England will play their first match under lights at the 2024 T20 World Cup this week when they take on the West Indies at the Beausejour Stadium in St. Lucia on Thursday.
This has all the ingredients to turn into one of the matches of the competition between an in-form home team, spurred on by a jubilant crowd, versus the defending champions, who are eager to get into their stride
England fans were put through the wringer during the group stages, as they saw their side get off to a miserable start that put them on the brink of elimination, before catching a break in the final group-stage match to keep their title defence alive.
Despite finishing tied on five points with neighbours Scotland, the Three Lions managed to get through to the Super Eight by the skin of their teeth, thanks to two big wins in their third and fourth group-stage matches against Oman and Namibia, respectively.
Having dodged another early exit, following their ODI World Cup disappointment, England will now need a solid showing in their first match of the second round, though their recent trip to the Caribbean to face the Windies proved to be a difficult one, and ended in a 3-2 series defeat back in December.
Notably, during that series, a total of 120 sixes were struck between the sides, and based on the Windies’ match against Afghanistan on this same strip last week, this could easily turn into a run-fest.
The relatively short boundaries will be a welcome sight for Jos Buttler’s side, who will play here twice in this round of the competition, with a matchup against South Africa to follow after this one.
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