Harry Brook has been England’s T20 captain for exactly one match but admitted he was already taking decisions with one eye on next year’s World Cup.
Friday’s 21-run win over the West Indies in Durham was Brook’s first outing as skipper in the format but he knows time is short to get his feet under the table.
England have just 14 more games scheduled before the next global tournament in India and Sri Lanka in February, meaning the time is now when it comes to making plans.
That meant lining up with just two seamers for the first ever time in home conditions, with 12 overs of spin giving a hint at the structure England are likely to lean on in the sub-continent.
While Brook’s predecessor Jos Buttler set things up with a dominant knock of 96, Liam Dawson walked away with the player-of-the-match award in his first international appearance in nearly three years.
The 35-year-old Hampshire stalwart claimed career-best figures of four for 20, while there were also wickets for Adil Rashid and Jacob Bethell.
“We don’t want to look too far ahead but we’ve got to trial some things like this,” said Brook.
“The next World Cup is going to be in Sri Lanka and India. We’re not completely set on this structure for the team but it’s worth a go and it worked this time.
“I just think that having two very good spinners – frontline spinners – makes a massive difference.
“As a batter, when you’re facing two experienced spin bowlers, you have to decide which end you’re going to attack.
“These two (Rashid and Dawson) have been playing the game for so long, they know T20 cricket, they know the grounds and they’ve played against so many of these boys, that having them both in the side will help us going forward.”
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Dawson, who has been overlooked consistently for a rotating cast of spinners with inferior records on the county circuit, was praised for an “awesome” comeback performance that saw him get the best of Johnson Charles, Sherfane Rutherford, Roston Chase and Rovman Powell.
“He bowled beautifully. He’s got so many skills. He’s been playing the game for pushing on 20 years and he’s learned a lot of things along the way,” said Brook.
The West Indies were frustrated to be missing one of their own left-arm spinners on a helpful pitch for the slower bowlers.
Akeal Hosein has yet to make it to English soil after delays related a change in UK visa requirements for Trinidad and Tobago.
Cricket West Indies said “attempts to expedite the visa process” had been unsuccessful but a spokesperson confirmed on Friday that the 32-year-old could arrive ahead of Tuesday’s series finale in Southampton.
All-rounder Jason Holder said: “He was missed, he’s one of our frontline players. It’s an unfortunate situation.
“We can’t control that so we can only control what’s in front of us. We’ve got players here who are willing and able to do a job for the West Indies.
“We had a team that was good enough to beat England but we fell a little short, particularly with the bat.”
