Windies Run Up Demolition Job On Top-Ranked England
Brandon King, the Jamaican batsman, and former Test captain Jason Holder, were the main heroes as the West Indies destroyed world no.1 England by nine wickets in the 1st T20I in Barbados yesterday (22 January).
King’s 47-ball half-century sealed the sensational triumph at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown with 17 deliveries to spare, a win that was totally unexpected as the Windies had lost the ODI series to Ireland last week.
England arrived in the Caribbean having struggled in the Ashes, after suffering a hefty defeat in Australia when they lost 10 wickets for just 56 runs. The tourists were put in to bat but were whittled out for 103 in 19.4 overs, with Holder registering career-best T20I figures of 4-7 off 3.4 overs.
Jason Roy was clean bowled in the first over with his middle stump going flying, beaten by a full toss from Sheldon Cottrell.
Tom Banton edged Holder to Nicholas Pooran at wide slip and the Bajan dismissed Moeen Ali for a golden duck, caught at point by Fabian Allen to leave England in severe trouble at 10-3 after just a dozen deliveries.
Cottrell was smashed for a six by James Vince, but then claimed his wicket with a superb catch by Darren Bravo at short cover.
Wicketkeeper Sam Billings should have known better than getting stumped by Shai Hope off Akeal Hosein. England were guilty of another cheap and unnecessary wicket with Liam Dawson run out as they slipped to 39-6 off 10.1 overs.
Skipper Eoin Morgan hit a six but after the next ball was sent back to the pavilion, having notched 17 off 29 deliveries, caught by skipper Kieron Pollard off Romario Shepherd as England crumpled to 49-7.
A plucky innings from Barbados-born Chris Jordan steered England above their lowest ever T20 score, which included three sixes in as many overs, only to fall for 28 into the safe hands of Cottrell off Allen for 85-8.
Holder confidently wrapped up the final two wickets of Saquid Mahmood (5) and Abil Rashid (22) in successive deliveries to leave England recording their fourth-ever lowest T20I total.
With the West Indies having been whittled out for a measly 55 when the sides previously met in this format, during the T20 World Cup in November, there was some trepidation as to whether 104 was realistically reachable for the hosts.
Openers Hope and King played with aplomb, and a clever leg-break from Rashid beat Hope’s outside edge for Billings to swift stump his victim for 20. This wicket came after 9.1 overs with the score at 52, precisely half of the target set.
King was supported in the middle by Pooran, who finished with a solid unbeaten knock of 27. The Kingston-born star bagged the winning run through point off the first ball of the 18th over to give the West Indies the lead in the five-match series.
The Windies welcome England back to the Caribbean for a three-match Test Series in March 2022, a month after their tour of India.
This trio of Tests is for the newly-created Richards-Botham Trophy, which honours Antigua’s Sir Vivian Richards and Lord Ian Botham who used to both represent Somerset at cricket in England. The matches will be played in Antigua, Barbados and Grenada respectively.
WI v England 2022
22 January | 1st T20I (Kensington Oval, Barbados)
WI 104-1 (17.1 overs) beat England 103 all out (19.4 overs)
23 January | 2nd T20I WI v England (Kensington Oval, Barbados)
26 January | 3rd T20I WI v England (Kensington Oval, Barbados)
29January | 4th T20I WI v England (Kensington Oval, Barbados)
30 January | 5th T20I WI v England (Kensington Oval, Barbados)
1-4 March | Warm-up friendly (Coolidge Cricket Ground, Antigua)
8-12 March | 1st Test WI v England (Sir Vivian Richards Cricket Ground, Antigua)
16-20 March | 2nd Test WI v England (Kensington Oval, Barbados)
24-28 March | 3rd Test WI v England (National Cricket Stadium, Grenada)
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