West Indies vs England prediction: Who will win the 1st T20I?

West Indies and England are set to cross swords in the first game of the five-match T20I series on Sunday. The match will take place at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados.

The Three Lions, led by Eoin Morgan, will be seen in the shortest format after last featuring in the defeat to New Zealand in the semifinals of the T20 World Cup 2021 in November.

The visitors have picked an uncapped trio of David Payne, Phil Salt and Saqib Mahmood for the series. Mahmood, Payne and Salt have already donned England colors, having featured in the ODI series against Pakistan last July.

Tom Banton and George Garton, who weren't part of the T20 World Cup squad, also feature in the squad. Jonny Bairstow, Dawid Malan and Jos Buttler, who took part in the recent Ashes, have been left out.

Six players in the team - James Vince, Reece Topley, Garton, Sam Billings, Mahmood and Tymal Mills - are set to miss the knockout stages of the ongoing BBL, while a few others, like Liam Livingstone and Chris Jordan, will miss the opening round of the PSL.

Former England all-rounder Paul Collingwood will stand-in as head coach with Marcus Trescothick as his deputy.

Kieron Pollard is back as skipper after missing the away series against Pakistan due to a hamstring injury. Nicholas Pooran led the Windies in the three-match T20I series in Karachi.

Fabian Allen, Evin Lewis and Anderson Phillip have tested COVID-19 positive and will miss the series. Jayden Seales, Alzarri Joseph and Devon Thomas have been picked as reserves.

West Indies have had a poor run in the shortest format in recent times, losing four out of five games in the T20 World Cup and tasting a whitewash in the series against Babar Azam's Pakistan.

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Can West Indies beat England?

England T20I squad in the Caribbean

West Indies have struggled in the past against power-packed England teams. Even in the T20 World Cup, they lost to England.

The hosts have lost seven out of their last eight T20Is. England have an edge going into the opening T20I.

Prediction: England to win the match.