After England lost their fourth game in five against the West Indies, Moeen Ali declared there were “no excuses” for their previous actions.
After losing the ODI series 2-1, England lost by 10 runs in Grenada to trail 2-0 in the five-match T20I series.
Many of the more experienced players, like Chris Woakes, Adil Rashid, and Moeen, rejoined the team after resting for the first leg of the journey when the formats switched from ODIs to T20Is. However, two games have resulted in two more losses, with England allowing winning positions to slip in both meetings.
“Obviously disappointing because you want to start winning with the World Cup around the corner in these conditions,” Moeen remarked. This series is essentially a practice run for the T20 World Cup, which will be held in the USA and the Caribbean in six months.
“I felt like we played a majority of the game well, but they just hammered two huge overs, which probably just gave us a slight advantage in the game.Although I detest to say so, I can think of a few advantages.”
Moeen praised the efforts of Sam Curran, who was moved up to No. 4 and took a battering with the ball before responding with his first-ever half-century in the format (31 balls), and Rashid, whose figures of 2 for 11 were the second most economical of his T20I career.
“The great thing about being a very good all-rounder as he is, is you can have a bad day with the ball but you can contribute with the bat and still try to win the game, which he almost did,” Moeen stated.
A 30-run second over in which West Indies captain Rovman Powell hammered Curran for four fours and four sixes in five legitimate deliveries was somewhat made up for by Curran’s fifty-six. Powell was dismissed by Curran with his final delivery, but the game had altered and it went much beyond a “last laugh.”
While Powell’s attack persisted, Moeen was spotted conversing with Curran and later provided an explanation of the main points of it. “To be clear, what are you planning? “What’s your backup plan?” he asked. “I understand that he lacks some confidence, but even so, in such kinds of circumstances, you really have to be brave and simply try to keep things simple. Better has to come from us. It involves more than just taking wickets.
Moeen was especially irritated by England’s incapacity to overcome the spinners from the West Indies, Akeal Hosein and Gudakesh Motie, who bowled eight straight overs of left-arm spin from the Pavilion End. Following three powerplay bowls by Hosein, Motie completed his allotted amount of bowls, and Hosein came back to complete his set when Motie was finished. With Motie conceding just nine runs in his four overs, they combined for figures of 3 for 33.
“They certainly bowled exceptionally well and are familiar with the circumstances, but in our opinion, Motie’s nine off four overs is still not good enough. If we’re not going to pull him out, I think we can at least rotate a little bit more.”
England has now won four and lost ten of their last 14 games since the World Cup began. Given the caliber and expectations that have been put on them following the success of the previous eight years, it is quite plainly unfathomable.
When asked if England could seize match-defining moments, Moeen responded bluntly, “We’re not [able to] at the moment.” After England failed to capitalize on their third-highest powerplay score of 77 in the first game, West Indies rallied from 54 for 4 in the second one. Rather, they lost every wicket they had for 94.
However, we still have some time before the World Cup, so as a team, we need to make a few corrections.
“Well, there are still players to return, like Woody, Bairstow, and Stokes. It isn’t an excuse, though. Everyone here is a skilled player; our men have participated in a good amount of T20 cricket.
Despite Adil Rashid’s outstanding 2 for 11 statistics, the West Indies’ spinners had the last word.
Despite Adil Rashid’s outstanding 2 for 11 statistics, the West Indies’ spinners had the last word.• Picture Source: Getty Images
“We just won the World Cup not too long ago. We simply must swiftly adjust to these circumstances, as they are quite different from those in Australia, and we must begin to succeed.”
A player with Moeen’s experience, who has been a constant in England’s white-ball formats since 2015 and is still the vice-captain, the current circumstances and atmosphere are very different from the dressing-room when they defeated nearly every opponent for eight years. Even while Moeen acknowledged that patience is also necessary, it was evident that he was naturally irritated after losing.
Even when we played before, it wasn’t just victory or bust; instead, it was ‘we’re going to take you on, take it to the side.’ Of course, you have to be patient for the new men to find a role in the side and their feet a little bit. It wasn’t simply hitting sixes and slugging away. We have players who are very intelligent and well-mannered. It can occasionally take some time to place players in the ideal places.
“This will be a challenging time. Everyone knows this was always going to happen. Simply put, it’s resuming and outlining everyone’s responsibilities on the side.”
