It is easy to see Sunday’s defeat against the West Indies as a continuation of England’s World Cup travails, but with some effort it is possible to paint it as a stark contrast: in India, the team’s results were critical and the matches themselves were not. The interesting thing is that the one-day match in Antigua was sensational and the result was not that important.
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“It was a great match,” Rehan Ahmed said. “I would rather have these games than an easy win or an easy loss. We couldn’t do what we wanted, cricket happens. Many positive results came out of this. We thought we had won most of the match: we put a good score on the board, we bowled very well for most of the game, we just lost the big moments which was okay.
“I don’t think you can base everything on results. There will always be a winner and a loser, and sometimes you’ll be on the losing side. “It’s more about the things you learn from it and the positive things you take away, and there were a lot of positives with bat and ball for everyone.”
England’s performance on Sunday never came close to being perfect, but for a long time it looked more than good enough. Scoring the best score in the 16-year history of the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium and defending it successfully, albeit narrowly, would have been an impressive start to the tour and a good foundation on which to build.
From the first over of the day, when Phil Salt hit two boundaries, until the 91st over, when the West Indies needed an improbable late surge, England looked likely winners. And this was away from home against a team that, in addition to being more familiar with the conditions, had spent two weeks in a training camp to prepare for the series.
Then everything was resolved. West Indies needed 101 from 54 balls after Rehan bowled the last over of the day. Shai Hope had scored 22 points on the sideline and made 57 of 58 points; Romario Shepherd was on six, facing eight balls, and there was no hint of what was to come. However, the home team, calmed down by the return, was squeezed between England’s sailors.
Gus Atkinson bowled three more overs, conceding over 20 creditable runs and eventually dismissing Shepherd, but Brydon Carse and Sam Curran exerted no such control. Both made impressive contributions with the bat towards the end of England’s innings, scoring 69 off 37 balls between them, but towards the end of the West Indies innings they lost 87 off 35 balls.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has established a new independent regulatory body, responding to the recommendations of this year’s Independent Equality Commission in Cricket (ICEC) report. The report published wide-ranging findings earlier this year, highlighting widespread discrimination in sport and making 44 recommendations for corrective action.
The ECB had promised that an independent body would be in operation before the start of the 2024 season and moved quickly to deliver. Monday’s announcement of the ‘Regulator of Cricket’, responsible for compliance, safeguarding, anti-corruption, anti-doping and anti-discrimination, was the latest reaction from the governing body.
The regulator will be chaired by former police officer Dave Lewis, who has taken on the role of interim director, and he will create the framework before a successor is appointed in open recruitment next year. Lewis retired as assistant chief constable of Dorset, Devon and Cornwall Police in 2020 after a 30-year career. The Cricket Regulator will be overseen by another new body, the independent cricket regulatory board.
ECB president Richard Gould welcomed the changes and said: ‘It is important that the game has the best processes in place for implementing regulations. ‘The ICEC report recommended that we give greater independence to the process of regulating the game and the Regulator of Cricket, surrounded by the ECB, will do this.’ PA Media
England could have benefited from some flexibility in bowling in these final stages but left themselves no option but to bowl Carse and Curran. Perhaps if Will Jacks had been given a little more luck, which was an attractive option given the success of the players who witnessed the action, the game might have turned out differently.
“Jos is an incredible captain. “There were no bad decisions throughout the match,” Rehan said. “In the end we couldn’t execute him. “I don’t think you can blame anything on Jacksy not bowling.”
But unless a defeat is a significant setback, losing Wednesday’s second match, and with it the series, will inevitably increase the pressure on England white-ball coach Matthew Mott. To avoid this outcome, England will need Buttler to improve his decision-making and can be content with him improving his abysmal form with the bat.
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“Whenever I bowl to him in the nets, he hits me everywhere,” Rehan said. “I can’t really talk about his confidence, I don’t think it’s up to me but I know he’s probably the best white-ball player I’ve ever bowled against.”
At 19, Rehan is by far the youngest member of the England squad: he missed January’s Under-19 World Cup qualifiers by just three weeks. But England will still have Ahmed in their squad for this tournament and Rehan’s 15-year-old brother Farhan, an off-spinner, will also be included when it is announced on Tuesday. “It’s very exciting,” Rehan said. “He’s actually doing his physics test at school right now. This is an incredible achievement. I can’t wait to see him go out and do what he does.