WI VS ENG: West Indies rout England in rain-hit first ODI in Antigua

Antigua: West Indies cruised to an eight-wicket victory over an experimental England side in the rain-affected first One-Day International in Antigua on Thursday.

A week after the Test team slumped to a series defeat in Pakistan, England named four ODI debutants for the first of three matches against the West Indies, and their rookie line-up laboured to a disappointing 209 all out from their innings.

The hosts made a fine start to their reply before a rain delay gave them a new target via the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern (DLS) method, one they strolled to with nine overs to spare.

Their pursuit was made easier thanks to a big-hitting 94 from Evin Lewis.

England get the chance to redeem themselves at the same Sir Vivian Richards Stadium on Saturday, before the third and final ODI of the series takes place in Barbados next Wednesday.

"I think the test we have to come over the next few games is to get into the rhythms of 50-over cricket," England captain Liam Livingstone said.

"We have to get up to speed as quickly as possible. We know someone in the top six has to get a big score."

With England looking to improve on a record of 11 defeats in their last 17 ODIs, Jamie Overton, Dan Mousley, Jordan Cox and John Turner all earned their first caps for the tourists with several test-team big names rested at home.

England's more experienced opening pair, Phil Salt and Will Jacks, got off to a positive start before both were removed by Jayden Seales inside the opening five overs.

Jacob Bethell's dismissal left the tourists languishing on 93/4 before stand-in skipper Livingstone's 72-run partnership with Sam Curran steadied the ship.

Cheap dismissals were a theme for England at the World Cup last year and they were an issue once again on Thursday, with Gudakesh Motie the star of the home bowling attack, registering figures of 4/41.

The hosts had reached 81-0 from their opening 15 overs before the rain came and their target was then revised to 157 from 35 overs when play resumed.

Lewis continued where he had left off, hammering eight sixes on his way to 94 off 69 balls to see off England with ease. Agencies

Scoreboard  

New Zealand: 1st innings     

*Tom Latham    b Sundar               28

Devon Conway   lbw b Deep     4

Will Young     c Sharma b Jadeja      71

Rachin Ravindra        b Sundar               5

Daryl Mitchell c Sharma b Sundar      82

Tom Blundell   b Jadeja               0

Glenn Phillips b Jadeja               17

Ish Sodhi              lbw b Jadeja   7

Matt Henry     b Jadeja               0

Ajaz Patel             lbw b Sundar   7

William ORourke        not out        1

Extras: 13; Total:            235-10 (65.4)

FOW:Conway (15-1, 3.2), Latham (59-2, 16), Ravindra (72-3, 20), Young (159-4, 44.2), Blundell (159-5, 44.5), Phillips (187-6, 53), Sodhi (210-7, 60.4), Henry (210-8, 61), Mitchell (228-9, 65.1), Patel (235-10, 65.4)

Bowling:

Mohammed Siraj 6       0       16      0

Akash Deep     5       0       22      1

R Ashwin               14      0       47      0

Washington Sundar      18.4    2       81      4

Ravindra Jadeja        21      2       65      5

India: 1st innings    

Yashasvi Jaiswal       b Patel        30

*Rohit Sharma  c Blundell b Henry     18

Shubman Gill   not out        31

Mohammed Siraj lbw b Patel    0

Virat Kohli            run out (Henry)        4

Rishabh Pant   not out        1

Extras: 2; Total:              86-4 (19)

FOW:*Sharma (25-1, 6.5), Jaiswal (78-2, 17.2), Siraj (78-3, 17.3), Kohli (84-4, 18.4)

Bowling:
Matt Henry     5       1       15      1

William ORourke        2       1       5       0

Ajaz Patel             7       1       33      2

Glenn Phillips 4       0       25      0

Rachin Ravindra        1       0       8       0

Also Read: ‘My chance to impact games’: Liam Livingstone ready to lead England’s young squad vs West Indies

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