Evin Lewis Propels West Indies to Decisive Victory Over England’s New-Look Side

Evin Lewis has scored 102 not out (against Sri Lanka last week) and 94 in successive ODI innings First ODI, Antigua England 209 all out (45.1 overs): Livingstone 48 (49); Motie 4-41 West Indies 157-2 (25.5 overs): Lewis 94 (69); Livingstone 1-32 West Indies win by eight wickets (DLS method) Scorecard Opener Evin Lewis scored a rapid 94 as West Indies secured a decisive victory against England by eight wickets in the opening one-day international held in Antigua. The Trinidadian batsman spearheaded the innings, hitting five fours and eight sixes in his 69-ball knock, propelling his team close to their rain-adjusted target at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium. He was dismissed just shy of a century while attempting to hit a six to reach the milestone. His side was pursuing a relatively low total after a visiting squad lacking experience managed only 209 runs within 46 overs, highlighted by left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie’s figures of 4-41. Stand-in captain Liam Livingstone contributed 48 runs off 49 balls, forming a 72-run partnership for the fifth wicket with Sam Curran (37). However, they were the only two batters to exceed 30 runs as England found it difficult to establish momentum. With the ball, England seamers Jofra Archer and John Turner, one of four debutants in the side, consistently posed challenges for Lewis and his fellow opener Brandon King, delivering at considerable speed and inducing outside edges. However, they failed to secure a wicket, and Lewis began to find his composure, sending the ball over the leg-side ropes five times as he reached 50 from 46 deliveries. A rain interruption halted play shortly afterwards, but when the game resumed with the home side’s target adjusted to 157, Lewis resumed his strong performance, being dismissed when his team needed 13 more runs for victory. Captain Shai Hope entered the game and scored the decisive runs in the 26th over to seal a dominant win. The two teams are scheduled to face each other again at the identical venue on Saturday (13:30 GMT), before a final ODI in Barbados on Wednesday. Captaining a young squad in the Caribbean presented a significant challenge for first-time captain Livingstone, a task compounded by losing the coin toss where he confessed he would have chosen to bowl first, mirroring his counterpart Hope’s preference. Instead, his team was required to bat on a difficult pitch providing considerable swing and purchase. Openers Phil Salt and Will Jacks formed an opening partnership of 39 runs, but both found it difficult to execute their characteristic aggressive hitting and were dismissed rapidly, lofting catches from Jayden Seales’ deliveries. Jordan Cox (17), playing in just his fifth career one-day match, and Jacob Bethell (27) were also unable to make a significant impact, hitting aerial leading edges off Matthew Forde’s bowling that were caught by fielders in Antigua. Livingstone for a short period appeared capable of turning the match in England’s favour, hitting three boundaries and two maximums during his 49-ball knock. However, he was softly dismissed, spooning Motie’s ball back to the bowler, just two runs shy of his fifty. That was the initial wicket in a sequence of four claimed by the spinner, before seamer Alzarri Joseph came back to conclude the innings. Lewis and King, who scored a somewhat hesitant 30 runs off 56 balls, initially faced difficulties, but Lewis discovered his rhythm as the powerplay concluded and proceeded to consistently hit England’s bowlers for boundaries. The opening pair established a 118-run partnership before King was caught by Will Jacks off Livingstone’s bowling. Lewis was caught by Bethell as he attempted to hit over long-off, but by that point, the game’s outcome was effectively decided. England included four debutants in an ODI, a feat achieved only five times this century. With England’s Test tour of Pakistan having concluded just on Saturday, it resulted in several key players being unavailable for this Caribbean tour, consisting of three One-Day Internationals and five Twenty20 matches. Harry Brook, Brydon Carse and Gus Atkinson are notable players absent from this series before the pre-Christmas Test tour of New Zealand. Meanwhile, regular captain Jos Buttler was sidelined due to a calf injury, while veterans such as Jonny Bairstow, Joe Root, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes and Mark Wood have not participated since the World Cup last autumn. Consequently, England presented an inexperienced squad in Antigua, featuring four new players: Turner, Cox, and all-rounders Dan Mousley and Jamie Overton. Indeed, spinner Adil Rashid had more international appearances than the combined total of the remaining players in the squad, with 140 to 127. Furthermore, some of England’s debutants had limited experience in 50-over cricket, with Cox’s first List A match in 20 months and Mousley’s in three years. This has arguably rendered them ill-prepared for the challenges of the longer white-ball format, with former England captain Sir Alastair Cook observing on TNT Sports “there’s no experience of working out different situations, for when you’re thrown into international cricket under increased scrutiny”. Even those with greater experience, such as the 30-year-old Overton, appeared out of practice, as the Surrey player fell lbw to Motie on his first delivery, scoring a duck. With a multitude of absent players and many new faces inserted between Test tours, the series gives the impression of being an afterthought. But this is the ninth of merely 14 One-Day Internationals planned between the World Cup and February’s Champions Trophy – England needs to gain crucial experience from this series, otherwise, they risk another humiliating elimination from an international tournament. England captain Liam Livingstone: “I think the test we have to come over the next few games is with the rhythms of 50-over cricket. We have to get up to speed as quickly as possible. We know someone in the top six has to get a big score.” “50 overs is a long time. We wanted to put the West Indies under pressure. Conditions change and it’s up to us to read them and work out what is a good score. We didn’t adapt. West Indies bowled well and we lost wickets at key stages.” “John Turner bowled really well and was unlucky not to get a wicket.” West Indies skipper Shai Hope: “Jayden Seales and Matthew Forde set the tone with the new ball, especially in the middle overs. We wanted some early wickets and they did that. The consistency and the discipline was the biggest factor today.” “Evin Lewis is experienced and has been around for a long time. You can see he is a different beast. He’s hungry. I’m glad with the scores he’s getting now.” The left-handed Evin Lewis repeatedly hit England’s bowlers for runs over the leg side.