Read heroics help England to win

Wicketkeeper Chris Read was England’s saviour on Sunday as his three late sixes helped the tourists beat West Indies by two wickets in ...

Wicketkeeper Chris Read was England’s saviour on Sunday as his three late sixes helped the tourists beat West Indies by two wickets in a thrilling opening to the one-day international series. In a match reduced to 30 overs per side due to heavy rain in the run-up to the game, Read smashed 27 off 15 balls before Darren Gough hit the winning runs to see England to their target of 157 with three balls to spare.

Chasing West Indies’ total of 156-5, England looked out of it as they slipped from 60-2 to 120-7. But Read, dropped from the Test side ahead of the final match in Antigua, responded in style as he smashed three sixes and a four before Gough saw England home.

On a pitch which had been virtually under water 24 hours before, England captain Michael Vaughan won the toss and put West Indies into bat. Gough, recalled to the side, showed few signs of rust with a tight opening spell and made the early breakthrough, bowling Chris Gayle for two with just seven runs on the board.

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A slightly wayward Steve Harmison made way for Andrew Flintoff and he made immediate inroads. With his second ball, Flintoff caught and bowled Ricardo Powell for 10 and then removed Ramnaresh Sarwan, standing in as captain for the injured Brian Lara, for a duck just two balls later to leave West Indies reeling on 25-3. Flintoff and Gough both finished with figures of two for 22 from their six overs.

In reply, England made a terrible start when Vaughan was bowled by Mervyn Dillon for a third-ball duck. But with West Indies guilty of giving away too many extras, Marcus Trescothick and Andrew Strauss added 59 for the second wicket before Strauss was bowled by Dwayne Bravo for 29, giving the debutant his first West Indies wicket.

Brief scores: West Indies: 156-5 in 30 overs (S Chanderpaul 84, S Joseph 23 n.o, Gough 2-22, Flintoff 2-22) lost to England: 157-8 in 29.3 overs (M Trescothick 26, A Strauss 29, C Read 27, C Gayle 3-20)

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