Brandon King steers West Indies home after England’s batting collapses

Different format, different opponents, same old story for England, who started their Twenty20 series against West Indies with very different personnel but in precisely the same style with which they ended the Ashes, soundtracked by an embarrassing clatter of wickets.

The tourists lost first the toss and then their composure as they slumped to 49 for seven before Chris Jordan and Adil Rashid inspired something of a recovery but West Indies, powered by a suitably regal half-century from Brandon King, made their total of 103 appear suitably trifling and won by nine wickets with 17 balls remaining.

A quarter of the way through England’s innings 30 balls had been bowled, just five scoring shots played, and four wickets lost. By the end of the powerplay they were 26 for four and Eoin Morgan had faced 11 deliveries for the score of one. When Sam Billings was stumped at the end of the seventh over England had lost 15 wickets for 95 runs in two formats and two continents – with Billings personally contributing two wickets and three runs to the long-distance collapse.

West Indies, bowled out for 55 when the teams met in Dubai at the Twenty20 World Cup last October, were never likely to feel any sympathy, their only disappointment being that a flurry of boundaries from Jordan and Rashid took the tourists past that total and carried England from the brink of humiliation to the sunlit uplands of triple figures.

The first over of the game ended with Sheldon Cottrell executing his familiar march-and-salute celebration after Jason Roy completely missed a full toss, lost his middle stump and set the tone. England’s opener had hit the previous ball for six, and the next player to score runs was also promptly dismissed, Tom Banton hitting