Tuesday 15 March 2016 12:06, UK
David Willey pushed his cause for inclusion in England's opening World Twenty20 match by taking a hat-trick while playing for a Mumbai XI against his team-mates in the final warm-up game.
England begin their campaign against the West Indies on Wednesday and the Yorkshire all-rounder, who is vying with Liam Plunkett and Liam Dawson for the last place in the bowling line-up, was one of four squad members included in the local side along with Adil Rashid, James Vince and Jos Buttler and he ended with three wickets in as many balls.
Joe Root was his first victim after holing out to long-on, before Moeen Ali top-edged a short ball and was caught by a back-peddling Buttler behind the stumps.
That brought Chris Jordan to the crease and his attempted cover drive looped a catch to Jay Bista on the boundary as Willey demonstrated his death bowling credentials at the Brabourne Stadium.
England finished with 177-8, Root having top-scored with 48, while Ben Stokes showed some form with 30 from 23 balls.
Rashid also impressed in his first three overs, dismissing openers Jason Roy (32) and Alex Hales (37) before being smashed for two big sixes by Root in his fourth. He finished with 2-33, with Willey's late show earning him 3-35.
Vince made 45 from 38 balls in Mumbai's reply before he was bowled by Jordan, who repeated the feat against Buttler, who looked in good shape for his 25 from 16 balls.
Bista top scored for Mumbai with 51 - eventually falling to Reece Topley - but it was not enough for them as England ran out victors by 14 runs after restricting their hosts to 163-6 from their 20 overs.
"We weren't very good in the field today, but we've got a couple of days to brush up on that and make sure when we start the group stages, we're absolutely on it," admitted Root.
"I think our preparation has been good, we've worked extremely hard individually and as a team and when it's come to games the guys have stepped up and performed under pressure.
"That's exactly what we need if we are to be very successful at this tournament.
"Under pressure the bowlers performed very well at the death, but now it's about doing it when it counts.
"The best thing is we've got these experiences to call on when the tournament starts and we're actually under real pressure when it really matters.
"Fingers crossed the guys can take all that confidence forward into the group games."
Watch West Indies v England on Wednesday. Coverage begins on Sky Sports 2 HD at 1:30pm. Or watch live for £6.99 without a contract, on NOW TV.
