Captain Jos Buttler says England need to find a way to eliminate West Indies’ six-hitting capacity for the remainder of the Twenty20 International series.
The tourists came under a sustained assault at the back end of Tuesday’s opener at Kensington Oval in Barbados as West Indies chased down 172 to win by four wickets and take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series.
With England sniffing a chance with the hosts tottering on 123 for six in the 15th over, captain Rovman Powell (31 not out) and Andre Russell (29 not out) both flexed their muscles in a 59-run, unbroken seventh wicket stand off just 21 balls to take their side over the line.
And on Tuesday night, West Indies belted more than twice the amount of sixes of England’s batsmen, clearing the ropes 14 times compared to the visitors’ six.
Looking ahead to the upcoming two T20 Internationals in Grenada, the first of which will be played on Thursday, Buttler said among the improvements to be made was stifling the six-hitting by West Indies.
“Obviously at the back of our batting innings [it’s figuring out] how do we score more runs and how can we take away those six-hitting [capabilities] of West Indies,” Buttler said.
“West Indies always seem to hit more sixes and fours. It’s just the style they play and we’ve got to find ways to minimise that.”
England also suffered at the hands of West Indies’ power-hitting in the preceding One-Day International series which they lost 2-1, with the likes of Shai Hope, Alick Athanaze and Romario Shepherd punishing the visitors.
Despite the loss, Buttler said he wanted his side to continue playing fearless cricket.
“We want to keep pushing the boundaries and trying to be as positive as we can; it’s finding the ways to keep scoring in that way,” he said.
“[On Tuesday] … it got harder and harder, finding ways to minimise dot balls, pick off certain areas and obviously [scoring] that extra 20, 25 runs sometimes in an unfashionable way as well. That’s something we can reflect on.
“We fought hard with the ball. Obviously the conditions got wet and changed quite a bit. West Indies hit some big sixes – that’s their trademark – so we have to find ways to close them down,” Buttlerr added.
The second T20 International is set to be played at the National Stadium. (CMC)
