A new-look England side was affected by rain and collapsed to an eight-wicket loss to the West Indies in the first one-day international in Antigua.
The tourists slipped to 93-4 after being inserted, their inexperienced top order collapsing at the hands of Jayden Seales (2-22) and debutants Jordan Cox (17) and Jacob Bethell (27) unable to get off to a good start.
Gudakesh Motie (4-41) also starred as England were bowled out below par 209 in 45.1 overs.
England captain Liam Livingstone (48) helped steady the innings with a calculated knock, adding 72 along with Sam Curran (37), but the tourists slumped to 165-4 when Livingston was dismissed by spinner Moty.
The hosts, who were initially chasing 210 for victory, got off to a sensational start with Evin Lewis (94) and Brandon King (30) sharing an 81-run opening partnership. The former scored his 11th half-century in ODIs before rain arrived. West Indies 81-0 in 15 overs.
Lewis, who had set a revised target of 157 in 35 overs, put his side in danger after hitting eight sixes and five fours before being dismissed by Rashid, with Keacy Carty (19no) and Shai Hope (6no) was honored.
West Indies are 1-0 up in the three-match series with the second ODI taking place on Saturday, also in Antigua.
England’s John Turner finished with figures of 0-26 on his ODI debut.
Livingston leads the way, but inexperienced England are faltering.
England openers Phil Salt (18) and Will Jacks (19) made a cautious start with a 35-man partnership.
Things looked positive for England, especially when Salt drove Matthew Ford (2-48) off the third ball of the innings through covers for four innings.
However, a stunning catch by Alzarri Joseph, running back from cover, gave West Indies a breakthrough after Salt toe-ended Seales. Jack was dismissed 14 balls later, misdirecting Seales to Motie at mid-on.
Cox and Bethell got off to a decent start but fell to disappointing strokes. The former’s toe-tip ended with a slow ball to Carty for deep three, while the latter both caught extra cover off Forde.
England captain Liam Livingstone hit 48 off 49 balls in his side’s under-par batting display.
Livingstone energized England’s innings with two sixes and was given extra life when Shimron Hetmyer hit 44, but failed to make the most of his opportunity after being caught and bowled by Motie.
Motie then hit twice off two balls and dismissed two of Dan Mousley’s debutants to be swept, followed by Jamie Overton lbw. Curran became Motie’s fourth victim after being held captive by Hetmyer for a long time.
Adil Rashid (15) hit a couple of boundaries to take the score past 200 and Archer scored seven runs before Joseph caught behind Hope.
West Indies quickly cleared their tail when Rashid stranded John Turner (2no) and holed out to mid-on with 4.5 overs remaining.
West Indies opener show class
West Indies players celebrate the dismissal of Phil Salt at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium.
At the start of the chase, the run rate required for West Indies was just over 4 and the openers maximized their powerplay motoring to 46-0.
Lewis smashed five sixes and one boundary as he took on England’s bowlers, who have reached 2,000 runs in ODI cricket.
King hit three boundaries during his stuttering 42-ball knock and survived an England review after being hit by Rashid’s googly. Ball tracking showed it was outside the stumps before the rain hit and paused its progress.
England got the wicket of King after Rashid hoisted Livingstone to Jacks at deep square leg before picking up the valuable scalp of Lewis.
Livingstone: England did not adapt well
England captain Liam Livingstone said in his presentation:
“I think it’s just the rhythm of 50-over cricket. We’ve got a few weeks left, so I’m just trying to pick up the pace and find that rhythm again.
“We know we need someone in the top six to score big goals for us and unfortunately we couldn’t do that today.
“50 overs is a long time. We want to put pressure on West Indies and things will change from game to game. I don’t think we adapted well. West Indies took wickets regularly.
“Jof (Jofra Archer) looked threatening with the new ball and John Turner also looked good.”
Wish: Requested early ticket gate.
Speaking at the presentation, West Indies captain Shai Hope said:
“We always ask our opening bowlers to set the tone and get early wickets and that’s what they did today.
“We have been much more consistent and discipline is the biggest factor for us, we have to be as patient and disciplined as possible.
“Lewis, I’m glad to see King getting a good opening in the batting.”
West Indies vs England Schedule (Always England and Ireland)
- First ODI: Antigua – West Indies win by 8 wickets (DLS)
- Second ODI: Antigua – Saturday, November 2 (1:30 p.m.)
- Third ODI: Barbados – Wednesday 6 November (6pm)
- First T20: Barbados – Saturday, November 9 (8pm)
- Second T20: Barbados – Sunday, November 10 (8pm)
- Third T20: Saint Lucia – Thursday 14 November (8pm)
- Fourth T20: Saint Lucia – Saturday 16 November (8pm)
- Fifth T20: Saint Lucia – Sunday 17 November (8pm)
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