T20 WC: Harry Brook admits being 'careful' in 30-run loss to WI

England captain Harry Brook said his team was 'a little bit careful' after a 30-run loss to West Indies in the T20 World Cup. Chasing 197, England were bundled out for 166, with Sam Curran (43) top-scoring against effective WI spinners.

England captain Harry Brook said the team didn't execute to the best of their ability and believed his side was "a little bit careful," following a 30-run defeat to West Indies in both teams' second group-stage match at the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026, on Wednesday. England, while chasing 197 runs, were bundled out at 166 in 19 overs, with all-rounder Sam Curran (43 runs) being the top scorer in their innings. England made a quick start to their chase, with Phil Salt scoring 30 of the first 38 runs inside the opening 3.2 overs. However, West Indies' spinners -- Roston Chase, Gudakesh Motie and Akeal Hosein -- slowed the scoring after the Powerplay. The trio claimed six of the last nine wickets as England lost those wickets for just 92 runs in 12.3 overs. The defeat leaves England in third on the Group C standings, behind West Indies and Scotland.

'We were probably a little bit careful'

Brook admitted his team may have been too cautious while chasing the 197-run target, saying they expected the Wankhede pitch to improve, but it did not. "One thing I would say is we were probably a little bit careful. Chasing nearly 200 is always a big ask and like I said we didn't think - we thought the pitch would get a little bit better and it'd slide onto the bat a bit more and that didn't happen, but yeah - like I said we were probably a little bit careful, myself included," Harry Brook said in the post-match presentation, as quoted by the ICC website.

Brook also admitted England did not execute well enough with the ball and felt they conceded 15-20 runs too many. He said the target was chaseable, but the expected dew did not arrive, making batting harder than anticipated. He also credited West Indies as a powerful side. "We probably didn't execute as well as we usually can. We didn't quite execute well enough with the ball and they probably got 15, 20 too many. We thought it was chasable, definitely. We obviously planned for dew and it didn't quite get as dew as we thought, and it didn't quite slide onto the bat as much as we were expecting. But yeah, T20 cricket's such a fickle game and the West Indians are such a powerful side," Brook said.

West Indies Innings

In the match, England captain Harry Brook won the toss and elected to field first. After West Indies openers Shai Hope and Brandon King were dismissed inside the first two overs, West Indies batting line-up contributed with crucial scores to take the team to 196/6 in 20 overs.

Middle-order rebuilds after early wickets

Shimron Hetmyer (23) and Roston Chase (34) gave the two-time T20 World Cup champions some momentum with a 47-run stand in 28 balls, taking them to 55/3 in the powerplay.

Rutherford, Holder power late surge

Sherfane Rutherford slammed five sixes and two fours for a timely half-century. He struck seven sixes and two fours during an unbeaten 76, and stitched important partnerships with Powell (51 for the fifth wicket) and Jason Holder (61 for the sixth wicket).

Jason Holder then shifted his gears when he hammered three sixes off all-rounder Sam Curran in the 17th over. Holder's 33 off just 17 balls helped West Indies score 54 runs in the last four overs as they crossed the 190-run mark.

For England, Jofra Archer (1/48) and Sam Curran (1/36) scalped one wicket each. Jamie Overton (2/33) and Adil Rashid (2/16) were also among the wicket takers.

England's Chase

Chasing 197, opener Phil Salt got England to a blistering start. The right-handed batter hammered 24 runs off Jason Holder's second over. However, during the fourth over, Romario Shepherd removed dangerous Salt for 30 off 14 balls, with four boundaries and two sixes.

Jacob Bethell joined Jos Buttler on the crease and continued with a flurry of boundaries. England reached 67/1 after the end of the power play.

Spinners derail the chase

Spinners Roston Chase and Gudakesh Motie provided the dream start in the middle overs for West Indies. Chase dismissed Buttler for 21 runs, and Motie took the wicket of Banton in consecutive overs after the Powerplay.

Skipper Harry Brook (17) came into the middle to support Bethell (33), who was removed by Motie's spin as England slipped to 131/5 after the end of the 14th over.

In the very next over, Chase joined Motie by trapping Will Jacks plumb to leave England reeling at 134/6.

Towards the end, Sam Curran hit an unbeaten 43-run knock off 30 balls, but England were bundled out for 166 runs and lost the contest by 30 runs to register their second consecutive win in the ongoing T20 World Cup.

For West Indies, Gudakesh Motie (3/33) and Roston Chase (2/29) were the key performers with the ball. (ANI)

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