England signed off from their tour of the Caribbean with a 3-0 clean sweep in the Twenty20 series.
Here, Press Association Sport looks at what was gleaned from the matches.
England have options
England captain Eoin Morgan thinks the team's 3-0 sweep in the T20Is v West Indies throws up more interesting selection options for #CWC19 – especially in the bowling.
Here's what has impressed the skipper 👇https://t.co/sayuUuZAwV pic.twitter.com/Qm08QyG7ds
— ICC (@ICC) March 11, 2019
With four first choice-players missing – Jason Roy, Jos Buttler, Moeen Ali and Ben Stokes – England might have expected to surrender against the World T20 champions. Instead, the selectors got the response they were looking for as fringe players stood up to be counted and others adapted to new roles. While the Test side continues to look short on new options, there are plentiful reserves of limited-overs talent.
Jordan is under-utilised
🤷🏿♂️ We've seen this celebration a few times!
🏅 @CJordan was named player of the series
Scorecard: https://t.co/GdE8eI8DYd#WIvENG pic.twitter.com/09SXZMBNI2
— England Cricket (@englandcricket) March 11, 2019
It is almost two-and-a-half years since Chris Jordan last played 50-over cricket for England but his type-casting as a T20 specialist is increasingly baffling. He has ideal skills for the one-day platform, with the ability to nail yorkers and take pace off the ball and is unequivocally the best catcher in the country. An unexpected late charge for the World Cup is on.
Plunkett playing through the pain
Liam Plunkett was rested from the final outing in St Kitts after revealing he had been playing with a minor fracture and tendon strain in his right middle finger. That might explain the lack of zip in his quicker deliveries and England can expect him to be back at his best when they next see him. The experienced seam bowler has also been managing a painful left foot, but insists he is happy to work through with niggles.
Jury out on Root
Joe Root is England's finest batsman of the current generation, world-class in the Test arena and a classy operator in one-day cricket. He does, though, hold a less certain role in the sprint format. Having been rested and left out on various occasions he was desperate to take a lead role in this series. A measured 55 in the middle fixture made a point but that was balanced against a duck in St Lucia. Must keep adapting to hold on to his spot in a full-strength side.
Frustration for Malan
Dawid Malan has scored four half-centuries in his five T20 internationals, at a punishing strike-rate of 150, but was an onlooker throughout the series. He was called up from the Pakistan Super League to join the side but, having failed to crack the XI with so many players rested and a dead rubber to finish, may now be wondering what future he has with England.
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