T20 World Cup: How Sherfane Rutherford’s resolve and Gudakesh Motie’s spin reinvention helped West Indies sink England

Neither would have been here had they not felt cornered by life and questioned their comfortable, predictable, basic paths. That’s where Motie and Rutherford found themselves. Different men, different stories, same crossroads. And West Indies cricket is better for how they responded.

AS IT HAPPENED | ENGLAND VS WEST INDIES T20 WORLD CUP 2026 HIGHLIGHTS

Motie’s question came wrapped in physics. Left-arm finger spin — standard issue, turning into left-handers. The match-up batsmen live for. Except Motie looked at that script and decided to set it on fire. Left-arm wrist spin – with the same arm, turning it away from left-handers. Denying them the paradise they drool over.

Rutherford’s question came wrapped in grief. His father died during the Covid-19 pandemic, and he fled the IPL bubble, racing home to Enmore, where he had grown up as one of seven siblings. In that same period came life’s brutal math: he lost a father and became one.

He asked himself: “Will you be basic for your whole life, or will you become something else?”

The answer demanded work. “I decided I am going to do what others weren’t doing — work harder, improve, find ways to better my game.” From that Covid period onwards, he has been doing it for his father.

“Having a family of my own gives me strength to keep going,” he once told WindiesCricket.com. “Everything I achieve reflects my father’s hard work and the sacrifices my parents made for me.”

Sherfane Rutherford and Jason Holder added 61 runs in 32 balls for the sixth wicket vs England. (Express photo by Narendra Vaskar)

That is why he looks up to the skies after reaching a landmark, sending a silent thanks to his father — just as he did at the Wankhede after a knock that revived the West Indies. Adil Rashid had bowled out of his skin to pick up two wickets for just 16 runs in his four overs but Rutherford and Co picked off the others.

Balanced and powerful

Rutherford stood still, didn’t commit to either foot too early, and read the length quickly to pick his shots. In the 12th over, he smashed a floated off-break from Will Jacks to the straight boundary and pulled the next, a shorter delivery, into the midwicket stands. In the 13th, he smacked a back-of-a-length ball from Jofra Archer towards long-on, where Rashid juggled but couldn’t prevent it from tipping over for six. Liam Dawson, Jamie Overton and Sam Curran all disappeared over the boundary — lofted straight hits, crunchy pulls, a ferocious strike over long-off. The West Indies were up and away.

Motie spins England out

So were England in the chase, and it was left to Motie to knock them back. The left-handed Bethell was looking good on 33 when Motie deployed his left-arm wrist spin to unfurl a canny slider that skidded through his defence. It came just after he had slipped in an orthodox finger-spinner to lure the right-handed Tom Banton into chipping to cover. With those two wickets, England slipped from 85 for 2 to 90 for 4.

They recovered to 131 for 5 in the 15th over and were once again in command with Brook and Curran at the crease. Motie had just two deliveries left in his final over, and sensing that, Brook wasn’t even looking to attack. He tried to turn one to the leg-side for a soft single, but the left-arm orthodox delivery not only turned but also bounced, taking the leading edge. Motie lunged forward to scoop the catch that turned the game.

The West Indies wisely threw more spin at England in the form of Roston Chase and Akeal Hosein, and they duly removed Jacks and Overton. Game over.

Not content with his evolution as a spinner, Motie also wants to become a genuine all-rounder — two ODI fifties suggest he means it. It was his father who gave him his love for the game, and now it is sweet repayment. Rutherford plays for a father who can no longer watch. Two men giving their fathers their due after asking life-altering questions — and West Indies are reaping the rewards of their answers.