England were out-performed in all departments as hosts West Indies achieved a nine-wicket win in the first T20I at Kensington Oval, Bridgetown on Sunday. 

Batting first, Eoin Morgan and company were bowled out for 103 runs in 19.4 overs. Led by Jason Holder’s impressive figures of 7/4 in 3.4 overs – economy rate of less than two – the hosts reduced England to 39/6 at halfway stage. The visitors were seven wickets down before crossing the 50-run mark. 

Also read: India look to address middle-order, bowling woes in 3rd ODI vs Proteas

Jordan top-scored for England with 28 from 23 balls and was one of only four batters to make double figures in a much-changed lineup for the tourists, without the likes of Jos Buttler and Ben Stokes after their Ashes exertions.

West Indies reached 104-1 with nine wickets and 17 balls to spare. Opener Brandon King’s unbeaten 52 from 49 deliveries broke the back of the chase. Nicholas Pooran was 27 not out as the hosts reached their target after 17.1 overs.

Also read: IPL 2022 from March last week to May, mega auction on Feb 12-13: Jay Shah

Jason Holder, who was named the player of the match, said that it was ‘good to bounce back after that series against Ireland’. 

“Consistency is the key for us, hopefully we keep performing in the same way. We got a hectic schedule this year, so we got to manage ourselves,” the all-rounder said. 

Windies skipper Kieron Pollard also praised Holder.

“Jason Holder knows how to bowl here, it’s his ground. It was a great show from the bowlers today.”

English captain Eoin Morgan admitted that they were completely dominated in the game. 

Also Read | Fragile middle-order, lack of wickets reason behind loss vs South Africa: Rahul

“We have to come back stronger in the next game with fresh plans. The thing we found here is that the bounce wasn’t consistent. But hopefully we come back stronger. That’s the nature of international cricket as you get exposed. But there is light at the end of the tunnel, so you need to cheer up. We always get great support in the West Indies, we have a lot of fans here,” Morgan said. 

The second T20 is on Sunday.