A World T20 final re-run without Ben Stokes
Big Picture
"Remember the name," was the immortal line from Ian Bishop when these two sides last met in a T20 as Carlos Brathwaite smoked four consecutive sixes off Ben Stokes to steal the World T20 crown from under England's noses. It's doubtful they have forgotten.
England have been reunited with Brathwaite since then - in the one-day series earlier this year - but this is the format that gave him a place in West Indies cricket history. Sadly, the controversial decision to rest Stokes for his home ground game has robbed the match of its strongest themes; a chance to take on Brathwaite and the latest chapter against Marlon Samuels.
Samuels is one of the senior players back in the mix following the thawing of tensions between the players and the board. He, Chris Gayle and Jerome Taylor played against India earlier this year and the potential power in West Indies' batting line-up is eye-watering when Kieron Pollard and Evin Lewis are also considered. None of the 13-man squad for the one-off T20 were involved in the Test series.
Tom Curran and Dawid Malan were England's biggest gains from their 2-1 series win over South Africa earlier this season. Malan made 78 off 44 balls on his debut, an innings that played a key part in his move to the Test side even though the formats are polar opposite, but whether he retains his spot will depend on how the batting is shuffled with Joe Root available again.
Form guide
(last five completed matches, most recent first)
England WLWLL
West Indies WWWWL
In the spotlight
Adil Rashid has been overtaken in England's Test legspin pecking order by Mason Crane (despite Crane still being uncapped) but returns to the T20 line-up having missed the South Africa series where Crane made his international debut. He had an impressive T20 Blast campaign with 15 wickets in 12 matches and an economy rate of 7.10, but will need to show a strong nerve if any of West Indies' hitters get going.
Chris Gayle's previous two T20 innings against England have been from opposite ends of the spectrum. At the start of the World T20 in Mumbai he smashed an unbeaten 100 off 48 balls, then in the final in Kolkata he fell second ball for 4 against Joe Root. His international comeback innings was a relatively sedate 18 off 20 balls against India but he is entering this tour on the back of being the third-highest-scorer in the CPL with 376 runs at a strike-rate of 127.02.
Teams news
England will need to decide how many spin options they require for a mid-September evening match. Curran made a good impression against South Africa so could retain his place. Jake Ball and David Willey are also in the squad.
England 1 Alex Hales, 2 Jason Roy, 3 Joe Root, 4 Dawid Malan, 5 Eoin Morgan (capt), 6 Jos Buttler (wk), 7 Liam Dawson, 8 Adil Rashid, 9 Tom Curran, 10 Chris Jordan, 11 Liam Plunkett
Ashley Nurse was recalled to the T20 squad after a gap of more than two years and could take Samuel Badree's place in the side as a second spinner. Alternatively, Ronsford Beaton could earn his first cap if an extra pace option is preferred.
West Indies 1 Chris Gayle 2 Evan Lewis, 3 Marlon Samuels, 4 Chadwick Walton (wk), 5 Kieron Pollard, 6 Rovman Powell, 7 Carlos Brathwaite (capt), 8 Ashley Nurse, 9 Sunil Narine, 10 Jerome Taylor, 10 Keswick Williams
Pitch and conditions
Scores in the T20 Blast were less daunting at Chester-le-Street than at most venues during a high-scoring tournament. Late in the season, there could be some assistance for the seamers especially with it being an evening game. The start time also means that spectators may want to take an extra layer with them. The forecast says the odd shower is possible but the game should get through.
Stats and trivia
- Three players have scored two hundreds in T20Is and two of them will be playing in this match: Chris Gayle and Evin Lewis. The other is Brendon McCullum
- Jos Buttler needs 16 runs for 1000 in T20Is - he would be the fourth England batsman to that mark behind Kevin Pietersen, Alex Hales and Eoin Morgan
Quotes
"We're a very young side and we have a long way to go in T20 cricket. Our consistency levels have been up and down so it's all to play for tomorrow."
Eoin Morgan
"It isn't something that will be forgotten for a little while but I know it probably will never happen again so it's about me being as consistent as I can now."
You can probably guess what Carlos Brathwaite is talking about