1 week ago
12
ARTICLE AD BOX
3 min readFeb 12, 2026 08:38 AM IST
England's captain Harry Brook leaves the ground after losing his wicket during the T20 World Cup cricket match between England and West Indies in Mumbai. (AP Photo)
England captain Harry Brook admitted his side were “probably a little bit careful” in their chase of 197 runs after falling short by 30 runs against the West Indies in a crucial T20 World Cup group clash at the Wankhede Stadium on Thursday.
Chasing nearly 200, England believed the target was within reach at the halfway stage. However, the expected dew never arrived, the pitch did not quicken under the lights, and the West Indies’ spinners tightened their grip through the middle overs.
“We thought it was chasable, definitely,” Brook said at the post-match press conference. “We obviously planned for dew, and it didn’t quite get as dewy as we thought. It didn’t quite slide onto the bat as much as we were expecting.”
The turning point, according to Brook, was not panic but hesitation.
“One thing I would say is we were probably a little bit careful. Chasing nearly 200 is always a big ask. Like I said, we thought the pitch would get a little bit better, and that didn’t happen.”
Six wickets to the spin trio of Akeal Hosein, Gudekesh Motie and Roston Chase shifted the complexion of the contest after the powerplay. England, who had played spin confidently in Sri Lanka recently, found themselves losing wickets in clusters – a pattern Brook acknowledged proved costly.
“They bowled well and kept themselves in the game the whole time. We lost quite a few wickets in clusters, which never really helps.”
Story continues below this ad
Despite having a strong batting depth -with power hitters still to come – England did not fully capitalise.
“With the power that we have at the back end… I feel like I could have potentially taken a risk a little bit earlier, knowing we still had Jacksy and Jamie Overton to come in. With that depth, we think we can chase almost anything. Obviously, today we didn’t.”
While Jofra Archer endured another expensive outing, Brook brushed aside concerns.
“Everybody knows how good Jof is. He’ll bounce back for sure.”
Story continues below this ad
There were positives too. Adil Rashid responded strongly after a tough outing against Nepal.
“That’s the Rash everybody knows and loves. His skill and his nous out there was unreal to watch.”
Brook insisted England will not overthink qualification scenarios or Super 8 permutations.
“We’ve just been trying to take it game by game. West Indies probably played a better game than us and they deserve the win. We’ve just got to focus on the next one now,” the right-hander said.
English (US) ·