Morgan’s men bid to lift the dark clouds hovering over English cricket

Given the timing, it is impossible not to contrast the five-match Twenty20 series between England and West Indies that starts in Barbados on Saturday with the other five-match England series that has just concluded. Other than the badge on the touring players’ shirts the contrast is almost total and, having witnessed their compatriots crumble under the intense pressure of the Ashes, the white-ball squad can enjoy having very little of their own to cope with. As Eoin Morgan said on Friday: “I think the whole tour is one where the development of our game is more important than the series win.”

Long, sandy beaches, warm weather and famously carefree spirit make the Caribbean the ideal place to escape from your troubles, but it is West Indies who have fresher scars to heal. The day after England’s fifth Test against Australia came to its ignominious conclusion in Hobart, Ireland won the deciding fixture of a three-match ODI series in Kingston. The home side’s captain, Kieron Pollard, admitted afterwards that he was “hurting, and hurting badly”. Meanwhile Sunday will mark three months since they were skittled for 55 by England in the opening game of a miserable defence of their Twenty20 World Cup title.

As with many great sides in sport, while other teams analysed their successful formula and improved on it, West Indies fell into the trap of assuming the same approach would continue to work and had no answer when, unexpectedly, it didn’t. Since winning four of five matches against Australia in July as they prepared for the World Cup they have lost eight and won just once – against an even more hapless Bangladesh side and by just three runs. They are currently ranked 10th in the format, just above Zimbabwe and Nepal. England,