claimed 3-25 for South Africa on a pitch that helped the spinners, Adil Rashid having picked up 2-24 earlier as England restricted their hosts to 146-6.

Rashid dismissed Hendricks and Faf du Plessis with successive deliveries – the latter stumped for the first time at international level in the format - to become only the fourth man to reach 50 T20 wickets for England.

There was also a notable milestone for team-mate Jordan too, as Quinton de Kock (30) became his 65th wicket in T20 internationals, putting him joint-top on England's all-time list, alongside Stuart Broad.

George Linde made a lively 29 off 20 balls but South Africa struggled to break the shackles. They will aim to avoid suffering a 3-0 series sweep when the teams meet again for the third and final game on Tuesday.

Buttler blasted the Rajasthan Royals into their first Indian Premier League final for 14 years with a blistering unbeaten 106 off just 60 balls to secure a seven-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bangalore on Friday.

That took the 31-year-old to four centuries in this IPL campaign – as many as every other player combined – and five hundreds in total, just one shy of Chris Gayle's record of scoring six tons in the competition in his career.

Buttler will look to deliver again when the Royals face Gujarat Titans in the final in Ahmedabad on Sunday, and his form has led to questions whether he could make a return to England's Test side.

England dropped Buttler after the wicketkeeper-batsman averaged 15.3 during the most recent Ashes thrashing by Australia. He has scored only two centuries in 100 Test innings.

But the newly appointed McCullum – who faces home nation New Zealand in his first series in charge, starting on Thursday – can envisage Buttler taking his white-ball skills into red-ball cricket.

"Jos is one of those players you look at instantly and think: how could he be so dominant in one form of the game and not quite have found his feet, other than a few fleeting performances, in Test cricket?" McCullum said.

"There's no reason why, if you're good at T20, you can't bring those skills into Test cricket.

"There's certainly guys you look at and think there's a lot of talent that could improve the side given the right opportunity. It's just a matter of trying to identify how they're going to do that."

Moeen Ali, who played for Chennai Super Kings in this year's IPL, is another name linked with a return to England's Test side, along with Liam Livingstone and Adil Rashid.

"I'm sure if Mo wanted to [play Test cricket] and was prepared to put the yards in to make it back into the side, then he'd challenge, no doubt," McCullum added.

"Livingstone, Moeen, Rashid. All these guys have played international cricket before, been successful in the other forms of the game, and you'd think they'd be able to transition across, but we'll see.

"I look at them and think there'll be a time where they may get an opportunity if they're invested enough.

"There's probably been a bit of hurt at times for those guys, too, because they've been in the team at times and then out of the team at others, and there hasn't been that persistence for them.

"I'm not sure you're going to play someone like Rashid every game, every year, anyway. He might not even be interested, so we might be talking about something we don't need to be.

"But my mentality is: if they're the best cricketers, why not have a conversation and see where you get to?

"If we're playing an attractive brand of cricket, we're successful and people are getting right behind what we're doing, then that might pique a bit of the interest of some of those guys. We'll build it first, then we'll see."

Livingstone has played 20 limited-overs internationals for England but is yet to feature for the Test side.

Questions remain over his interest in the longest format, with lucrative deals on offer in the IPL, and McCullum believes a discussion must be had with Livingstone over his commitments.

"A conversation needs to be had about what his appetite for Test cricket is. If he is keen on playing, then how does he see himself getting into the side?" McCullum said.

"Just because you're a good cricketer, it doesn't mean you automatically get selected. You've still got to earn the right to be able to do so."

Mohammad Hafeez (69 off 34 balls) and Babar Azam (56 from 44) took Pakistan up to an imposing 195-4 in the second match of the series at Old Trafford, two days after the opener was abandoned due to rain.

Jonny Bairstow laid the platform for England with a rapid 44, but they were 66-2 in the seventh over with Shadab Khan on a hat-trick after dismissing the wicketkeeper-batsman and Tom Banton.

Morgan blasted 66 off 33 balls in a third-wicked stand of 112 with Malan (54 not out), who hit the winning runs off the first ball of the last over to complete their third-highest successful T20 chase.

