England defeated in T20 opener against W.I.

Bopara made 43 and claimed two wickets but England proved to be second-best from the start of the match. 

England’s Twenty20 World Cup preparations got off to a bad start after the West Indies emerged as convincing winners of the first T20 international by 27 runs in Barbados.

England’s batsmen capitulated, stumbling to 55-5 as they struggled to play against the West Indies numerous spinning options, a bad sign for the World Cup which is due to be held in Bangladesh.

The hosts got off to a brilliant start, reaching 56-0 after the powerplay and the return of Chris Gayle will certainly please the current holders of the T20 World Cup, as he sought to unsettle the England bowlers.

This fast start, however, was largely down to fellow opener, Dwayne Smith, who helped the hosts bludgeon 19 runs from the first over, with the first ball of the match being struck for six.

This, unfortunately, set the tone for the innings and in the wider context, the match, as the hosts accumulated runs with ease against a dejected bowling attack.

The turning point for England was undoubtedly the introduction of James Tredwell and Ravi Bopara, who both proved to be incredibly economical under the circumstances. 

Bopara struck the first blow, bowling Smith for 27 off 18 balls as the hosts reached an impressive score of 57-1.

Tredwell’s spell of 24 deliveries contained 15 dot balls and the Kent spinner afforded just 16 runs from his allocation.

With more than 400 sixes in T20 Internationals, Gayle’s presence was enough to strike fear into the opposition and his score of 43 off 35 propelled the West Indies’ innings despite the efforts of Tredwell.

But England’s only spinner eventually got his man, trapping the opener LBW shortly after he had smashed Tredwell (1-16) for an enormous six onto the roof, preventing Gayle from reaching his 49th T20 half-century.

At 87-2 the hosts had plenty of time and wickets in the locker, and utilised this to full advantage.

Bopara (2-23) struck again with less than six overs to go, this time forcing the in-form Lendl Simmons to play an erratic shot down the ground, which was taken comfortably by Michael Lumb on the boundary.

England seemed to be recovering the innings nicely until Tredwell dropped an easy chance off Marlon Samuels (69). The issue was not so much the drop, but more the five balls after it which all went for four, much to the disgust of Jade Dernbach, who had his figures spoilt by this costly error.

Samuels accelerated past fifty off just 37 balls, his 7th half-century for the West Indies in this format, as he and Andre Russell (24) finished the innings in style with a partnership worth 58.

Setting England a total of 171 to win, the visitors needed to respond with a similar effort in their powerplay. Needless to say, the reality was far from what England had hoped, as they limped to 36-2 after six overs.

England’s batting was, once again, disappointing and the recent difficulties of facing spin bowling do not bode well for the World Cup. Alex Hales and Luke Wright both fell to identical dismissals, as they were stumped off the bowling of Samuel Badree in successive deliveries.

Another low score for Luke Wright will puzzle England fans, given his impressive performances in the KFC Big Bash, and his lack of form may warrant a change of personnel in the second match.

Michael Lumb needed to put in a good performance if England were going to have any chance of saving the game, but he soon became Badree’s third victim as he was dismissed for 18.

Jos Buttler was the next batsman to fall, playing a thoughtless reverse-sweep to the dangerous, Sunil Narine, and at 40-4, the game had already slipped out of the visitors grasp.

England had plenty of batsmen, none of whom were able to apply themselves. Eoin Morgan became the fifth casualty and the half way stage; England’s score of 58-5 was inadequate to say the least.

The third stumping of England’s innings, courtesy of Ben Stokes (4), gave Samuels a wicket and at 73-6 the match was well and truly over.

Bopara continued to have a good day as he made 42 off just 24 balls, but even his efforts were insufficient in redeeming England from a desperate position, as he was caught and bowled by Dwayne Bravo.

Tim Bresnan beat his previous best score in this form of the game for England as he ensured the visitors would avoid a heavy defeat, but the result was far from pleasing for England despite his resistant stand of 47 not out from 37 balls.

England soon ran out of time and two run-outs saw the end of Stuart Broad and Tredwell, as England finished on 143-9.

With two more matches to play in this series, England still have time to prepare, but it is fair to say that a number of changes need to be made before their World Cup opener against New Zealand on the 22^nd March.