WI lose T20

West Indies opener Dwayne Smith hitting out during his 70. (AP)

Sun, June 24, 2012 - 2:20 PM

NOTTINGHAM - Alex Hales fell one short of becoming the first England player to score a century in a Twenty20 International today as England beat West Indies by seven wickets at Trent Bridge.

Hales hit four sixes and six fours from 68 balls in England’s total of 173 for three from 19.4 overs.

England had the better of the opening exchanges after West Indies had won the toss and elected to bat, dismissing the dangerous Chris Gayle for two and Lendl Simmons shortly afterwards for six.

However, the tourists boast some big hitters down the order and rallied during the latter stages of the innings, with opener Dwayne Smith (70), Dwayne Bravo (54 not out) and Kieron Pollard (23 not out) displaying an impressive repertoire of shots.

Set 173 to win, England lost Craig Kieswetter early on for three making way for Ravi Bopara, who set about establishing a partnership with Hales.

With just seven balls remaining, Hales was clean bowled by Rampaul by 99. Bopara then scooped a ball straight to Fidel Edwards for an easy catch at long-off and was out for 59.

With two runs needed off three balls, it was left to Eoin Morgan to hit the winning runs, helped by a Bravo misfield.

It was a suitably scrappy ending to the West Indies’ tour, in which the visitors failed to post a victory in either the test or one-day series. (Reuters)