England’s Caribbean Tour Starts With an 8-Wicket Defeat Against West Indies
England suffered a humiliating loss in the opening match of their limited-overs tour of the Caribbean, as they were defeated by West Indies by 8 wickets. After being asked to bat first in a rain-interrupted encounter, the visitors mustered a paltry 209 runs, putting up a poor display with the bat. The Windies then cruised to a revised target of 157 in the rain-affected chase.
The hosts’ pursuit was delayed by a heavy downpour during the interval, which helped to quicken the pitch’s pace. Evin Lewis, who made a spectacular return to ODIs last weekend with an unbeaten 102, continued his rich vein of form, scoring a blistering 94 off 69 balls. Despite losing opening partner Brandon King early on, Lewis put the England bowlers to the sword, clearing the ropes on six occasions in the initial 10-over block that went for 49 runs without any wickets.
“Evin Lewis’s innings was more sedate compared to his last outing, he still managed to find the boundary regularly, striking two more sixes in his half-century off 46 deliveries.”
West Indies were just 13 runs away from handing England their 15th defeat in their last 22 away matches when Lewis was dismissed by Adil Rashid.
For England, it was a day to forget with the bat. Failing to get the tempo right initially, they then lost their way despite being well-placed at 165/4 in the 35th over. Liam Livingstone, captaining the side in the absence of the injured Jos Buttler, top-scored with 48, but his dismissal triggered a collapse that saw England lose six wickets in the next 11 overs, leaving 29 balls unused.
Debutants Jacob Bethell and John Turner, along with Phil Salt and Will Jacks, all struggled, with only Sam Curran (37) joining Livingstone in passing 20 runs. Seamer Jayden Seales and left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie were the pick of the West Indies bowlers, claiming two and four wickets respectively.
England will look to bounce back quickly as they aim to turn around their fortunes on the Caribbean tour.
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