Phil Salt smashed an unbeaten 103 off 54 balls as England chased 183 in just 16.5 overs to beat West Indies by eight wickets in the first T20 international in Barbados.
The tourists would have been frustrated with the hosts allowing West Indies’ tail to wag as they rallied from 117-8 to 182-9 in the 15th over after Jos Buttler won the toss.
Romario Shepherd (35 not out from 22 balls) and Gudakesh Motie (33 off 14) put on 49 for the ninth wicket, with West Indies adding 65 off the last 5.2 overs.
But a blistering batting display from Salt – the opener hitting nine boundaries and six sixes in his third T20I ton – and a maiden half-century from Jacob Bethell (58no off 36) gave England an emphatic win to open the five-match series. I saw that.
One poignant note to England’s success was the dismissal of returning skipper Buttler for a first-ball duck. A stunning catch, credited to Motie, placed him in a deep third.
Saqib Mahmood starred early on and tore through the West Indies top order with three quick wickets, returning England career best figures of 4-34.
Saqib Mahmood took three wickets in his opening two overs en route to a career-best haul for England.
Brandon King (3), just past his hundred in the final ODI of West Indies’ 2-1 series win, was the first to fall before Evin Lewis (13) and Shimron Hetmyer (0) departed in succession. A delivery to meet Mahmood, who took his hat-trick in the second over.
West Indies bounced back after a shocking start but Salt guided England to victory.
At 18-3, West Indies briefly fought back against a rain delay that hampered proceedings in the fifth over, with Reece Topley picking up an injury shortly after the restart and falling on the follow-on off the last ball before the weather break. .
Nicholas Pooran (38 off 29) and Rovman Powell (18 off 10) cleared the rope between them five times, with Jamie Overton ending the latter’s innings with a fine leap off long-on off Adil Rashid (3-32) .
Rashid also accounted for Sherfane Rutherford (2), this time with a lightning reaction when Buttler slipped.
England captain Jos Buttler caught the slip brilliantly after returning from injury.
Andre Russell (17-for-30) struck hard, clearing the ropes on four occasions. On one of those occasions, Liam Livingstone was sent into orbit and out of the stadium.
But Livingstone soon had the last laugh with the veteran’s wicket, Pooran left four balls later and Rashid cheaply charged Akeal Hosein (2) before a late attack from Shepherd and Motie that looked to have West Indies reeling again.
Adil Rashid took three wickets to leave West Indies reeling at 118-7 before a late rally at the tail.
The runs scored by Tails at least gave a nod to the belt batting track and Salt exploded out of the blocks, smashing four boundaries and making Shamar Joseph look every inch the 6 off 1 for 24.
England were all out for 73 in the opening six-over powerplay, but the wicket of Will Jacks (17 off 10) bowled by Motie ended it and Buttler’s golden duck four balls later chased slip for a moment.
But being well ahead of the pace, Bethell was able to comfortably see him and Salt take England to an opening win without any further alarms, with the pair putting on an uninterrupted stand of 107 off 61 balls.
Butler: Salt can still rise to new levels
England captain Jos Buttler:
“It was a fantastic game, I’m delighted for the players, they picked up some early wickets with the ball and started with a really clinical partnership from Salt and Bethel.
“Sault has been outstanding. He loves playing against the West Indies and has taken his performance to a new level in the last 12-18 months. There is a lot more level he can reach.”
Most Valuable Player, Phil Salt:
“This is probably where I’m happiest. I enjoy hitting here. I grew up on this surface.
“Bethell is a huge talent. He is only 21 years old, but if you didn’t know how old he is you would think he would have already played 100 games.
“Having him on our team is a huge feather in our cap. We hope it continues for a long time.”
