Windies Hope to Sort Out Batting Woes v England

Guyana: West Indies will have to sort out their batting woes of the opening match against Ireland when they take on England in their second Group D match of the Twenty20 cricket World Cup on Monday.

All-rounder Darren Sammy did the rescue act for West Indies in their opening match against Ireland with a 17-ball 30 but the rest of the batsmen came a cropper and that would be a major worry for the hosts.

Sans big-hitting skipper Chris Gayle, the Windies managed to pull off a 70-run win against Ireland but even the comprehensive margin of victory could not hide their batting frailties against the minnows.

George Dockrell, a 17-year-old spinner, managed to rattle a line-up that boasts of Twenty20 big-hitters like Dwayne Bravo and West Indies cannot afford to repeat the same mistakes against England.

The hosts showed more purpose while defending the total against Ireland, but Sammy, Ravi Rampaul, Bravo and Kemar Roach will face a tougher test against Paul Collingwood and his men who open their Group D campaign on Monday.

Kevin Pietersen's return to form in the recent Indian Premier League would be reassuring for his team, which will also expect the talented Eoin Morgan to live upto the expectations.

Chasing or setting a target, a lot will also depend on what kind of start they get from Craig Kieswetter and Michael Lumb.

In the bowling department, off-spinner Graeme Swann will play a key role with his natural guile and characteristic spunk that make him such a valued member of the side.

The sluggishness of the Providence Stadium means England will be tempted to field Miachel Yardy as well, especially after the 29-year-old player impressed with his slow left-arm spinners.

Both Swann and Yardy have done well in the warm-up matched, prompting Pietersen to say that the spin duo can take the team a "long way".

Team news

West Indies expect to welcome their captain after he missed the Ireland game with a stiff buttock, meaning one of hit-or-miss slugger Andre Fletcher or Narsingh Deonarine will drop out from the team that beat Ireland. Sulieman Benn remains doubtful with his shoulder injury as does Jerome Taylor.

Squad from Chris Gayle (capt), Sulieman Benn, Dwayne Bravo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Narsingh Deonarine, Andre Fletcher, Wavell Hinds, Nikita Miller, Kieron Pollard, Denesh Ramdin (wk), Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Darren Sammy, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Jerome Taylor.

England are on baby-watch with Kevin Pietersen looking forward to his first-born, but he'll be available for this opening match and with Lumb expected to keep Ravi Bopara out of the side the top-order is settled.

Squad from Paul Collingwood (capt), James Anderson, Ravi Bopara, Tim Bresnan, Stuart Broad, Michael Lumb, Eoin Morgan, Kevin Pietersen, Ajmal Shahzad, Ryan Sidebottom, Graeme Swann, James Tredwell, Luke Wright, Michael Yardy, Craig Kieswetter (wk).

Pitch and conditions
The cheap boundaries that tend to epitomise Twenty20 cricket should be harder to come by on the Providence wicket. In sweltering conditions the ball should grip on a sluggish surface for the spinners and make any maximums altogether more memorable than normal. It's unlikely the pacemen will have much to draw from the wicket and it will be sweaty work for all the fielders in the heat.

Stats and trivia

• West Indies have an excellent T20 record against England winning three of four encounters, most recently in the last World Twenty20 when they knocked England out of the tournament .
• England will try out their 16th opening combination but if Lumb does indeed join Kieswetter there will be the added twist that both openers are on debut.

Match facts
Monday May 03, 2010
Start time 13:30 local (17:30 GMT)