Freddie Flintoff makes special presentation as England lose on coaching return

13 December 2023 , 08:23

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Freddie Flintoff returned to England's coaching staff for the opening T20 against the West Indies (Image: Getty Images)

Freddie Flintoff's return to coaching with England was not able to prevent Jos Buttler's side from collapsing to a four-wicket defeat by the West Indies in the opening game of their T20 series.

England have endured an awful tour, winning just one of their four matches so far, which comes after a disastrous Cricket World Cup campaign. They brought Flintoff back into the fold for the first T20 game, after his work during the white-ball series against New Zealand last September.

Ahead of the match, Flintoff was given the job of presenting bowler Adil Rashid with his 100th cap. Rashid marked the occasion by taking 2-25 and becoming the first English male bowler to take 100 T20 wickets in the process.

But his performance was not enough to save his side from yet another dismal defeat. Openers Buttler and Phil Salt took the tourists to 77-0, which then progressed to 112-2 at the halfway mark.

Buttler's men collapsed in the second half of their innings though, having batted first. Ultimately, they were bowled out for 171, with Harry Brook, Chris Woakes, Rehan Ahmed, Rashid and Tymal Mills all failing to reach double figures during their short time at the crease.

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The West Indies made a flying start, reaching a total of 78 before their first wicket fell thanks to Rashid. Play was then stopped for a short period due to rain, with the hosts collapsing to 125-6.

But the experienced pairing of Rovman Powell and Andre Russell rescued them, with the former smacking Liam Livingstone for back-to-back sixes to put the West Indies back in control of the match.

Flintoff presented Adil Rashid with his 100th cap ahead of the match (Getty Images)

The two sides now head to Grenada for the second T20 on Thursday, before the final matches come in Trinidad. England captain Buttler was left ruing his side's collapse, as he admitted that the hosts had adapted better to the conditions.

"From the position we were in at halfway, to only end up with 170 is an area we could have improved in. The wicket definitely got harder, and the West Indies adapted. They hit a lot of sixes as a team," he said.

"That's something that is a trademark of their side and we've got to find ways to limit that. Obviously, the swing in the game with sixes is so big. You've got to find ways to get it out the arc, try and find ways to take wickets as well, be aggressive and be committed.

"It's a great test for us and we'll find out lots over the next few games. But certainly, we need to find a way to score 20-25 more runs in that phase which would have been a really good score on that wicket.

"He [Rashid] was class again. He has been a key player for England for such a long period of time, to reach 100 caps shows his longevity, his skill and he's been such an important member of our team."

Jacob Leeks