Dunkley stars as England beat Windies in first T20

First T20, Canterbury

West Indies 146-7 (20 overs): Matthews 100* (67); Bell 2-29

England 150-2 (16.3 overs): Dunkley 81* (56); Fletcher 1-27

England won by eight wickets; lead series 1-0

Scorecard

England's new era under captain Nat Sciver-Brunt and coach Charlotte Edwards started with a comfortable eight-wicket win in the first T20 against West Indies in Canterbury.

The tourists posted 146-7 after captain Hayley Matthews' superb unbeaten century, but England made light work of the chase by reaching the target in 16.3 overs thanks to Sophia Dunkley's brilliant 81 not out from 55 balls.

Sciver-Brunt fell for a duck in her first match as permanent skipper, but her predecessor Heather Knight finished 43 not out alongside opener Dunkley.

Matthews' sensational solo effort held West Indies together, with Mandy Mangru's 17 the second-highest score after they had slipped to a dismal 87-6.

She reached her 67-ball ton from the final ball of the innings, having expertly farmed the strike as the wickets tumbled around her, with England's Lauren Bell taking 2-29.

England's new-look bowling attack after their Ashes humiliation included a recall for fast bowler Issy Wong, who took 1-35, while fellow seamer Em Arlott performed admirably with 1-28 on her international debut.

The three-match T20 series continues at Hove on Friday, and is followed by three one-day internationals.

The fallout from England's 16-0 thrashing in the Ashes that started the year resulted in a new captain and coach, and constant references to starting with a clean slate.

England were presented with a below-par target, but delivered on their promises at the first time of asking.

Opener Danni Wyatt-Hodge, dropped from the ODI side, only managed 17 but Dunkley continued her fine form from the winter when she was one of England's rare bright sparks in a miserable campaign.

West Indies bowlers struggled for consistency on a chilly evening, offering far too much width as she dominated through the covers and down the ground with 12 fours in her knock.

Meanwhile Knight looked rejuvenated without the shackles of captaincy, seemingly happy to support Dunkley's attacking approach as she kept to a simple plan of rotating the strike and punishing the bad balls in their unbroken stand of 94.

West Indies offered little threat with the ball, with their spin-heavy attack struggling to extract any help from the surface.

Despite England's struggles against slow bowling in the past, both Knight and Dunkley were proactive, using their feet and playing with more conviction and confidence than seen at any point over the winter.

With injuries to three of West Indies' other experienced batters in Deandra Dottin, Chinelle Henry and Stafanie Taylor, the pressure on Matthews shoulders was even greater than usual.

Given their depleted resources, the tourists started cautiously and crawled to 37-2 from the powerplay after Bell's double-wicket maiden in the fourth over, with opener Qiana Joseph dismissed for two and Zaida James caught behind for a duck.

Wong and Arlott bowled with lively pace and bounce to unsettle the middle order, while the spin of Charlie Dean and Linsey Smith stifled them to ensure that England did not miss Sophie Ecclestone too much - and at 87-6 in the 14th over, the tourists' innings looked to be stuttering to a sorry end.

But Matthews was unfazed, familiar with the role of carrying her team's batting line-up. She was dropped by Charlie Dean on 73, albeit a very difficult one-handed chance at cover, but was otherwise sublime.

Any width was greeted by her trademark elegant drives and she struck the spinners firmly down the ground, the only partnership of note coming for the seventh wicket as she shared a stand of 47 with Mangru.

Starting the final over on 89, Matthews struck a four off Bell before having to turn down singles to keep herself on strike. A wide gifted an extra ball, and a scampered single saw her reach her third T20 century.

West Indies' recent failure to qualify for the autumn's 50-over World Cup has given their tour a rather different outlook, with younger players likely to be given more opportunities and chances to experiment - but any possibility of success already appears to rely solely on their captain's brilliance.

England captain Nat Sciver-Brunt, speaking to Sky Sports: "Happy days, I didn't have to do anything!

"Hayley [Matthews] is such a big player for them but stemming the runs by taking wickets at the other end was our method.

"Then that chase was calm and calculated. It was brilliant to watch."

West Indies captain and player of the match Hayley Matthews: "It was a good day for myself but unfortunate not to get the win. We were 15 or 20 runs short.

"It is always pretty good to get a hundred. Hopefully, I can carry this form throughout this series."

Former England bowler Alex Hartley: "Really happy for England. We've seen a new head coach, a new captain and England back to winning ways."