England beats West Indies by 21 runs in T20 series opener

CHESTER-LE-STREET, England (AP) — England continued its mastery of the West Indies by winning their Twenty20 series opener by 21 runs on Friday.

After dominating the West Indies in three one-day internationals, England was expected to receive a tougher fight from the visitor, higher-rated in T20s than ODIs, and bolstered by World Cup champions Andre Russell, Jason Holder and Johnson Charles.

But the West Indies didn't have world No. 2-ranked T20 bowler Akeal Hosein, who, along with batter Jyd Goolie, was unable to travel to England because of recent changes to U.K. visa entry requirements for Trinidad and Tobago citizens.

Hosein was badly missed on a pitch that suited spin.

The match-winner was left-arm spinner Liam Dawson, recalled by England after nearly three years out at the age of 35. He'd taken six wickets in 11 T20s from 2016-22, but produced a career-best 4-20 in four overs. Dawson took out Charles, Sherfane Rutherford, Roston Chase and Rovman Powell, four of the top six batters.

He and fellow spinner Adil Rashid, 1-22, helped to choke a deep West Indies lineout to 167-9 in a chase of 189.

Under England's brand new T20 captain Harry Brook, the old captain Jos Buttler set up a defendable total with 96 runs off 59 balls.

Buttler worked the field so well he looked set to achieve his second T20 hundred in his 135th match. But he moved across while facing Alzarri Joseph and was beaten for pace and out lbw in the 19th over. He hit six boundaries and four sixes.

“I'm very pleased to get this series up and running with a win,” Brook said.

“It's unbelievable to have Dawson and Rashid working from both ends, operating the way they've done for so many years, and that wealth of experience. Jos Buttler is unbelievable. To have him in this T20 team batting in the top three, it's an honor.”

England ended up at 188-6, pegged back by the West Indies after the host bolted out of the gates to 78-1 in the powerplay.

West Indies spinner Gudakesh Motie did much to haul in England, his four overs conceding only 21 runs, 15 of them to Buttler.

But Motie had only Chase as spin support, and Buttler devoured the pacers.

“A lot of teams like to throw spin at West Indies,” West Indies captain Shai Hope said. “We need to get better as a batting unit. We've got so much depth. We're so powerful, so destructive. We've got to put this behind us and we've got two games to win the series.”

The second of three T20s is on Sunday in Bristol.

AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

West Indies' Andre Russell is bowled out by England's Jacob Bethell during the first men's international Twenty20 match between England and West Indies at Banks Homes Riverside, Chester-le-Street, England, Friday June 6, 2025. (Owen Humphreys/PA via AP)

West Indies' Evin Lewis bats during the first men's international Twenty20 match between England and West Indies at Banks Homes Riverside, Chester-le-Street, England, Friday June 6, 2025. (Owen Humphreys/PA via AP)

England's Will Jacks is run out during the first men's international Twenty20 match between England and West Indies at Banks Homes Riverside, Chester-le-Street, England, Friday June 6, 2025. (Owen Humphreys/PA via AP)

England's Liam Dawson, 3rd right, celebrates the wicket of West Indies' Johnson Charles, caught by Jos Buttler during the first men's international Twenty20 match between England and West Indies at Banks Homes Riverside, Chester-le-Street, England, Friday June 6, 2025. (Owen Humphreys/PA via AP)

England's Jos Buttler bats during the first men's international Twenty20 match between England and West Indies at Banks Homes Riverside, Chester-le-Street, England, Friday June 6, 2025. (Owen Humphreys/PA via AP)

A Ukrainian drone strike killed one person and wounded three others in the Russian city of Voronezh, local officials said Sunday.

A young woman died overnight in a hospital intensive care unit after debris from a drone fell on a house during the attack on Saturday, regional Gov. Alexander Gusev said on Telegram.

Three other people were wounded and more than 10 apartment buildings, private houses and a high school were damaged, he said, adding that air defenses shot down 17 drones over Voronezh. The city is home to just over 1 million people and lies some 250 kilometers (155 miles) from the Ukrainian border.

The attack came the day after Russia bombarded Ukraine with hundreds of drones and dozens of missiles overnight into Friday, killing at least four people in the capital Kyiv, according to Ukrainian officials.

For only the second time in the nearly four-year war, Russia used a powerful new hypersonic missile that struck western Ukraine in a clear warning to Kyiv and NATO.

The intense barrage and the launch of the nuclear-capable Oreshnik missile followed reports of major progress in talks between Ukraine and its allies on how to defend the country from further aggression by Moscow if a U.S.-led peace deal is struck.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Saturday in his nightly address that Ukrainian negotiators “continue to communicate with the American side.”

Chief negotiator Rustem Umerov was in contact with U.S. partners Saturday, he said.

Separately, Ukraine’s General Staff said Russia targeted Ukraine with 154 drones overnight into Sunday and 125 were shot down.

Follow the AP’s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https://apnews.com/hub/russia-ukraine

This photo provided by the Ukrainian Security Service on Friday, Jan. 9, 2026, shows a fragment believed to be a part of a Russian Oreshnik intermediate range hypersonic ballistic missile that hit the Lviv region. (Ukrainian Security Service via AP)

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy, second left, listens to British Defense Secretary John Healey during their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine, Friday, Jan. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Danylo Antoniuk)