T20 World Cup 2024: Gone with the wind, in St Lucia!

One of the key factors impacting team strategies and outcomes in T20 World Cup matches at the Daren Sammy Stadium in Gros Islet, St. Lucia, is the crosswind. Blowing diagonally from the Party Stand in the direction of the Johnson Charles Stand, the wind has an average speed of 15–16 kph, sometimes reaching up to 20 kph.

In Friday morning’s Super 8 game, the first 10.30 am start at the venue between England and South Africa, the action moved one strip over from Wednesday night’s match between West Indies and England. This change not only evened the square boundaries but also made the wind factor more significant.

The low stands and grass banks here offer no protection from the wind, whose impact is exacerbated due to the proximity of the ground to the sea and surrounding hills.

England bore the brunt of it when Quinton de Kock slog-swept Adil Rashid when he was batting on 58. The ball hung in the air, leading to deep mid-wicket fielder Mark Wood misjudging its flight and grassing the catch. De Kock would go on to add seven more to his tally, the exact margin of England’s defeat.

South Africa’s left-handed keeper-batter had earlier benefitted when Jos Buttler turned to Jofra Archer in the PowerPlay. Archer’s wicket-to-wicket line allowed de Kock to hit downwind to the leg side, which is his strong suit. He hooked one for six, drove another to wide long-on for a maximum, and when Archer overcompensated by going wide outside off, he played an uppercut for four.

“Wind’s definitely a big factor, especially opening the batting when you’ve only got two guys out,” de Kock said. “You’ve got to use that wind as much as you can: don’t fight it, just try and use it. But I think it’s going to be like that for the whole of the rest of the World Cup when wind definitely plays a big factor.”

In contrast, England batters struggled with the breeze. Jonny Bairstow, Buttler, and Moeen Ali were all caught hitting into the wind. One of the major setbacks came when Kagiso Rabada bowled a full toss, and a rampaging Liam Livingstone smacked it into the wind, only to find Tristan Stubbs on the boundary, the wind resisting the ball’s flight. England was four down for 139 going into that 18th over. That dismissal jolted England’s momentum.

But the body blow came when, with 14 needed off the last six balls, a set Harry Brook, batting on 53 off 36, tried to clear long-off, only for Proteas captain Aiden Markram to run back, leap, and hold on to the catch. What made the catch more special was the fact that the ball was carrying with the wind on that occasion, so in that split second, Markram had to ascertain the correct speed and trajectory and time his jump. De Kock heaped praise on him.

Aiden Markram of South Africa takes a catch to dismiss Harry Brook of England during the ICC Men’s T20 Cricket World Cup West Indies & USA 2024 Super Eight match between England and South Africa. | Photo Credit: Getty Images

“I don’t think the TV does it justice,” de Kock said. “There was a massive left-to-right wind from my direction—maybe like 40–50 kph.

“It’s not that the ball’s just getting pushed, but also getting moved that way, and he actually turned on the inside, so the ball’s always moving towards the boundary. Credit goes to Aiden. Everybody takes high catches, but he practises those catches all the time. He won us a moment in the game today.”

Buttler explained how the wind factor influences the team combination. “We need to have a fourth seamer and another left-handed batter. So, it gives us another option to have somebody hit with the wind.”

The Daren Sammy Ground will host its final match, a Super 8 fixture between India and Australia, on Sunday. Australia has already played a match here against Scotland, which it won. In that game, Travis Head, batting on 15 at the time, had a significant reprieve in the fifth over of the chase.

Head launched a Chris Sole delivery high into the night sky, and as Michael Jones ran back to track the ball in the swirling wind, he couldn’t latch on to the catch. Head went on to score a match-winning 68.

For India, this will be its first visit to the island in this World Cup and Rohit Sharma’s men will need to account for the wind factor during their net session here on the eve of the match.