Jos Buttler was unwilling to risk the fitness of several of his England side with the World Cup around the corner after the first of four dress rehearsal matches against New Zealand ended in a resounding defeat.
Caution was adopted over Jonny Bairstow’s shoulder niggle while Jason Roy succumbing to a back spasm on Friday morning meant Harry Brook formed a makeshift opening partnership with Dawid Malan at a hot and sticky Sophia Gardens.
All-rounders Moeen Ali and Sam Curran plus express fast bowler Mark Wood were also conspicuous by their absence from this series opener between two teams who contested the dramatic 2019 World Cup final and will play the first match of this year’s extravaganza against each other on October 5 in Ahmedabad.
To compound England’s woes, Adil Rashid struggled with cramp after bowling three overs and did not come back into the attack until New Zealand had decisively gained the upper hand, with unbeaten centuries from Devon Conway and Daryl Mitchell securing a comprehensive eight-wicket victory.
Buttler said: “Fingers crossed, he’s OK. Adil Rashid has been so good for us for so long as he’s been a member of this squad. Hopefully, he’ll be fine. We’ve had just a couple of niggles around.
“Jonny had a little injury in the last T20 (on Tuesday). He would just need a few more days and we didn’t want to take a risk on him. Jason picked up a little injury sort of on the way in.
“Woody’s still building back up. Again, someone we don’t need to take any risks with. He’s really crucial member of the squad and is unique with the skill he offers.
“Fingers crossed he can get some cricket under his belt, but we don’t need to rush it at all. Getting him fully fit and ready for travelling to India is the priority.”
As for whether he knows his XI for the World Cup opener, Buttler said: “You always have an idea but the best laid plans sometimes change. There’s plenty of time and you have an idea but things can change.”
Buttler top-scored for England with 72 off 68 balls in Cardiff while Ben Stokes amassed a resolute 52 off 69 deliveries in his first ODI in 14 months, having reversed his retirement for the World Cup.
There were also fifties for Malan (54 off 53 balls) and Liam Livingstone (52 off 40), heartening innings for the pair who may be looking over their shoulders as Brook seeks a route into England’s final World Cup squad.
The Yorkshireman, who was called up late as batting cover for this series, had an opportunity to push his case and while he made a pedestrian 25 off 41 balls in his first List A innings opening the batting and was upstaged by Malan’s fluent knock, Buttler is happy with Brook’s adaptability.
“He’s a quality player, he can bat anywhere,” Buttler said.
“It’s a great effort for him, from not being in the squad at the start and now being called up for as injury cover and then parachuted in to open the batting.”
England’s 291 for six after they were asked to bat first on a tricky pitch appeared respectable and Buttler thought they were “just above a par score”, but they had no answer to a staggering, unbroken 180-run stand in 152 balls from Conway and Mitchell.
Conway rebounded from three single-figure scores in the drawn T20 series to post a classy 111 not out from 121 balls while Mitchell was at his belligerent best in his unbeaten 118 off 91 deliveries.
He hammered Livingstone for the last of seven sixes over the shorter straight boundaries as New Zealand won with 4.2 overs to spare to lay down a marker for the rest of the series.
“It’s certainly not the World Cup, for us it was a great opportunity as a group to play against a quality side,” Conway said. “We’ve got another three opportunities to do that.
“We thought (England’s total) was slightly above par, actually. The way Daryl came out was awesome. He really put his foot down, showed intent and then certainly made my job pretty easy at the other end.”
Salt century gives England winning start to West Indies T20 series
Phil Salt hit a superb century as England drew first blood in their T20 series against West Indies, with a commanding eight-wicket victory at the Kensington Oval.
Salt's unbeaten 103 off 54 balls was the highlight for the tourists, who successfully chased down their target of 183 with 19 balls to spare.
The West Indies endured a difficult start and were reduced to 18-3 and later 117-8, with Saqib Mahmood (4-34) and Adil Rashid (3-32) doing the damage.
However, the hosts managed 65 runs in the last 5.2 overs to finish at 182-8, with Gukadesh Motie knocking 33 off 14 balls along the way.
