England cruised to victory in their opening T20 match against the West Indies at the Banks Homes Riverside Stadium in Durham.
Jos Buttler’s 96 powered the Three Lions to victory by 21 runs in what was his first T20 international since handing the white-ball captaincy to Harry Brook.
He was well supported by Jamie Smith, who added 38, and Jacob Bethell who chipped in with a run-a-ball unbeaten 23. Their efforts helped England post a formidable score of 188 – the second-highest T20 ever at this ground.
Dawson Returns With a Bang
Spin proved to be the most effective weapon for both sides, but the pick of the bowlers was without question Liam Dawson.
Appearing in his first international match for nearly three years, Dawson put on a show, taking four wickets for just 20 runs in his four overs.
He kicked off England’s bowling success by removing Johnson Charles via a stumping, before securing the crucial wickets of Roston Chase, Sherfane Rutherford, and Rovman Powell in the middle overs.
Although he only took one wicket, Adil Rashid also impressed, maintaining a tight line throughout his four overs, conceding just 22 runs.
West Indies Falter Under Pressure
West Indies were at 91-3 with one ball remaining in the tenth over, and had already taken 24 off Jacob Bethell in the over.
That included two sixes, and Evin Lewis fancied his chances of hitting another boundary to end the over.
But it was one big hit too many, as he was caught by Ben Duckett on the boundary, triggering the West Indies collapse.
Rutherford fell shortly after for just two runs, with the remaining batters tumbling like dominos including Powell, Russell and Motie, with all of them falling to spin.
Romario Shepherd and Jason Holder provided a few late boundaries, but ultimately it was too late.
Matthew Potts struggled throughout the game with his line, but managed to get the wicket of Shepherd with the final ball of the match.
West Indies finished on 167 runs, and will need a stronger showing with both the bat and ball if they are to level the series.
The second T20 takes place on Sunday, June 8th, in Bristol.
