Ian Bell marked his return to England's One-day side with a stylish century as they beat the West Indies by 114 runs under the Duckworth/Lewis method in their series opener Saturday. Man-of-the-match Bell, filling the opener's spot vacated by Kevin Pietersen following the South Africa-born batsman's retirement from limited overs internationals, responded with 126 in an England total of 288 for six made after the hosts lost the toss.
"I really enjoyed it, it was nice to go out there and play some shots at the top of the order," said Bell. "Nerves can be a good thing, some butterflies in the stomach, I've played well in the Tests and wanted to continue that. Dwayne Smith looked to be making up for the absence of big-hitting opener Chris Gayle, whose much anticipated international return after 15 months out following a spat with West Indies cricket chiefs was delayed by a shin injury.
However, when Smith was dismissed for 56 it was the start of a slump that saw the tourists lose their last nine wickets for 77 runs. West Indies, 127 for five off 23 overs when rain stopped play, were set a revised target of 287 in 48 overs. But they finished on 172 all out as England won with more than 14 overs left.
That meant England went 1-0 up with two to play ahead of Tuesday's match at The Oval. Tim Bresnan, who led England's attack with four wickets for 34 runs, sealed an emphatic victory when he had last man Sunil Narine well caught by diving wicket-keeper Craig Kieswetter. West Indies saw Smith go on the attack but his 44-ball innings finished when he edged an intended pull off seamer Bresnan to Kieswetter. Bresnan then made it two wickets for three runs in five balls when Ramdin, promoted because Darren Bravo was unable to bat at number three due to a groin strain, was lbw for 22.
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Scoreboard England
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A. Cook c Ramdin b Rampaul 0
I. Bell c Ramdin b Dw Bravo 126
J. Trott c Ramdin b Narine 42
R. Bopara c Ramdin b Samuels 8
E. Morgan b Samuels 21
C. Kieswetter not out 38
T. Bresnan run out (Smith/Ramdin) 21
S. Broad not out 22
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Extras: (w9, nb1) 10
Total: (6 wkts, 50 overs) 288
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Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-108, 3-136, 4-187, 5-216, 6-245
Did not bat: G Swann, S Finn, J Anderson
Bowling: Rampaul 10-0-68-1 (2w); Russell 6-0-43-0 (1nb, 2w); Narine 10-0-47-1 (3w); Sammy 6-0-32-0; Dw Bravo 9-0-55-1 (2w); Samuels 9-0-43-2.
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West Indies
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L. Simmons b Anderson 15
D. Smith c Kieswetter b Bresnan 56
D. Ramdin lbw b Bresnan 22
M. Samuels c Swann b Anderson 30
Dw.Bravo lbw b Finn 8
K. Pollard c Morgan b Broad 3
D. Sammy c Bopara b Swann 11
A. Russell c Morgan b Bresnan 7
Da.Bravo not out 8
R. Rampaul c Trott b Swann 9
S. Narine c Kieswetter b Bresnan 0
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Extras: (w3) 3
Total: (all out, 33.4 overs) 172
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Fall of wickets: 1-25, 2-95, 3-102, 4-118, 5-127, 6-137, 7-155, 8-157, 9-172, 10-172
Bowling: Anderson 8-0-48-2 (1w); Finn 6-0-29-1; Bresnan 7.4-0-34-4 (2w); Broad 8-0-40-1; Swann 4-0-21-2
Result: England won by 114 runs (D/L method)
Man-of-the-match: Ian Bell (ENG)
Series: England lead three-match series 1-0
Remaining Fixtures
Jun 19: 2nd ODI, The Oval
Jun 22: 3rd ODI, Leeds
Toss: West Indies
Umpires: Kumar Dharmasena (SRI) and Richard Kettleborough (ENG)
TV umpire: Tony Hill (NZL)
Match referee: Jeff Crowe (NZL).
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