Eoin Morgan's century helps England beat West Indies in first ODI

Englands captain Eoin Morgan celebrates scoring a century against West Indies PicPTIAntigua Eoin Morgans 10th oneday international century provided the batting foundation while seamers Liam Plunkett and Chris Woakes took four wickets each as England defeated the West Indies by 45 runs in the series opener on FridayExtending an excellent run of form from the previous ODI series in India in January the England captain stroked a polished 107 to pace the tourists to a competitive 296 for sixPlunkett and Woakes then claimed four wickets each to thwart the home sides effort for an upset victory Halfcenturies by Jason Mohammed and Jonathan Carter were not enough as the West Indies were dismissed for 251 in the 48th over Plunkett taking the final wicket to finish with his best ODI figures of four for 40 Woakes who did the early damage to the Caribbean sides batting returned with four for 47Englands cricket team captain Eoin Morgan celebrates after scoring his century PicPTIIt was tough at the start out there but the rewards eventually came by sticking it out said Morgan I thought it was a dominant performance overall by us and weve set a high standard for the remaining two matchesAccelerating from a painstaking start Morgan timed the innings to perfection in lifting his team to a competitive total after they were put in to bat on a raininterrupted morning at North Sound He faced 116 deliveries and struck 11 fours and two sixes after coming to the crease with his side in early trouble after fast bowler Shannon Gabriel removed opening batsman Jason Roy and new Test skipper Joe Root in successive oversSam Billings contributed 52 at the top of the order but his demise to Ashley Nurse was compounded when the offspinner also accounted for Jos Buttler via an excellent slip catch by Carter That dismissal brought in Ben Stokes and the aggressive allrounder did not disappoint belting 55 off 61 deliveries with three sixes and seizing the initiative from the West Indies with a 110run fifthwicket partnership ended by a catch at longon off legspinner Devendra BishooMorgan reached three figures in fine style hoisting Carlos Brathwaite for a huge six over midwicket in the 48th over before the bowler had the last laugh running out the lefthander in the final over of the inningsWoakes and Plunkett reduced the West Indies to 39 for three in reply before Mohammed featured in successive halfcentury partnerships with Shai Hope and Carter to keep the hosts in with a fighting chance heading into the final ten oversHowever Englands perseverance paid off and when Mohammed was run out for a top score of 72 in the 42nd over the die was cast for the West Indies despite a few bold hits by Carlos Brathwaite and Ashley NurseI thought we competed well throughout the match but just too many wickets to soft dismissals said West Indies captain Jason Holder This is no time to drop our heads because we are encouraged by this effort and need to come back even stronger on Sunday