Chadwick Walton looked like a man possessed as his fiery 83 off 50 balls helped West Indies post a competitive total before their bowlers did the job to eke out a 10-run win. Chadwick Walton‘s knock rescued West Indies from a precarious position and got them to 164/9 and he got help from Kieron Pollard who scored 30 off 17 balls. The bowlers of England did well as well.
In reply, West Indies relied on Fidel Edwards’s fantastic spell of 4/11 in 3 overs to derail England. He was ably supported by Shanon Gabriel who picked up 2/30 and Dwayne Bravo who picked up 2/26 in 4 overs. Sulieman Benn picked up a wicket as well as the West Indies held off Samit Patel’s brilliant half-century to register an important win.
Chadwick Walton’s brilliant 83 takes West Indies to 164
Captain Chris Gayle and Dwayne Smith came out to open for the West Indies. Ryan Sidebottom struck early as he got rid of Dwayne Smith for a silver duck. Ryan bowled a length delivery angling across outside the off-stump. Smith looked to hoick across the line and got the inside edge of the bat dragging it back onto the stump. Lendl Simmons came out to bat and got off the mark while Gayle got off the mark with a boundary.
Gayle got a boundary away off Sidebottom as he looked dangerous. Lendl Simmons perished as Ajmal Shahzad got his man. Ajmal bowled a fuller length delivery outside off-stump. The batter stayed leg side of the ball to thump over the infield but got the thick outside edge flying towards deep third man. Chris Tremlett dived in to take a solid catch. Chadwick Walton came out to the middle to join Gayle.
Walton got going by playing a cover drive off Ryan Sidebottom. He also hit two boundaries off Chris Tremlett as West Indies ended the powerplay at 35/2 in 6 overs. The duo were rebuilding proceedings before Walton broke the shackles and hit a boundary off Plunkett. Gayle took on Meaker and hit for a maximum before Meaker got his revenge. Meaker bowled fuller in length outside off-stump, Gayle looked to thump in the off-side and mistimed it towards deep backward point where Bell made no mistake.
Walton greeted Samit Patel by hitting a maximum while William Perkins hit him for a boundary. But Patel had the last laugh getting rid of William Perkins for 5 off 3 balls. Samit bowled a length delivery outside off-stump turning away a tad, Perkins lunged forward and looked to flick it away but misses it as the keeper whips off the bails in a jiffy. Kieron Pollard came in at 6 with the score reading 74/4 in 10 overs at the halfway stage.
Moeen Ali was greeted by Chadwick Walton as the batter hit him for a boundary. Kieron Pollard joined the party as he hit Moeen for a boundary as well. Walton was on a roll as he hit Samit Patel for the maximum while Pollard drove him for a boundary. Ravi Bopara came and was hit for a maximum by Chadwick Walton as he got his fifty off 36 balls. The 100 came up for West Indies as well in 13 overs. Walton was on a roll as he hit Tremlett for another maximum.
Ravi Bopara was taken to the cleaners as first Walton hit him for a boundary and a six and then went away to the other end before Pollard hit him for a maximum to end the 15th over. At the end of 15 overs, West Indies were 133/4. Walton continued his merry ways as he hit Plunkett for a boundary. Then Pollard came in and hit Plunkett for a boundary and the maximum. Walton also hit Meaker for a boundary as he was looking unstoppable out there. But Meaker had his man at the stage.
Meaker bowled back of a length delivery outside off-stump, Walton stayed deep and hoicked across the line but mistimed it towards deep midwicket. Bopara took a good catch in the deep. Meaker got rid of Nurse the very next ball as the yorker tailing into the middle stump line. Nurse was a little late to get his bat down and the ball sneaked past to uproot the middle stump as the bowler was a hat-trick. Dwayne Bravo survived the hat-trick ball safely and got off the mark.
Bravo did not last long as Shahzad got his man. Good length delivery pitches outside the off-stump and jags back into the batter sharply, Bravo presented a full face of the bat to defend but played the wrong line and the ball went through the gap between bat and pad to rattle the stumps. Meaker then got rid of Kieron Pollard by bowling a short of a length delivery just outside off-stump. Pollard swivelled around and pulled it flat towards deep backward square leg as Ian Bell took a low catch. Sulieman Benn came in to bat next.
Ajmal Shahzad then got his third wicket as he dismissed Sulieman Benn. Back of the length from over the wicket angling across outside off-stump. Benn pulled it but mistimed it to short cover and Meaker took the catch easily. Fidel Edwards came out to bat and got a boundary away in the final over. West Indies ended with 164/9 in 20 overs. 12 extras given by the English bowlers.
Ajmal Shahzad bowled a great economical spell of 3/8 in 4 overs. Stuart Meaker had a great outing with figures of 4/24 in 4 overs. Ryan Sidebottom picked up a wicket for his 1/20 in 3 overs. Samit Patel got a wicket for his 1/24 in 2 overs. That meant a target of 165 was needed for England to win the match.
