Eoin Morgan's 10th one-day international century provided the batting foundation while seamers Liam Plunkett and Chris Woakes took four wickets each as England defeated the West Indies by 45 runs in the series opener on Friday. Extending an excellent run of form from the previous ODI series in India in January, the England captain stroked a polished 107 to pace the tourists to a competitive 296 for six. Plunkett and Woakes then claimed four wickets each to thwart the home side's effort for an upset victory.
Half-centuries by Jason Mohammed and Jonathan Carter were not enough as the West Indies were dismissed for 251 in the 48th over, Plunkett taking the final wicket to finish with his best ODI figures of four for 40. Woakes, who did the early damage to the Caribbean side's batting, returned with four for 47. "It was tough at the start out there but the rewards eventually came by sticking it out," said Morgan.
"I thought it was a dominant performance overall by us and we've set a high standard for the remaining two matches." Accelerating from a painstaking start, Morgan timed the innings to perfection in lifting his team to a competitive total after they were put in to bat on a rain-interrupted morning at North Sound.
He faced 116 deliveries and struck 11 fours and two sixes after coming to the crease with his side in early trouble after fast bowler Shannon Gabriel removed opening batsman Jason Roy and new Test skipper Joe Root in successive overs. Sam Billings contributed 52 at the top of the order, but his demise to Ashley Nurse was compounded when the off-spinner also accounted for Jos Buttler via an excellent slip catch by Carter.
That dismissal brought in Ben Stokes and the aggressive all-rounder did not disappoint, belting 55 off 61 deliveries with three sixes and seizing the initiative from the West Indies with a 110-run fifth-wicket partnership, ended by a catch at long-on off leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo. Morgan reached three figures in fine style, hoisting Carlos Brathwaite for a huge six over midwicket in the 48th over before the bowler had the last laugh, running out the left-hander in the final over of the innings.
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SCOREBOARD
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England
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J. Roy lbw b Gabriel 13
S. Billings c C. Brathwaite b Nurse 52
J. Root b Gabriel 4
E. Morgan run out 107
J. Buttler c Carter b Nurse 14
B. Stokes c Holder b Bishoo 55
M. Ali not out 31
C. Woakes not out 0
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Extras: (lb7, w12, nb1) 20
Total: (6 wkts, 50 overs) 296
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Did not bat: Adil Rashid, Liam Plunkett, Steven Finn.
Fall of wickets: 1-23 (Roy), 2-29 (Root), 3-96 (Billings), 4-129 (Buttler), 5-239 (Stokes), 6-292 (Morgan)
Bowling: J. Holder 9-1-46-0 (2w), S. Gabriel 10-0-58-2 (1nb, 2w), C. Brathwaite 10-1-54-0 (2w), A. Nurse 10-0-57-2 (1w), D. Bishoo 6-0-49-1 (5w), J. Mohammed 5-0-25-0.
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West Indies
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K. Brathwaite c Rashid b Woakes 14
E. Lewis c Billings b Woakes 21
K. Powell c Roy b Plunkett 1
S. Hope c Finn b Rashid 31
J. Mohammed run out 72
J. Carter c Roy b Plunkett 52
J. Holder c Buttler b Plunkett 4
C. Brathwaite c Root b Woakes 12
A. Nurse lbw b Woakes 21
D. Bishoo not out 12
S. Gabriel c Buttler b Plunkett 0
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Extras: (lb4, w7) 11
Total: (all out, 47.2 overs) 251
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Fall of wickets: 1-36 (Lewis), 2-37 (K. Brathwaite), 3-39 (Powell), 4-108 (Hope), 5-190 (Carter), 6-201 (Holder), 7-210 (Mohammed), 8-224 (C. Brathwaite), 9-250 (Nurse), 10-Gabriel (251)
Bowling: S. Finn, 9-0-49-0 (1w), C. Woakes 9-1-47-4, J. Root 5-0-31-0 (1w), L. Plunkett 8.2-1-40-4 (3w), M. Ali 7-0-37-0, A. Rashid 9-1-43-1 (2w)
Result: England won by 45 runs
Toss: West Indies
Umpires: Gregory Brathwaite (WIS), Ruchira Pallyaguruge (SRI)
Match Referee: Jeff Crowe (NZL).
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