Babar and Fakhar Zaman (36) got the tourists off to a flyer after Morgan put them in, but Adil Rashid (2-32) ended an opening stand of 72 in the ninth over when the left-hander was taken by Banton.

The captain crunched Rashid for his seventh boundary wide of extra cover to reach a 37-ball half-century and Hafeez reached 2,000 T20I runs landmark by hooking Mahmood over the ropes.

Babar fell tamely to Rashid, but Hafeez took centre stage, imperiously launching Tom Curran for two sixes in a 16th over that cost 23 before departing in the last over of a brilliant innings for Pakistan.

Bairstow struck two sixes as England raced to 50 off 29 balls in a great start to the run chase, but his swashbuckling 24-ball knock ended when he top-edged Shadab to Imad Wasim.

Banton (20) was trapped in front off the next ball and Morgan survived a big lbw later in that brilliant over, an umpire's call verdict that Pakistan were left to rue along with the loss of Mohammad Amir to a hamstring injury.

Morgan and Malan cashed in on a great track to take England well on their way to victory, the captain facing just 27 balls to make his 13th T20I half-century.

The powerful Morgan cleared the ropes four times and although he was sent on his way by Haris Rauf in the 17th over, the composed Malan sealed it with a four after Sam Billings put England on the verge of victory with a couple of sublime boundaries.

Hafeez makes up for lost time, more brilliance from Babar 

All-rounder Hafeez had not batted in a competitive match since featuring in the Pakistan Super League in March, but the veteran made up for lost time.

Hafeez turns 40 in October, but showed he has plenty of cricket left in him yet as he took the England attack to all parts, including drives and swats down the ground for four as he made a 12th T20 half-century for his country.

Babar timed the ball majestically from the start, showing how he rose to the top of the rankings in another high quality innings after making two half-centuries in the Test series loss to England.

Morgan and Malan masterclass

England needed a rebuilt when Shadab saw the back of both openers with, Banton - who scored a blistering half-century on Friday - foxed by a top spinner to follow Bairstow into the pavilion.

Experienced left-handers Morgan and Malan showed they were just the men for the job, the skipper taking the role of chief aggressor with some stunning clean striking.

Malan showed what great touch he is in when he creamed Shaheen Afridi for a sixth four of a classy knock to give England a series lead with one match to play at the same venue on Tuesday.

Holding a 2-0 lead in this five-match series, the Windies were full of confidence and cleared the rope on 16 occasions in Grenada, taking their tally across the three matches to 43 sixes.

Captain Rovman Powell belted 39 off 21 deliveries while Sherfane Rutherford marked his first appearance of the series with 29 off 17 as the Windies pressed the accelerator to add 79 in the last four overs.

Not even Adil Rashid was exempt from the carnage as he leaked 15 in his final offering, albeit having Pooran caught in the deep to finish with two for 32.

Reece Topley was magnificent up top in his first match back since a broken finger ended his World Cup early, taking one for 14 in three overs in the powerplay but he conceded 18 after being given the 20th.

Topley and Gus Atkinson were given their first outings as England shuffled their bowlers, with Chris Woakes and Rehan Ahmed left out, but it was a mixed bag from the tourists after winning the toss.

Rashid, Topley and Moeen Ali escaped most of the damage but Tymal Mills went for 25 in the 17th over and Sam Curran 21 in the 19th – although he did claim a couple of wickets two days on from being belted for 30 in five legal deliveries.

Pooran steadied the Windies after they lost both openers by the second over then upped the ante after reaching a 37-ball fifty, taking 29 off his next eight deliveries before holing out off Rashid.

The spinner is set for a key role as England tackle South Africa in a three-match T20I series that begins at the County Ground in Bristol on Wednesday.

Rashid, with 81 wickets in 73 T20I outings, ranks second only to Chris Jordan on the list of England's bowlers with the most victims in the short-form international game.

There has been a rocky start to the new era for England that has seen Matthew Mott come in as white-ball coach and Jos Buttler replace Eoin Morgan as captain.

England lost ODI and T20I series to India, both by a 2-1 margin, and then drew 1-1 with the South Africans in ODIs after the third match was abandoned due to rain at Headingley.

But Rashid says it would be a mistake to panic and implement changes, particularly in light of the T20 World Cup coming up in October.

