Alex Hales showed England could cope at Twenty20 level without Kevin Pietersen as his superb 99 steered them to a seven-wicket win over the West Indies at Trent Bridge on Sunday.
World Twenty20 champions England, set a challenging 173 to win, finished on 3-173 with two balls to spare in their first match at this level since Pietersen retired from all limited-overs internationals.
Hales’s score was the highest by an England batsman in a Twenty20 international, surpassing Eoin Morgan’s 85 not out against South Africa in Johannesburg in 2009.
The 23-year-old Hales, taking the opener’s spot vacated by Pietersen, faced 68 balls with four sixes and six fours on his Nottinghamshire home ground as England gave themselves a boost ahead of their World Twenty20 title defence in Sri Lanka in September.
But, in sight of becoming only the seventh batsman to make a Twenty20 international hundred, he was bowled by paceman Fidel Edwards.
His partnership of 159 with Ravi Bopara (59) was also the third-highest for any wicket in all Twenty20 internationals.
This result meant West Indies had failed to win a single international match this tour after England won the three-match Test and one-day series by 2-0 margins.
England needed 17 off the last two overs but Bopara struck two successive fours off Rampaul, the first bringing up his 39-ball fifty.
Bopara too fell with England in sight of victory when he holed out off spinner Marlon Samuels, having been dropped on 44.
Earlier the West Indies, who had slumped to 3-57 at the halfway stage, recovered to 4-172 on the back of Dwayne Smith’s T20 international best 70 and all-rounder Dwayne Bravo’s 54 not out.
Together with Bravo, he put on 77 for the fourth wicket before adding an unbroken 65 with Pollard (23 not out).
England, who lost the toss, struck an early blow when they removed dangerman Chris Gayle for just two after he top-edged a pull off a Steven Finn bouncer to Jonathan Bairstow, running round from fine leg.
England’s next match is the first of a five-game one-day international series against Australia at Lord’s on Friday, while West Indies face New Zealand in two Twenty20 internationals in Florida on June 30 and July 1.