NORTH SOUND, Antigua — Liam Livingstone and Sam Curran shared a 72-run partnership for the fifth wicket to help England to 209 as it batted first on a difficult pitch Thursday in the first one-day international against the West Indies.
Livingstone top-scored with 48 in his first ODI as England captain and Curran grafted to 37 but was out just as he might have tried to accelerate with seven wickets down at the start the last 10 overs. Before and after his dismissal England went 45 deliveries without a boundary.
Curran and Livingstone both were undone by left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie, who took 4-41 as England was bowled out on the first ball of the 46th over.
England was coming off a test series against Pakistan while the West Indies have just completed a white ball series in Sri Lanka.
Livingstone lost the toss and the West Indies chose to bowl on a pitch that proved difficult for batters at times. Shorter deliveries from both seamers and slow bowlers gripped and slowed which made expansive shot-play hazardous.
England named four players on debut — Jamie Overton, Jordan Cox, John Turner and Dan Mousley — though Overton and Cox previously had played Twenty20 internationals and Overton had played one test.
Livingstone hit the first six of the England innings in the 32nd over — in the ninth over bowled by off-spinner Roston Chase, signaling the difficulty which cost several England batters their wickets after they made starts.
Phil Salt had made 18 and England was 38 in the ninth over when he swung hard at a ball from Jayden Seales which held up after bouncing and he mis-timed his shot to Alzarri Joseph, who took an outstanding running catch in the deep.
Will Jacks was on 19 when he tried to crack a full delivery from Seales into the leg side. Again the ball gripped and took the leading edge of Jacks’ bat flying to Motie, who ran around behind the bowler to take the catch.
Cox was looking settled on 17 when he tried to hit hard down the ground and the ball, which stood up sharply, took a top edge and flew to third man. Jacob Bethell had made 27 from 33 balls and was poised to launch when he tried to pull a ball from Matthew Forde which slowed, took a leading edge and skewed to extra cover.
Livingstone’s disciplined innings of 48 from 49 balls ended when he pushed too far forward at a ball from Motie which held up and straightened and which he patted back to the bowler. Mousley was at 8 when he took on the wind with a slog sweep off Motie and the ball held up in the breeze and dropped to a fielder.
Curran was England’s last hope, set and capable of carrying the attack through the late order. But after compiling his 37 from 56 balls he hit out at Motie and struck it straight to Shimron Hetmyer at long-on.
Adil Rashid and Jofra Archer tried to take the fight to the West Indies bowlers in a partnership which added 17 for the ninth wicket. Archer was undone by a shorter ball from Joseph and Rashid was the last man out for 15.
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