England v West Indies: England found wanting as tourists win T20 international by 21 runs
West Indies continued their Twenty20 stranglehold over England as they defied distinctly un-Caribbean conditions to seal a 21-run win in Chester-le-Street.
T20 International scores (Riverside)
West Indies beat England by 21 runs
West Indies: 176-9 (20/20. Lewis 51, Gayle 40, Powell 28; Rashid 3-25, Plunkett 3-27)
England: 155 (19.3/20. Hales 43, Buttler 30, Bairstow 27; Brathwaite 3-20, Williams 3-35, Narne 2-15)
Match report
West Indies continued their Twenty20 stranglehold over England as they defied distinctly un-Caribbean conditions to seal a 21-run win in Chester-le-Street.
The Windies may have lost a compelling Test series but their short-form specialists continued a proud record over England, winning 11 of 15 contests, including last year's unforgettable World T20 final in Kolkata.
Chris Gayle (40) and Evin Lewis (51) - a well-known tormentor and his heir apparent - scored 91 boundary-laden runs between them in just 49 deliveries to set the foundation for a winning score of 176 for nine.
That was lower than it could have been, Liam Plunkett and Adil Rashid sharing six wickets to lead the revival, but it proved beyond the reach of a side who leant too heavily on Alex Hales' 43.
England eventually needed 26 from the final over, but there was no reprise of the late heroics Carlos Brathwaite summoned at Eden Gardens 16 months ago, when he smashed Ben Stokes for four successive sixes to take the trophy.
It was, fittingly, Brathwaite who closed things out by bowling Plunkett with three balls to spare.
Match reaction
England captain Eoin Morgan: "We felt throughout the whole game it was a good wicket to bat on and to be chasing 177 we felt pretty confident at the halfway stage. Liam (Plunkett) and Adil (Rashid) did a really good job with the ball, six wickets between them was absolute gold.
"But I think there was a little bit of rustiness in everything we did bar the fielding. With the bat the skill level certainly wasn't there."
West Indies captain Carlos Brathwaite on the difficult conditions: "I told the umpires the boys had some concerns. In the first three or four overs we had two big slips, Chadwick and one other, and that was a worry.
"For that to happen it be a career-threatening injury (next). We always wanted to play but safety is a major concern and it was always in the back of our minds.
"We kind of gave it an ultimatum...we got the outfield roped and we were in agreement that if it continued to be unsafe or if anything dramatic or drastic happened we'd call it quits. But cricket was the winner."