16 Sep 2017 | International
England were defeated by 21 runs by world champions West Indies at Durham in the one-off NatWest International T20 to set up the five-match ODI Series
West Indies got off to a flyer with Gayle and Lewis before England looked to have pegged them back and at the halfway stage England would have been the happier of the two teams requiring 177 in the run chase to win.
However, after Jason Roy went first ball, only Alex Hales, Jos Buttler, plus Bairstow and a late brave, but forlorn cameo from Plunkett gve England any hope in what proved a comfortable victory for the tourists to bounce back after the Test Match Series defeat.
"This was probably the more challenging of our recent wins," said West Indies captain Carlos Brathwaite speaking to Sky Sports. "Conditions were soft and slippery, the umpires were close to calling it off actually.
"It was so bad and I asked the guys if they want to trudge on or call it a day. The umpires were in agreement with us but then we thought we will give it a go and see if there are any slips, and there wasn't."
England will return to action in Cardiff next summer when The SSE SWALEC hosts the 2nd IT20 of the series against India as well as the second ODI in the Series against Australia. To register for priority access to tickets for this game please CLICK HERE