England v West Indies preview and prediction

England will aim to deliver a much more convincing display against the West Indies in the T20 World Cup after narrowly avoiding a stunning upset against Nepal.

Harry Brook’s men prevailed against the associate nation by just four runs in their opener on Sunday, only the outstanding death bowling of Sam Curran saving them from a humiliating defeat.

England know they will need to improve ahead of a rematch of the dramatic 2016 final, with the Windies coming off a 35-run win over Scotland that saw Shimron Hetmyer hit 64 and Romario Shepherd claim a hat-trick as he took four wickets in five balls in the 17th over.

Though England were so close to being humbled by Nepal, Curran believes they will be better for the experience.

“I think our build-up was really important as well in Sri Lanka, playing those three T20s,” Curran told Sky Sports.

“I think we are really confident as a side in our roles and stuff like that.

“With Brooky (Harry Brook) taking over, we are getting used to his style of captaincy which has been great.

“In the context of the tournament, first game, we know how World Cup play is played, it is very different to bilateral series.

“To get those two points. I was weirdly standing in the field thinking ‘wow, if we lose this, what is going to be the equation for qualifying?’

“Now we can smile with two points and we learnt a lot from that game.”

The winner of this contest at the Wankhede Stadium will be in prime position to finish first in Group C. Both sides will round off their group campaign against tournament debutants Italy, with England facing Scotland beforehand and the Windies taking on Nepal.

England have won six of the last eight T20 internationals versus the Windies.

Team News for England v West Indies

England have made one change from their XI against Nepal.

It sees Luke Wood, who struggled for accuracy at the death in that nervy encounter, drop out. All-rounder Jamie Overton takes his place.

After a comfortable win over Scotland, West Indies will likely go with an unchanged XI.

Line-ups for England v West Indies

England: Phil Salt, Jos Buttler (WK),⁠Jacob Bethell, Tom Banton, Harry Brook (C), Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Liam Dawson, Jamie Overton, Jofra Archer, Adil Rashid.

West Indies (predicted): Brandon King, Shai Hope (C, WK), Shimrom Hetmyer, Rovman Powell, Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd, Matthew Forde, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Shamar Joseph, Gudakesh Motie. 

How to watch England v West Indies

England v West Indies starts at 1:30pm UK time on Wednesday. The T20 World Cup will be shown exclusively live in the UK on Sky Sports. You can stream it on the Sky Go app. 

For coverage elsewhere in the world, click HERE for details of your local rights holder.

Prediction for England v West Indies

After almost suffering humiliation in their opener, England should produce a more focused performance against the Windies.

Hetmyer is the dangerman after his superb effort against Scotland, but England have the batting firepower and the bowling options to prevail in relatively routine fashion.