Stuart Broad speaks to ecb.co.uk about England's narrow loss
Stuart Broad reflected on a bittersweet day after England fell to a tight 15-run defeat in the first of three one-day internationals against West Indies.
The tourists were dominant for much of the game in Antigua and appeared favourites virtually all the way through it.
Having reduced the Windies to 45 for four, England were hampered by Lendl Simmons, Dwayne Bravo and Darren Sammy, who struck 65, 87 not out and 61 respectively to secure a total of 269 for six.
Even then, it appeared Broad’s side would emerge victorious after Michael Lumb’s debut century left them on course for victory.
Yet Sunil Narine led the way thereafter as West Indies edged a nip-and-tuck encounter, much to Broad’s dismay.
“It’s disappointing,” he told ecb.co.uk. “The batsmen did a great job for the first 40 overs, as the bowlers did.
“The last 10 overs we let it slip with the ball – the bowlers have to hold their hands up to that – and the last 10 overs we just couldn’t get things moving with the bat.
“We know how important it is to have an 'in batsman' and we lost by 15 runs, which isn’t a lot over 100 overs.”
There were, of course, plenty of positives for Broad to reflect on – most notably a 96-run opening stand between Lumb and Moeen Ali, who were both making their format bows.
Moeen struck an eye-catching 44 and Lumb, at the age of 34, became just the second England batsman to reach three figures in his first ODI.
“We showed a lot of character,” he added. “For Lumby to make a hundred on debut is an awesome achievement.
“The greatest thing I saw from those two debutants is that they came into international cricket and played their own way.
“You get a lot of players who come in and think it is something different. But they played the way they play and that was great.”
For Broad, the game also represented a first with this being his maiden game skippering England in ODIs.
“I enjoyed the first 40 overs of both innings and the last 10 were pretty crappy to be honest,” he admitted.
“You learn quickly. The last 10 overs with the ball, if a batsman is in with five men in the ring, it’s hard to stop someone scoring.
“It was good fun. It was really gutting to lose but we have an opportunity to put that right (on) Sunday and we have the quality to do that.”