Eoin Morgan led the way for England in Antigua as his 10th one-day international hundred, and four wickets apiece from Liam Plunkett and Chris Woakes, secured a 1-0 lead against an inexperienced West Indies side that flickered in the run chase before eventually fizzling out.
Morgan’s 107 from 116 balls gave his players a tidy demonstration of how to craft an innings in the Caribbean, laying the foundation for their 296 for six after being put in; the hosts were bowled out for 251 to lose by 45 runs with 16 balls to spare.
If the margin looked wide, then the travelling supporters, who outnumbered the locals and soaked up a carnival atmosphere, were given a mild dose of nerves in the chase as Jason Mohammed’s 72 for the home side rebuilt their reply from 39 for three to need 96 off the final 10 overs with Carlos Brathwaite – remember him? – one of five wickets still in hand.
Jason Holder’s team thus had a puncher’s chance on the run-in but the need to hit out proved too much. Plunkett and Woakes returned from knocking over the top order to close out proceedings and the former registered a career-best four for 40. Morgan, who opted not to bowl Ben Stokes for tactical reasons, insisted he always felt in control. “I think we were ahead of the game through most of it but certainly West Indies pushed us,” said the England captain.
“Having been out there for the last 10 overs of our innings, I knew how hard it was to clear the ropes and gain momentum with a big over of 18 or 20 runs.”
Morgan’s earlier man-of-the-match innings, from the eighth over through to the last and featuring 11 fours and two sixes, was not always pretty; the left-hander was dropped on four and survived a stumping chance on 69. He was also struck on the back of his head by the hostile Shannon Gabriel on 48 and the stem-guard introduced after the tragic death of Phillip Hughes did its job. “I was early on the shot,” he said. “The ball gripped a little bit on the pitch but I was absolutely fine.”
With early rain forcing a 30-minute delay and getting moisture into the pitch that eased up only after the sun came fully out, it required Morgan’s 174 caps of experience – more than the West Indies side combined – and provided a challenge a far cry from the run-heavy surfaces in India at the start of the year. Having been pressed into service after Gabriel, the quickest of the three West Indies seamers, had exploited early low bounce to jack-knife both Jason Roy (lbw for 13) and Joe Root (stumps detonated for four), he bided his time. Sam Billings notched his second one-day fifty in a stand of 67 through some smart singles, reverse sweeps and a couple of agricultural clubs.
The Kent right-hander, who is looking to stake his claim here in the absence of Alex Hales, was disgusted with himself when, on 52, he clipped Ashley Nurse to short mid-wicket. With Jos Buttler caught smartly at slip on 14 off the spinner, England were 129 for four in the 26th over. Morgan and Stokes built steadily at first before a surge was signalled by the million-dollar all-rounder bludgeoning the final ball of the 40th. It was the first of three sixes using the strong northerly wind in a near run-a-ball partnership of 110 by the two southpaws.
Hitting downwind would cause Stokes’s demise on 55 – some cheer for the leg-spinner Devendra Bishoo in his six overs for 49 – but Morgan pressed on with Moeen Ali (31 not out) and brought up his hundred with a mown six off Carlos Brathwaite over midwicket. While he perished in the final over – run out backing up – the England captain was nevertheless the guiding hand as exactly 100 runs were added in the final 10 overs.
This late assault, as the sun broke out fully, brought with it a warning about an improving pitch. But after three wickets in the space of three overs as Evin Lewis, Kieran Powell and Kraigg Brathwaite duffed short balls off Woakes and Plunkett, England looked on course for a clinical win. West Indies rebuilt their chase in fine fashion, however, chiefly through Mohammed’s cool innings in only his third international appearance.
Shai Hope’s 31 provided the initial support with Jonathan Carter then taking up the mantle in a stand of 82 at nearly a run a ball. His 52 was snuffed out by a fine tumbling catch from Roy in the deep off Plunkett. The Yorkshire right-armer then teased an edge behind from Holder and after some nifty footwork from Steven Finn, kicking the ball into the stumps to run out Mohammed, only a repeat of Carlos Brathwaite’s six-hitting heroics from the World Twenty20 final last year stood between England and victory. Woakes, not Stokes, ensured this was not to be the case, however, as the 6ft8in all-rounder top-edged into the ring on 12 with 73 from 33 balls still required. With his wicket the win was to all intents sealed.