Fidel Edwards’ 4-wicket haul helps West Indies eke out a nervy win
It was a dream start for the West Indies with the ball as Fidel Edwards knocked Impact Player Alastair Cook over first ball. Fuller length delivery swinging into the left-hander around off, Cook was pinned inside the crease and drove at it. He gets the inside edge and the ball crashes onto the stumps. Moeen Ali came and went first ball. Fuller length delivery with a hint of movement in the air holds in the surface a little bit, Moeen chipped it straight to mid-off where Bravo made no mistake as Fidel had two in two balls. Eoin Morgan faced the hat-trick ball and survived it.
Morgan got off the mark with a boundary off Fidel Edwards. Fidel Edwards was on a roll as he now got rid of Ian Bell with a peach of a delivery. The back of the length delivery pitching on middle stump and nipped away from the batter. Bell used his wrists to play across the line but the ball catches the outside edge of the bat and settled into the gloves of the keeper as Walton made no mistake. Bell departed for 5 off 7 balls.
Edwards got his 4th scalp soon as he got rid of the English skipper Eoin Morgan. The bowler bowled a back of a length delivery shaping away just outside off-stump, Morgan poked at it and got the thick outside edge where Gayle at first slip took a tumbling catch as the 4th wicket went down now. At the end of the powerplay, England were reduced to 22/4 and with all to do from here.
Runs came in singles in the middle overs as they tried to rebuild the innings. Samit Patel broke the shackles by hitting a boundary away off Bravo. Ravi Bopara with him also hit a boundary off Shanon Gabriel. At the end of 10 overs at the halfway stage, England Champions were 51/4 in 10 overs needing a further 114 runs off the back 60 balls.
Ravi Bopara welcomed Sulieman Benn with a maximum. But Benn had the last laugh as he got rid of Bopara and the budding partnership. Length delivery outside off, Bopara charged down and poked at it but failed to get any wood on it. Walton, behind the stumps, collected the ball and whips off the bails in a jiffy. Replays showed the batter was short of his crease. Tim Ambrose came out to bat next.
Samit Patel continued the fight as he launched Dwayne Smith for a maximum. He continued his calculated risks as he hit another boundary and followed it up by hitting a six and a boundary off Dwayne Smith as 19 came off the 14th over. Samit also hit Benn for a maximum as the 100 came up for England Champions in 14.3 overs. At the end of 15 overs, England Champions were 102/5 in 15 overs and needed 63 off the last 30 balls.
Soon, Samit Patel brought up his half-century by hitting a six as he got there in 35 balls. But Gabriel had other ideas as he got rid of Patel for 52 off 36 balls laced with 3 fours and 4 sixes. Fuller length delivery angled on the middle stump line. The batter made room to play inside out over cover, but mistimed it to find the fielder in the deep. Ashley Nurse took the catch as the set batter departed. Chris Tremlett walked out to bat next. Tremlett got a streaky boundary away to get away off the mark and got 4 leg byes off the last ball.
Ambrose hit Bravo for a boundary to start the 17th over before Bravo knocked Tremlett over. Fuller length slower ball outside off, Tremlett drives it and gets the inside edge dragging the ball back onto the stumps. Liam Plunkett came in next with 41 needed off 18 balls. Ambrose again got a boundary off Gabriel to keep England in it. But Gabriel got rid of Ambrose in the end.
He bowled it fuller and straighter on the middle stump line, Ambrose missed the flick onto the pads. Looked OUT and the finger was raised. England were 8 down now. Dwayne Bravo then got rid of Ajmal Shahzad by bowling a yorker tailing on the middle stump line. Shahzad whacked across the line and missed it completely. The ball goes on to hit the base of middle stump as the 9th one goes down with 10 balls left. Stuart Meaker came out to bat at 11.
England needed 26 runs to win off the final over with a wicket in hand and Sheldon Cottrell had the ball in hand. Meaker hit a boundary off Cottrell to start the over. He went to the other end and gave it to Plunkett who hit a six and then faced a no ball before hitting the Free Hit for a boundary. The final ball of the wicket saw the final wicket fall as a run out happened to end the proceedings. They tried to take a single, but hesitation meant Meaker was short of his ground and fell for 7 off 5 balls. England Champions were bowled out for 154 in 20 overs losing by 10 runs. As many as 22 extras were given by the fielding side.
Fidel Edwards was the star of the show with figures of 4/11 in 3 overs. Sheldon Cottrell bowled a miserly spell of 0/25 in 4 overs. Shanon Gabriel bowled well for his 2/30 in 4 overs. Dwayne Bravo was efficient as usual for his 2/26 in 4 overs. Sulieman Benn chipped in with 1/21 in 3 overs. So, West Indies win by 10 runs and for his explosive innings Chadwick Walton was awarded the Player of the Match.
What Lies Ahead.
The next game in WCL 2025 features Australia up against West Indies Champions from Northampton on 23rd July, 9 PM IST. Australia had their first game washed out against England while West Indies have won one and lost the other one. A pulsating clash awaits us as we will see a clash between legends giving it their all.
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