By Oliver Brett
A superb Paul Collingwood innings on his England captaincy debut proved all in vain as West Indies won the first Twenty20 international at The Oval.
The tourists left the sour memories of the Test series far behind as they smashed 208-8, aided by some naive bowling from a seam-dominated attack.
Devon Smith hit 61 off 34 balls, Marlon Samuels adding a lusty 51 off just 26.
Collingwood finished with 79 off 41 balls but was run out in the last over and England ended on 193-7.
After James Anderson had bowled the out-of-sorts Chris Gayle in the second over of the match, England would have felt confident.
606: DEBATE
But the rest of the match was a downward spiral - until Collingwood's late act of defiance.
England's problems were exacerbated by some naive bowling - and the refusal to select Monty Panesar on a wicket where Surrey's spinner Nayan Doshi has often been a match-winner.
Left-handers Smith and Shivnarine Chanderpaul put on 86 off 51 balls before Samuels and Denesh Ramdin added a thrilling 59 off 26.
Opener Smith smashed four fours and a six off his first five balls and the in-form Chanderpaul took four fours off one over from Anderson.
The area at fine-leg was a constant target for the two left-handers - the lack of variety in terms of length allowing the batsmen to pull and sweep for boundary after boundary.
Only when Michael Yardy's left-arm spin was introduced into the attack was any semblance of control exerted by England.
The second wicket did not come until the 11th over, when, in Dimitri Mascarenhas's second over, Alastair Cook dived forward at deep square leg to end Chanderpaul's innings.
Mascarenhas added the important wicket of Smith, but the tempo remained good from West Indies, and stepped up a gear further through Samuels and Ramdin.
Samuels hit some majestic shots, but in attempting his fifth six he hit a ball from Ryan Sidebottom hard and flat to Mascarenhas at long-on, who took a good catch.
It was some consolation for Sidebottom, who had earlier disappeared over deep square leg for one of the biggest sixes ever struck at The Oval.
Just 10 runs came off the final two overs - perhaps giving England some hope.
But the sight of the classically orthodox Cook coming out to open the batting with Matt Prior was immediately confusing.
Inevitably, Cook failed to score at even a run a ball - his agony finally ending when he spooned a catch to point.
Prior hit some bright shots but perished in the same over - the fifth - when an attempted hoick over mid-off was pulled straight to the man at long-on.
Medium pacer Dwayne Smith finished with a terrific 3-24 as England batsmen came and went.
The last hope, it seemed, was Kevin Pietersen, but he was run out for just 16 as he looked for a third run.
Eighty runs were needed off the last five overs, and thanks to two Collingwood sixes off Samuels England reduced that to 60 off the last four.
Two more Collingwood fours and a six over deep square leg off Darren Sammy kept England up with the rate and 45 were needed off the last three.
Yardy, having traded exclusively in singles up to this point, now took two fours off Daren Powell and the last ball of his over was smoked down the ground dead straight for four by Collingwood.
But the immaculate Ravi Rampaul conceded just seven runs from his final over leaving 23 - far too many - needed off the last one.
Rampaul ended up wicketless, but having bowling his overs at difficult stages his economy rate of 6.50 made him as much of a matchwinner as either of the Smiths or Samuels.
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