He told Sky Sports: "Sometimes you win some and sometimes you lose some. But if we maintain our mindset and have that positive, aggressive brand of cricket we're playing, I'm sure we'll do well.

"More often than not, if you have that mindset and are playing with that aggressiveness and you're fully committed to it, it will come off. I think we're in a good place.

"Why would we change? I think we've done well the last seven or eight years, we've done well in 50 overs and T20, and I think we'll continue doing what we have been doing."

Rashid said England's mindset was to be "playing as if it's our last game", adding: "I think the focus is the World Cup but before that, we've still got plenty of cricket to be played and hopefully we can run into some good form by then."

Yorkshire star Rashid said he was "not even thinking" about the prospect of playing Tests again – "because there's so much white-ball cricket".

Rashid has played 118 ODIs and 73 T20I matches, and won the last of his 19 Test caps against West Indies in January 2019. 

England out to make amends, Proteas look to catch a break

After Wednesday's opener, England and South Africa will carry on their rivalry in Cardiff on Thursday and Southampton for the finale on Sunday.

England's T20I setback against India halted a run of three successive series victories, and they have never lost back-to-back home series before in the shortest international format. They have beaten South Africa in five of their last six T20I matches, but that lone defeat came in their last meeting, at last year's World Cup.

There has been a swing of momentum towards England in the T20I rivalry between the sides, with England winning their last three bilateral series after two drawn series and a loss in the three prior. South Africa last beat England in such a series in February 2016.

If South Africa are to prevail, their catching might need to surpass recent standards. England have a catch success rate of 86 per cent (155 of 180 chances) in men's T20Is since the beginning of 2020, which is the best in the elite-level game, but South Africa sit 10th on that list with a 76 per cent record.

Buttler and De Kock chase landmarks

The runs have dried up for new captain Buttler, who has managed just 147 across eight innings in limited-overs internationals this month. He is 56 runs away from becoming the batter with the most runs in men's T20Is against South Africa, having amassed 416 to date, putting him behind Martin Guptill (424) and David Warner (471).

On the South African side, Quinton de Kock is 72 short of overtaking JP Duminy to become his country's leading run-scorer in all men's T20Is. He and the now-retired Duminy are tied for the most fifties in the format for the Proteas, both having made 11 half-centuries.

Rashid took 12 wickets as England claimed a 3-0 Test series win on their last visit to Sri Lanka in 2018.

However, after enjoying a successful return to the ODI fold on Sunday, claiming 3-51 as England beat South Africa in Johannesburg to rescue a 1-1 series draw, the leg-spinner said he did not feel comfortable about taking a Test place at someone else's expense.

Rashid, whose most recent first-class appearance came more than a year ago, was previously brought back to England's Test team despite a lack of red-ball action but appears unwilling to benefit from a similar call again.

"That's something that I personally feel I've got to earn again," he said in a news conference.

"I've got to go back into maybe county cricket, get the performances under my belt and then get selected on merit. I think if the selectors do come up and ask, 'Are you available, can you play', for me that would be a straight no, I can't, because I feel as if I've got to deserve my place back in the team."

In an interview with Sky Sports, Rashid added: "I think it's a bit unfair for me to just say 'Yeah, I'm available'. At this moment in time, I'm really concentrating on white-ball cricket. Maybe in the future [I will return to Test cricket]."

England will play two Tests in Sri Lanka next month, but Rashid's focus is on the Twenty20 series that rounds off the tour of South Africa.

His man-of-the-match display in Johannesburg, in his 100th ODI, was hugely encouraging given he has been hampered by a long-standing shoulder problem.

"It's probably been a year now, my shoulder has not been quite right," Rashid told Sky Sports. "I took some time off after [the tour of] New Zealand, had a couple of months where I really did some hard rehab, got a lot better, and slowly, gradually, it's building on that.

"I'm still going to carry on doing the shoulder work and hopefully I can get that even stronger and better.

"Once you have that shoulder injury, that niggle, then you feel it, especially as a leg-spinner - you might struggle to get that extra zip, extra pace.

"I had a few injections during the World Cup, prior to the World Cup as well, and got through it somehow, but now it's that time where there's not much cricket being played, I can really nail down the gym [work] and really get it strong."