England must find a way to restrict the big West Indies hitters, captain Jos Buttler said, after the hosts smashed 14 sixes en route to a four-wicket win in the first T20I at Kensington Oval on Tuesday.
The Windies chased down England’s 171 with 11 balls to spare in the rain-delayed game, with their top three batters combining for nine sixes — three more than the entire England side.
“They hit a lot of sixes as a team, something that is a trademark of their side and we’ve got to find ways to limit that,” Buttler said.
“Obviously, the swing in the game with sixes is so big.”
England got off to a strong start, reaching 77/0 in the first six overs, but then lost wickets regularly to be all out in 19.3 overs.
“From the position we were in at the halfway stage, to end up only with 171 is an area we could have improved in,” Buttler said.
“The wicket definitely got harder, and the Windies adapted. You’ve got to find ways to get it out at the arc, try and find ways to take wickets as well, be aggressive and be committed.
“It’s a big test for us and we’ll find out lots over the next few games.”
Brief scores: England 171 in 19.3 ovs (Phil Salt 40, Jos Buttler 39; Andre Russell 3/19, Alzarri Joseph 3/54). West Indies 172/6 in 18.1 ovs (Shai Hope 36, Rovman Powell 31 n.o.; Rehan Ahmed 3/39, Adil Rashid 2/25). West Indies won by 4 wickets.
