England face World Twenty20 elimination storm
England saw no silver lining in the rain clouds over Providence Stadium yesterday, as the implementation of the Duckworth/Lewis method robbed Paul Collingwood’s team of victory in their World Twenty20 Group D match against the West Indies.
England arrived at the World Twenty20 with, justifiably, high hopes of a successful tournament, but when inclement weather forced the Duckworth/Lewis system into play, England’s impressive 191-run total was whittled down to less than a third of that.
Needing just 60 runs from six overs, and with skipper Chris Gayle at the crease, the West Indies secured victory with a ball to spare, thanks largely to the captain’s 25-runs from 12 balls before Graeme Swann made the breakthrough.
The next ball, Swann combined with Craig Kieswetter to dismiss the dangerous Kieron Pollard, promoted to No. 3 on the batting card, stumped for a golden duck as replays showed the batsman had failed to plant his back foot on the ground before the quick-thinking keeper had dislodged the bails.
It wasn’t enough for England though, as just like at Lords during last year’s World Twenty20, the West Indies reeled in the revised Duckworth/Lewis total. In 2009, that result ended England’s tournament. This year, it leaves them precariously poised heading into their final group match against Ireland today.
No wonder, then, that Collingwood wasn’t backward in coming forward with his opinion on the situation after the match.
"We're very, very frustrated, 95% of the time 191 runs is enough but with Duckworth/Lewis it wasn't," Collingwood said. “I don’t know what equation they should have, but they shouldn’t have that one.”
His irritation would not be diminished if he undertook some quick research into the rainy season in Guyana, which, interestingly given the scheduling of the World Twenty20 this year, seems to start in May.
It’s not just Collingwood who has every reason to be disappointed with the outcome. Eoin Morgan constructed an exemplary 55-run innings from 35 balls, timing the ball brilliantly and showcasing a range of creative shot-making.
In other circumstances, we might have been referring to him as a match-winner, and mentioning Luke Wright’s 45 from 27 in the concluding overs of England’s innings as the worthy supporting act. As things stand, their efforts counted for nought.
Heading into what now becomes a must-win group match against Ireland, England can take plenty of positives out of their loss to the West Indies. With the exception of Collingwood, all their batsmen made starts against the West Indies, and Morgan was outstanding; Swann showed his form with the ball has carried over to the Caribbean; and Kieswetter has demonstrated his wicketkeeping nous, in addition to his already much-publicised batting talent.
It’s a cruel twist of fate that England are staring down the barrel of elimination heading into the Ireland match, and the West Indies must know they’ve dodged a bullet with rain-affected yesterday’s victory ensuring they move on to the Super Eight stage.
All things being equal, England should win their final group match against Ireland, but the weather forecast – which predicts heavy rain showers in Georgetown (about two miles from Providence Stadium), Guyana for the next five days – again threatens to have an impact on the match.
Another controversial loss under the Duckworth/Lewis method would mark England’s premature exit from the World Twenty20, and would earn all involved with the team the right to question not only the Duckworth/Lewis calculations but also the scheduling of the tournament on the cusp of the wet season in the Caribbean.
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