BRISTOL, England — West Indies head coach Daren Sammy cut a frustrated figure on Sunday evening after his side fell to a fourth straight defeat on their England tour, conceding the second T20 International by four wickets and surrendering the three-match series with one game still to play on Tuesday.
The reverse followed a 3-0 drubbing in the preceding One-Day International series and leaves the tourists still searching for their first victory on English soil this summer.
“We arrived believing our white-ball cricket had turned the corner,” Sammy told reporters. “Over the last couple of years we traded blows with England and felt those contests proved we could push them here too. Instead, we’ve mis-fired in every format, and that’s a tough pill for the dressing room to swallow.”
A total that flattered to deceive
After openers Brandon King and Johnson Charles blazed 61 in the Powerplay, the Windies seemed poised for a 200-plus score. But the innings stalled alarmingly between overs seven and fifteen, producing just 44 runs and allowing England’s spinners to squeeze. Late fireworks from captain Rovman Powell (41 off 21), Jason Holder (29* off 13) and Romario Shepherd (18* off 6) pushed the final total to 196-6, yet Sammy felt the damage had already been done.
“Our template shows anything under 200 rarely keeps England quiet,” he said. “We let them dictate the middle overs—no wickets, barely over a run-a-ball—and the momentum vanished. Finishing strongly is great, but if you hand the opposition eight overs of comfort, you’re playing catch-up all night.”
Middle-over malaise extends to the ball
That loss of initiative carried into the chase. Although Akeal Hosein removed Phil Salt cheaply, Jos Buttler’s 67 anchored England, and useful cameos from Harry Brook and Liam Livingstone erased any scoreboard pressure. When Andre Russell spilled a sharp return catch offered by Moeen Ali in the 17th over, the home side needed just 27 from 18 balls—an equation they negotiated with seven deliveries to spare.
Sammy pointed to familiar themes: “Our discipline in overs seven to fifteen with the ball mirrored what we lacked with the bat—no sustained pressure, no squeeze. Credit to England, but we didn’t force mistakes.”
Regrouping for Tuesday
With the tour finale at the same venue in 48 hours, the former World-Cup-winning captain insisted there would be no drastic overhauls but challenged his senior players to seize the moment.
“The talent is unquestioned; application hasn’t matched it,” he said. “One game won’t erase the hurt, yet finishing 2-1 would show we can learn quickly. That’s the minimum standard we set ourselves.”
West Indies supporters will hope those lessons arrive in time to prevent the series—and the summer—from ending in a blank column under “W”.
