England captain Jos Buttler won the toss and decided to bowl first against West Indies on Thursday (June 20) in a high-voltage Super Eights, Group 2 clash of ICC T20 World Cup 2024, being played at the Daren Sammy National Cricket Stadium in Gros Islet, St Lucia, West Indies. (Match Blog | Streaming | Scorecard)
Explaining why he chose to field, Buttler said: "It is a good wicket and we fancy a chase."
He added: "One change from the last game - Mark Wood comes in for Chris Jordan. (On Liam Livingstone) He's fit to play a full game, a few games have been a bit sick. The West Indies is the place to be, there is a great atmosphere."
Windies skipper Rovman Powell said: " We would have bowled as well. Hopefully, our batters can make the most of it here. Two changes - Roston Chase in for Shai Hope, Romario in for Obed McCoy. We've been playing some good cricket and hopefully we continue to do the same, and continue to get this crowd support."
Both England and West Indies are eyeing a third T20 World Cup title - a feat no side has achieved before at the 20-over showpiece's history. While England are the defending champions, having lifted the trophy in 2022, hosts West Indies are on an eight-game winning streak.
The Windies won all four of their group-stage clashes comfortably, while England scraped through to the Super Eights on the back of a superior net run rate to Scotland.
Both sides have power-packed batting line-ups and considering the venue's conditions, we could be in for a boundary fest.
Playing XIs
West Indies: Johnson Charles, Brandon King, Nicholas Pooran (WK), Roston Chase, Rovman Powell (C), Sherfane Rutherford, Andre Russell, Romario Shepherd, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Gudakesh Motie.
England: Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (C/WK), Jonny Bairstow, Harry Brook, Moeen Ali, Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid, Mark Wood, Reece Topley.
England will next meet South Africa at the same venue on June 21, while West Indies will travel to Bridgetown and face United States next on June 22.
