With England preparing to begin their defence of the T20 World Cup against Scotland, captain Jos Buttler has promised his side will bring "100 per cent intensity".
The 33-year-old led his country to victory two years ago in Australia as they became joint ODI and T20 world champions, and after surrendering the former crown last year, they will be determined not to lose their remaining title.
Tuesday's encounter in Barbados will be the first ever 20-over international between the nations and their first meeting of any kind since 2018, taking place on the same Kensington Oval surface that hosted Namibia's super over victory against Oman on Sunday.
England approach the fixture as heavy favourites, but Buttler was quick to highlight there was no room for complacency, with last year's dire 50-over World Cup campaign still fresh in the memory for many.
"We expect a tough challenge, and we're all excited for that," Buttler said. "They've come here to try and win games. They want to beat us and we want to beat them, so it's pretty straightforward.
"There's a good feeling amongst the team, we've had some good performances, but we're fully focused on this game and we need to make sure we bring 100 per cent intensity.
"Every game we have to be right on it. All we are focused on is that Scotland match and that is the biggest and most important thing right now."
England have plenty of local knowledge in their dressing room, with Jofra Archer joined by his fellow Bajan Chris Jordan as well as Phil Salt, who spent six years on the island during his childhood.
Their backroom staff has also made room for former West Indies international Kieran Pollard, who is on hand as a coaching consultant to assist Matthew Mott for the tournament.
"That's part of selection discussions and team discussions, being aware of the wind and right-hand/left-hand combinations," Buttler said of Pollard's presence in the group.
"[Pollard] has fitted in really well. Some of the guys have played with him, or played lots of cricket against him, so have a nice relationship to start from.
"Obviously, he's got a wealth of T20 knowledge and everyone should have been tapping into that, sponging up any really good information that he's got for us.
"And obviously, [he knows about] local conditions. He knows everything about the Caribbean, and he's got that winner's mindset.
"I think that's something that we're really tapping into. He's won a lot of competitions around the world… it's great to have guys like that around the group."
England's Archer 'just happy' to be playing cricket again
Jofra Archer is “just happy” to be back playing for England after taking two wickets in their 186-run win over Australia to level the teams' ODI series.
The right-arm fast bowler has faced years of injury problems, including recurring stress fractures in his back and right elbow, but made his return to international action in June for the T20 World Cup.
Since then, he has also featured for Southern Brave in The Hundred and played four of England’s six white-ball matches during Australia’s tour.
He bowled Australia opener and captain Mitchell Marsh out and saw Glenn Maxwell caught by wicketkeeper Jamie Smith last time out, moving within four dismissals of a half-century of wickets in ODIs.
“I've been back to this rhythm for a little while now. I felt it in the World Cup and I've just been taking it series by series,” he told reporters afterwards.
“The World Cup was a good check mark. This [fourth ODI] was a good check mark. The Caribbean will be another good check mark.
“I know I’ve been out, it’s been a while but I am playing cricket again and I’m just happy.”
Hayley Matthews: The 2016 generation has come of age; it is time to inspire the next one
The 2016 ICC Women's T20 World Cup win gets brought up in the group from time to time, mainly because it feels like it was so long ago. The older players often talk about the emotions surrounding that victory—not just what it meant for us but also for the younger girls watching as they were coming up through the system. As a team now, we're hoping to recreate that success, knowing how much of an impact it will have—not just on us but on cricket in the Caribbean, where the sport holds such huge significance.
We can see first-hand what we, as the older girls in the group, have done for the younger girls coming in now, and we would just love to be able to inspire another generation of girls coming up.
Looking at the present, we’re coming to a World Cup, and we want to win, who doesn’t? I think a World Cup is one of those tournaments, especially T20 World Cups, where, if you have some good performances on a big day, it can get you through the stages.
This is, if not our best, definitely one of our best squads that we have had at a T20 World Cup. We have seen a lot of our senior players really improve, like Shemaine Campbelle who has been so much more consistent lately. And players like Aaliyah Alleyne, who has stepped up and improved her game and has played more important roles in matches.
The thing that has been really good, is the camaraderie in the group, it feels like a massive, safe space and somewhere where everyone feels super comfortable. Even the young ones who have come into the group have been able to settle and gel really well with the older ones, and there is tremendous mutual respect, which is really good for us.
Spin tends to dominate World Cups, no matter where they're played. In women's cricket, especially, spinners frequently top the charts and rankings, so I believe spin will play a significant role. Fortunately, for us, we have got quite a few spinners in our arsenal, Karishma Ramharack, Stafanie Taylor, Afy Fletcher, Qiana Joseph, young Zaida James, and me.
We strongly believe that spin will play a major role, and the team has been selected with that in mind. Hopefully, as a spin unit, we can go out there and make a significant impact with the ball.
It’s hard to believe I’ve just reached 10 years in international cricket—it feels like the time has flown by, and in many ways, it still feels like I’m just starting out. I remember making my debut at Arnos Vale Stadium in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, walking onto the field, nervous and trembling, fulfilling a lifelong dream. Looking back now, 10 years have passed, and I’m now the captain of the West Indies—so much has changed since that day.
One area I’ve struggled with early on is maintaining consistency, but I have been able to improve vastly over the last couple of years. I feel like if I can keep up with the consistency I have now and the performances I have now, I can hopefully finish this game as one of the best. I think I still have a long way to go, so I am just taking it one step at a time and trying to perform well every time I go out on the park, and whatever comes from it, will come from it.
TKR continue hunt for top spot with 30-run win over Barbados Royals
As the 2024 Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) heads towards its final week of competition it was another disappointing night for Barbados Royals who suffered their fourth defeat in a row at the hands of fellow title hopefuls Trinbago Knight Riders.
The Knight Riders comfortable 30-run victory sees them leapfrog the Royals into third position in the table on 12 points with a game in hand. The Royals finish fourth in the final qualifying spot despite being the team to beat at the start of the competition.
Royals captain Rovman Powell won the toss and elected to field first at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba, Trinidad and after Theekshana bowled Jason Roy for a duck and Jason Holder bagged Shaqkere Parris caught behind by Quinton de Kock for just five the Royals were well placed. Nicholas Pooran hit 27 off 15 balls before offering another catch to de Kock off Naveen-ul-Haq to leave the Knight Riders stuttering on 35/3 off four overs.
The TKR engine room came to their rescue, a score of 175/7 chalked up courtesy of calm heads and clinical hitting as Kieron Pollard (42 off 27) Andre Russell (31 off 12) and Keacy Carty (32 off 34) held the innings together and got the home side to a competitive score.
It proved 30 runs to many for the Royals. Dangerman de Kock was one of three wickets snared early by the impressive Akeal Hosein who finished with 3/15 from his set of four overs which took the sting out of the Royals batting card and earned the darting spinner the Player of the Match.
Alick Athanze kept the Royals in with a sniff with a well made 44 off 33 balls but once he had departed to the English combo of bowler Chris Jordan and catcher Jason Roy, captain Powell fell for 18 and Jason Holder for just 4 the target remained out of reach as wickets fell and the scoreboard pressure told.
David Miller tried in vain to get the Royals close with some late order boundary hitting but his 30 off 15 balls wasn’t enough to take the game down to the wire.
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