(Reuters) - West Indies laid down a significant marker ahead of the ODI series as they comfortably beat England by 21 runs in their sole Twenty20 fixture at Chester-le-Street on Saturday.
West Indies got off to a quick-fire start and were 106-1 midway through their innings before Liam Plunkett and Adil Rashid took three wickets apiece to restrict the tourists to 176-9.
In response Alex Hales struck a blistering 43 as England started strongly but the hosts fell to 68-4 and were all out for 155.
Led by openers Chris Gayle (40) and Evin Lewis (51), West Indies got off to a ferocious start with the destructive Gayle bludgeoning four sixes before he was run out.
Lewis made an impressive 28-ball fifty but his dismissal signalled the start of a collapse with Plunkett also accounting for Marlon Samuels (10), and Kieron Pollard (six) in a quick three-wicket burst.
Rashid claimed the wickets of Chadwick Walton (13), Carlos Brathwaite and Sunil Narine -- both for two.
Rovman Powell scored 28 in a useful cameo before he was caught off the bowling of Tom Curran, Jerome Taylor (1) fell to Chris Jordan and Ashley Nurse finished unbeaten 13 on as the tourists set England 177 to win.
England's response got off to the worst possible start with Jason Roy caught for a first-ball duck, and Hales was dropped on zero before he was eventually bowled by Brathwaite having smashed eight fours and one six.
Joe Root (17) and captain Eoin Morgan (two) went in quick succession as England faltered.
Jos Buttler (30) looked to get England back on track but he fell to Kesrick Williams, who added a second with the scalp of Rashid (1).
David Willey (1), Jonny Bairstow (27), Jordan (6) and Plunkett (18) offered little resistance as Williams finished with 3-35.
(Reporting by Tom Hayward, editing by Pritha Sarkar)
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