World Twenty20, 2009
Wisden's review of England v West Indies, World Twenty20, 2009
15-Apr-2010
At The Oval, June 15 (floodlit). West Indies won by five wickets (D/L method). West
Indies 2 pts. Toss: England.
England's stop-start progress in the tournament came to a permanent halt after the
Duckworth/Lewis method seemed to weight the game in West Indies' favour. Rain in the
interval caused the reduction of their task from 162 in 20 overs to just 80 in nine. West
Indies slipped to 45 for five against feisty bowling, but then Sarwan teamed up with
Chanderpaul, and the task of taking 35 from 22 balls proved simple for the tournament's
most experienced sixth-wicket pair. England's own sixth-wicket pair also played
beautifully, though not as batsmen: Foster and Swann combined to dismiss the dangerous
Bravo with a quicksilver stumping, but their earlier run-making was less successful. After
Wright again departed quickly to a mistimed heave, Bopara and Pietersen laid the
foundations for what should have become a decent total. However, England's high-risk
strategy of replacing Mascarenhas with Rashid - it meant Foster was two places too high
at No. 6 - failed along with the middle order. Had Broad not smitten ten from the last two
balls, the total would have been feeble. West Indies won without Fidel Edwards, their
leading strike bowler, who injured his back moments before the toss. On National Wind
Day, play was held up when a gust sent umpire Koertzen's floppy hat scurrying across the
ground. Those who felt the new target did not offer a fair distillation of the original gained
some support in September, when, after a scheduled four-year review, Duckworth and
Lewis issued new tables reflecting increased scoring-rates. West Indies' revised target
would have become 84; chances are they still would have made it.
Man of the Match: R. R. Sarwan. Attendance: 20,465.