RICHARD GIBSON: England must copy the West Indies to seal global glory again as Jos Buttler’s side look to bounce back and save the series after successive defeats

• England have to learn from the West Indies if they are to overturn a 2-0 deficit
• Their opponents in Grenada are revitalised under new coach Daren Sammy

‘You win or you learn,’ was a dressing room phrase former captain Eoin Morgan was fond of using during England’s white-ball ascent, and his successors should certainly heed the lessons being given to them by West Indies.

Not just how to get back into a series they trail 2-0 heading into today’s must-win third Twenty20 match of five, but a template for defending their world title back here in the Caribbean and United States in six months’ time.

It might not seem the smartest move to be copying the tactics of a team that failed to qualify for this year’s 50-over World Cup, but the Windies are not alone in neglecting that particular format and under new coach Daren Sammy, their World Cup-winning captain of 2016, they are revitalised.

Sammy was just days into the job when West Indies journeyed to Zimbabwe for a failed qualifying campaign in June, but faced with a similar line in the sand moment to that which Morgan’s England experienced in 2015, he told his players that missing out on the tournament and as a consequence 2025’s Champions Trophy would be the start of something, not the end.

So while England’s players lurched from one ODI defeat to the next in India, their West Indies counterparts were primed for T10 action in the United Arab Emirates and Sammy and his coaching staff were plotting how to become the first side to win three Twenty20 World Cups.

Jos Buttler’s England have to learn from the West Indies after successive defeats in the T20 series

The Windies have put their offensive firepower with the bat to good use on home turf

Right now, that looks a much better bet than England retaining their crown. Rovman Powell’s team have momentum, but also longer-term form, beating a Moeen Ali led team 3-2 last year and India by the same scoreline this August. In between, they won in South Africa.

Although West Indies spend a higher percentage of their overall budget on Test cricket than any rival, a nod to their rich past as kings of the late 20th century, their raw talent now best fits the power game of the shortest format.

Their batting tactics are crude, but mightily effective on Caribbean pitches that tend to make deliveries stop rather than skip on, and on grounds small enough for mishits to go the distance.

In Twenty20 cricket here, the ability to clear the rope on request is gold dust, and with their heavy artillery stretching to number 10, the Windies have simply outmuscled England, dominating the six-hitting count 27-14.

To their credit, England addressed the disparity following the opening loss in Barbados, recalling Moeen Ali for his aerial game – he struck eight of his 74 balls for six here in 2022. In sacrificing Ben Duckett, though, they opened another can of worms, losing a player capable of rotating the strike in mid-innings when the home bowlers were putting on the heat.

Daren Sammy has had his side playing to their strengths with devastating effect thus far

England have no more time to waste finding their form if they are to have any hope of salvaging the series

In their golden era, West Indies used pace to their advantage. They still do. But in a different way.

Where once they fired it up, now they take it off.

The left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie varied his speeds considerably, firing one in and then moving down the gears, playing on the egos of opponents in conditions that require strength more than timing to hit boundaries once the ball becomes softer.

Equally, after his team shed 77 runs in the power play at the Kensington Oval, Andre Russell showed them the way back into the contest, playing on English egos via an array of slower balls and cutters.

In both matches so far, West Indies have backed up their bowlers by catching brilliantly in the deep, denying England’s set batters second chances in contests that, as England coach Matthew Mott noted, can be two big hits away from reaching different outcomes.

Two down with three to play, the learning must stop. Only wins will do now.

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