England defeated West Indies by 21 runs in the first T20I of the series, held at the Riverside Ground in Chester-le-Street on Friday, June 6. The highlight of the match was Liam Dawson’s match-winning spell, which earned him the Player of the Match award on his return to the national side.Batting first, England set a target of 189 runs for the visitors. Dawson made an early impact by dismissing the dangerous opener, Johnson Charles. On the second ball of the fourth over, Charles stepped down the pitch, but the ball spun away from him and he was easily stumped by Jos Buttler.
Dawson then tilted the game firmly in England’s favour with two wickets in the 12th over. On the first ball, Sherfane Rutherford attempted a slog but was caught by Ben Duckett, who took a well-judged catch.
“Very happy to contribute.” – Liam Dawson
On the third ball of the same over, Duckett was in action again, taking a catch at long on to remove Roston Chase, who failed to clear the fielder. Dawson struck again by bowling Rovman Powell, claiming his fourth wicket. He finished with impressive figures of 4/20 from four overs, maintaining an excellent economy rate of 5.00.
During the post-match presentation, Dawson said: “When you get 190 on the board, you can go out there and simplify everything. [On this appearance feeling like another debut]: It’s been maybe three and a half years since I’ve played. I was a little nervous going into the game, but very happy to contribute.”
England captain Harry Brook also praised Dawson’s performance: “Unbelievable. To have him and Rash operating from both ends, with a wealth of experience… as a batter, you don’t know which end to go after. To have them two in the team really helps, and on a big field, it’s only going to go your way.”
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