England captain Eoin Morgan opted to bowl first in their World Cup match against the West Indies on Friday, unleashing Barbados-born Jofra Archer under heavy cloud cover in Southampton.
The tournament hosts were unchanged from the team that beat Bangladesh in their last outing but West Indies made three changes.
Chris Gayle was dismissed for 36 on Friday as England breathed a sigh of relief after earlier dropping the West Indian dangerman in their World Cup match in Southampton. England pacemen Chris Woakes and Jofra Archer kept the Caribbean side in check early, restricting them to just eight runs off the first five overs. Gayle then found his range, smashing Archer for two straight fours but in the next over he sliced down to third man off Woakes, only for a sprawling Mark Wood to put down the chance after seemingly having the ball under control. He then hit Woakes for a four over long on and a straight six.
Gayle made his 36 off 41 balls with five fours and one six. Two balls later West Indies were in deep trouble at 55-3 when Shai Hope was trapped in front of the wicket by Wood. The umpire initially did not give Hope out but the decision was overturned on review.
Jason Roy, who scored a century in England’s win against Bangladesh, pulled up with an injury in the eighth over and had to leave the field, giving England captain Eoin Morgan an early headache. He was being assessed for tightness in his left hamstring. Earlier, Morgan opted to bowl first, hoping to make use of the cloudy conditions
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