TheSportsCampus

Ravi Bopara's unlikely 4-10 and half centuries from the opening duo of Alex Hale and Craig Kieswetter helped World Champions England to waltz to victory in the first match of the Natwest T20 series against the Clueless Caribbeans. The West Indies, who were asked to bat first, fell like a pack of cards after plundering 51 runs in the powerplay. The visitors were bowled out for a paltry 125 inside 20 overs with Bopara's slow medium running through the lower middle order with no resistance. The runs were knocked over by the talented Hales and the ever improving Kieswetter in just 15.2 overs to register an emphatic 10 wicket win over a decidedly second string side.

England shepherded by stand-in skipper Graeme Swann won the toss against the West Indies at the Oval in London and unsurprisingly elected to field first. The influential Swann was replacing the injured Stuart Broad as the skipper for the 2 match series, and how his basic attacking instincts would reflect on his decision making was an exciting side plot for this game.

The most heartening news from London was that weather was bright and sunny. Unfortunately though the absence of several key West Indian players due to a schedule clash with the CLT20 and mounting injuries has taken a bit of sheen off the game. England decided to give James Anderson a prolonged rest after a gruelling Indian tour and the exciting news from out in the middle was that as many as 6 players were making their debut in this encounter, three per side.

Tim Bresnan, who enjoyed stupendous success against India this summer began proceedings with lively pace. The hard hitting 'come back man' Dwayne Smith made his intentions crystal clear in the very first over as he chanced his arm harboring dreams of a rapid start. Smith put Bresnan to the sword in the third over as he bashed two sixes and two boundaries. Some brilliant short arm pulls depicting his indomitable strength and immeasurable agression.

Steve Finn suffered from the other end as young Johnson Charles clubbed three boundaries thereby forcing Captain Grame Swann to press the panic button. The rookie West Indian side oozed agression and were in the hunt for a humongous total as they piled up 44 runs in the first 5 overs at an impressive rate of 8.8. The 6th over saw Samit Patel being inducted into the attack and the burly slow left arm spinner rewarded the Captain's faith in him by taking out the deadly dangerous Dwayne Smith with a 'jaffer' that prodigiously turned from middle-stump to beat the edge and crash into the stumps. The powerplay concluded with the West Indians sitting pretty at 51-1. It was very evident that spinners would be mighty effective on this Oval pitch.

Grame Swann chipped into the attack the next over, extracted magical turn and applied the brakes on the run rate. That was precisely what the doctor ordered for the World T20 champions. England crawled their way back into the match as Swann bowled Marlon Samuels for 4 with a beauty in the 9th over. Danza Hyatt who joined Johnson blessed the innings with momentum as he hammered 16 runs off the 12th over from Swann. Patel was in action again and Charles Johnson soon fell prey to an over-ambitious stroke after an almost run-a-ball 36 as Finn completed a smart catch running in from long on.

Ravi Bopara took pace off the ball and his double strike put England in the driving seat. He first removed Nkruma Bonner with a delivery that swung in sharply and then Kieswetter took a fine catch to see the back of Christopher Barnwell for nought. At 104/5 in the 16th over, the West Indies innings had lost momentum completely and were in desperate need of a cameo from someone.

Dernbach at the other end tightened up the screws and kept the batsman thinking with his cunning bouncers and well-disguised slower balls. England initiated another mini-collapse as West Indies lost the 'Dangerman' Hyatt and Andre Russell in the 18th over. Jos Butler's electrifying fielding and 'bang on target throw' ran out Devandra Bishoo for a duck. Bopara wrapped up the Windies innings two balls early, getting captain Darren Sammy with a legcutter in the last over. Though the West Indies had started out with a loud bang their innings ended in a whimper with only three batsmen reaching double figures.

Ravi Bopara was the man of the moment as he picked up the best figures of an English bowler in T20 Internationals, ending with 4 for 10. Undoubtedly England would back themselves to chase 126.

England were up and away with a boundary as young Alex Hales demonstrated a fine drive through the offside. His partner, Craig Kieswetter got into his element by launching a Fidel Edward's freebie into the orbit. The Caribbean fielding crumbled under pressure and the feisty pair kept the run rate ticking. Alex Hales' temperament and pugnacious stroke play was eye-catching. The West Indian bowlers sprayed the ball around as England accumulated 52 in the powerplay with no loss of wickets.

Alex Hales went from strength to strength and he despatched Andre Rusell for a six and a four in the 7th over. The hapless West Indian skipper Darren Sammy had no option but to bring on his slow bowlers. But his attempt at taking pace of the ball was in vain as the Hales-Kieswetter partnership continued to blossom.

The ICC Emerging Player of the year, Bishoo failed to engineer a breakthrough while newcomer Nkruma Bonner looked rather ordinary. Hales and Kieswetter notched up their half-centuries in successive overs and the match was as good as over. England were 113 for no loss at the end of the 13th over and cruising to an easy win.

Chris Barnwell, the military medim pacer came back into the attack only to be pulled by Hales past the man at short fine leg for another boundary. Kieswetter then orchestrated a delicious drive through the covers as the Champions sealed the game in supreme style. The English Lions had thumped the West Indian rookies by an emphatic 10 wickets with almost 5 overs to spare.

While a win looks unlikely the West Indies will attempt to regain some pride when these sides meet again for the second T20 International on Sunday.

Teams:

England: Craig Kieswetter, Ravi Bopara, Alex Hales, Jos Butler, Ben Stokes, Jonny Bairstow, Samit Patel, Tim Bresnan, Grame Swann(capt), Steve Finn, Jade Dernbach.

West Indies: Darren Sammy(capt), Dwayne Smith, Johnson Charles, Marlon Samuels, Danza Hyatt, N.Bonner, Derwin Christian, Chris Barnwell, Andre Russel, Devendra Bishoo, Fidel Edwards.

Mini Scorecard:

West Indies 125 all out (19.4 overs, 6.35rpo)
J Charles 36 (39) R Bopara 4-10
D Smith 33 (21) S Patel 2-23

England 128/0 (15.2 overs, 8.34 rpo)
A Hales 62* (48)
C Kieswetter 58* (49)

England win by 10 wickets

FIle Photograph Copyright: ICC World T20