The England cricket team did not perform at their maximum potential according to their captain Harry Brook who said his team played too defensively during their 30-run loss against West Indies in the T20 World Cup 2026 second group-stage match which took place on Wednesday.
England lost the match when they fell short of their target by 31 runs after they reached 166 runs in 19 overs while chasing 197 runs with Sam Curran scoring 43 runs as their leading batsman.
Phil Salt led England in their batting chase by scoring 30 runs during the first 38 runs which they achieved in the first 3.2 overs. West Indies’ spinners Roston Chase Gudakesh Motie and Akeal Hosein stopped the scoring after the Powerplay.
England lost their match against West Indies which put them in third place of Group C behind West Indies and Scotland.
Brook explained that his team had no successful approach while pursuing their 197-run target because they believed Wankhede pitch conditions would become better but that did not happen.
Harry Brook explained that his team played too cautiously during their matchafter the game.
Brook made a statement that England failed to implement their bowling plan effectively because the team allowed 15-20 additional runs to score against them. He explained that the batting target was achievable but the dew which was expected to arrive did not come which made batting more difficult than he had predicted. He also credited West Indies as a powerful side
England captain Harry Brook won the toss to choose which team would play first in the match between his team and their opponents.
The West Indies scored 196 runs with six wickets remaining after their two opening batsmen Shai Hope and Brandon King lost their wickets within the first two overs. Two-time T20 World Cup champions Shimron Hetmyer and Roston Chase built a 47-run partnership which took their team to 55 runs with three wickets lost during their 28-ball performance.
Sherfane Rutherford achieved his half-century by hitting five sixes and two fours during his batting performance. He achieved an unbeaten score of 76 runs while hitting seven sixes and two fours and establishing vital partnerships with Powell who scored 51 runs in their fifth wicket partnership and Jason Holder who scored 61 runs in their sixth wicket partnership. Jason Holder increased his batting intensity when he struck three sixes against all-rounder Sam Curran during the 17th over of the match. Holder hit 33 runs from 17 balls which enabled West Indies to score 54 runs during their last four overs while they achieved a total beyond 190 runs.
Jofra Archer and Sam Curran both took one wicket for England with their bowling performances of 1/48 and 1/36 respectively. Jamie Overton and Adil Rashid combined to take wickets with their bowling performances of 2/33 and 2/16 respectively.
Phil Salt led England’s chase of 197 runs with an explosive opening performance. The right-handed batter hammered 24 runs off Jason Holder’s second over.
Romario Shepherd dismissed dangerous batter Salt when he scored 30 runs from 14 balls with four boundaries and two sixes during the fourth over. Jacob Bethell joined Jos Buttler on the crease and scored multiple boundary hits. England reached 67/1 after the end of the power play.
Spinners Roston Chase and Gudakesh Motie provided the dream start in the middle overs for West Indies. Chase dismissed Buttler for 21 runs and Motie took the wicket of Banton in consecutive overs after the Powerplay.
Skipper Harry Brook (17) came into the middle to support Bethell (33) who was removed by Motie’s spin as England slipped to 131/5 after the end of the 14th over. In the very next over Chase joined Motie by trapping Will Jacks plumb to leave England reeling at 134/6.
Sam Curran achieved an unbeaten 43-run performance through 30 balls yet England lost the match after they were bowled out for 166 runs which resulted in their second consecutive defeat during the current T20 World Cup. Gudakesh Motie (3/33) and Roston Chase (2/29) led the bowling attack for West Indies.
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