Salt kick-started England's chase with 50 off just 25 deliveries taking them to 73-1 after six overs, with Will Jacks (17) dismissed with the final ball of the powerplay.
Jos Buttler's first match after four months out lasted just three minutes, as the skipper was caught by Motie for a golden duck.
However, it proved a false dawn for West Indies, with Salt and Jacob Bethall (58 from 36 balls) safely steering England to victory.
Data Debrief: Salt completes hat-trick of hundreds as Bethell makes historic half-century
England put their disappointing ODI series behind them, making history with the highest T20 chase at the Kensington Oval.
Salt was the hero with his third T20I century, all of which have come against West Indies in the past 12 months.
Bethell also made history on Saturday. Aged 21 years and 17 days, he become the youngest England player to score a 50 in a T20I.
Asalanka leads Sri Lanka to ODI series win over West Indies
Sri Lanka wrapped up the ODI series against the West Indies with a five-wicket victory in Pallekele.
The hosts successfully chased down their opponents' total of 189, giving them an unassailable 2-0 in the three-match series.
Sri Lanka controlled the early powerplay - Asitha Fernando (3-35) and Maheesh Theekshana (3-25) took two wickets apiece to leave the tourists at 31-4 in the ninth over.
Wanindu Hasaranga (4-40) then claimed three of his four wickets as Roston Chase, Romario Shepherd, Hayden Walsh and Alzarri Joseph were all dismissed in the space of 14 balls.
However, Sherfane Rutherford (80 off 82 balls) and Gudakesh Motie (50 not out) steadied the ship to take the Windies from 58-8 to 189.
Although Joseph claimed Avishka Fernando (9) in the fourth over, Nishan Madushka and Sadeera Samarawickrama both chipped in with contributions of 38 to get the hosts to 112-4.
Skipper Charith Asalanka (62 not out) led the charge thereon, while Kamindu Mendis (11) comfortably got them over the line with 34 balls remaining.
Data Debrief: Rutherford-Motie historic stand proves academic for tourists
West Indies were looking to level the series, but their hopes were not aided by Sri Lanka's impressive bowling.
Rutherford and Motie did their best. Their partnership brought 119 runs, which is their nation's highest ninth-wicket stand in ODI history, breaking the previous record of 85 between Yannic Cariah and Alzarri Joseph.
However, it ultimately proved in vain as the hosts secured the series with a game to spare.
'I was a tired, grumpy old man' - Stokes apologised to England team-mates after Pakistan defeat
Ben Stokes says he apologised to his England team-mates after his frustrations were evident during the second-Test defeat by Pakistan.
The hosts levelled the three-Test series on Thursday after wrapping up a 152-run win in Multan.
However, it could have been a different story but for fielding errors at crucial stages for the visitors, Jamie Smith and Joe Root notably dropping catches to dismiss Salman Agha, whose subsequent knock of 63 helped Pakistan seal victory with a day to spare.
Stokes, who returned to action following a hamstring injury, could not hide his frustration during a difficult day for England, but insisted he would not let his emotions get the better of him again.
"No one means to drop catches, but it just proves how important catches are in these subcontinent conditions, they don't come along that often," he told Sky Sports.
"I actually apologised to the group last night. It's the first time in my captaincy that I've let my emotions and how I was feeling with the way the game was unfolding show in my body language.
"I owned up to that and was very annoyed at myself for letting that out. It's something that I don't want to do or be seen to be doing, so I apologised to the group about that.
"Poor old me, I was a tired, grumpy old man last night! You won't see that happen again."
However, England coach Brendon McCullum defended the actions of his skipper.
"We all know how passionate Ben is, how much it means for him to play for England," he said.
"We've seen that through his bloody-mindedness to get back from injury, which was significant, and to do so in a nine-week timeframe and to have his first TM [Test match] in extreme conditions, 40 degrees, and be able to give what he gave to the side.
"I think, maybe, that's where some of that frustration led to - certainly, it wasn't directed at any of the players. It was more about trying to assess the rhythm of the game, and to impact on it."
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