West Indies v England - First T20I LIVE as Jos Buttler's side look for ...

There’s some signs in the respective dugouts that the players are preparing for play to resume.

And here comes official word: Play will restart at 21:35 local time - that's 01:35 GMT.

That passing rain shower was heavy but short and the ground staff are working out in the middle as we speak.

West Indies are six runs ahead on Duckworth Lewis Stern so would take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series if no more play is possible, but fingers crossed they get back out there. The rope is going around the outfield right now to soak up the excess rain water which is a decent sign.

Runs Required: 64 Deliveries Remaining: 44

Rehan continues and gets the edge of Powell, but there’s no slip in place and the ball runs away to the boundary for some welcome runs for West Indies.

We’re set up for a barnstorming finish… but disappointingly there’s a hint of rain in the air, which gets heavier very quickly and the players dash for cover.

West Indies are slightly ahead on DLS as it stands. Hopefully this will be a short shower. Fingers crossed.

Runs Required: 70 Deliveries Remaining: 48

We’ve got a game on! Adil Rashid becomes the first English man to take 100 international wickets in this format as Hetmyer picks out Duckett on the rope to depart for 1 (4).

England’s spinners have brought them right back into this game, and West Indies’ powerful middle and lower order have some work to do. Rovman Powell is the new batter in.

Just one run comes from an outstanding over.

Runs Required: 71 Deliveries Remaining: 54

What a comeback from Rehan Ahmed. He tucks up Pooran and takes an excellent return catch. Pooran departs for 13 (12) and England’s young leg-spinner is firmly in the game.

England’s innings unraveled in the middle overs – will it be the same for West Indies?

Just two runs come from the over.

Pooran is a class act when he gets going and reads Rashid perfectly to launch a booming drive down the ground for six.

He finishes the over with a well-run two as West Indies remain well-placed to win this game at the midway stage of the second innings.

Mills is trying all sorts. He’s not always getting it right, giving away a wide off the very first delivery of his over.

But it is an impressive set from the left-armer, slightly hurt by a huge swiped top-edge that runs away to the boundary over the keeper’s head at the end of the over.

Adil Rashid comes into the attack on the night of his 100th T20I appearance and takes a wicket with his very first ball.

The experienced spinner gets one to skip on and Mayers miscues into the Barbados sky, with Brook taking the catch in the deep. Mayers departs for 35 (21) and there’s a glimmer of hope for England.

Rashid concedes just one run from the over, showing all his experience to contend with a wet ball.

Rehan Ahmed comes into the attack and his first over is not the best, with the youngster visibly troubling with dew on the ball. He drags one down first up, getting the treatment from Mayers.

Mayers picks another wrong’un to smash a second six of the over to the long-on boundary. And Shai Hope continues the damage, ending the over with a huge maximum over long-off.

19 runs come off the over.

Curran comes back into the attack after an expensive first over and goes through his variations superbly.

That’s why he’s a handy operator in this shorter format of the game, yielding just the three runs from his change-ups.

It’s the end of the powerplay and West Indies will be happy enough with that.

Woakes can’t get out of his second over safely as Hope picks up a slower ball to hammer a six over long on. Nine come off it as West Indies remain well ahead of the required rate.

Buttler shuffles his pack again, making the most of his seven bowling options in the XI. It’s Mills who comes into the attack, showing decent pace right from the off.

Mills goes through his tricks, mixing up speeds throughout the over and getting it slightly wrong on two occasions to gift the West Indies wides.

But a decent over is dismantled late on as Mayers picks up a short ball early and launches an absolute monster of a six over deep midwicket that soars over the ground and onto the roof.

That’s two balls lost to the roof already and we’re only four overs in.

Mills very nearly gets revenge next up as Duckett can’t quite hold onto a tough chance in the covers off the last ball of the over.

Woakes replaces Curran and makes the breakthrough, thanks to a sensational grab from Duckett in the covers. King stepped back and crashed a cut out of the middle, but Duckett leapt to his left and clung on to a stunner. King heads back to the dugout for 22 (12).

Shai Hope is the new batter and starts well with a lovely drive for four.

Buttler tries something a bit different, throwing the ball to Will Jacks for the second over of the powerplay. And Mayers says thank you very much, battering a short ball onto the roof of the stand at deep midwicket. That is absolutely enormous.

A blistering boundary down the ground from King brings up a second boundary of an over that yields 14 runs in all, and West Indies are well ahead of the game as things stand.

Oof, that’s a big first over for West Indies.

Brandon King lays into Curran’s opening over, taking advantage of a second ball that tailed into his pads to flick it away for six.

A chipped drive for four keeps the momentum going, and King finishes the over with a dismissive six over midwicket.

Carlos Brathwaite told Kate Mason and Steven Finn that the West Indies made the most of home conditions:

“Slower balls was a massive factor. They went either cross-seam or cutters, into the wicket as Russell mentioned. I thought they really used the big-side, small-side.

“Also the execution of deliveries in-game; in-game management is something we want to see from the West Indies and I think it was fully on show there.”

Steven Finn has been discussing in the TNT Studio just how right West Indies got their bowling strategies to limit England:

“Quite clearly, as Andre Russell alluded to in his interview just now, they communicated what was working. As the senior bowler in this lineup for West Indies, he communicated that slower balls and bowling into the surface was far more effective.

"That shows that outside of those first six overs where it looked like absolute carnage, they did end up changing their pace and they reaped the rewards."

England have really missed a trick here. They smashed 77 without loss in the powerplay, but failed to capitalize on that start from Buttler and Salt, losing ten for 94 in 13.3 overs.

Kudos to West Indies for adapting well through the middle overs and recognising that taking pace off was the key for their fast bowlers on a sticky surface.

Can England do the same to restrict a fearsome West Indies batting line-up? We’ll find out shortly.

The West Indies have taken too long to get through their overs so have to bring an extra man into the circle… but that won’t matter if they keep on picking up wickets, and Rashid falls to the second ball for 0 (2), missing a straight one from Joseph.

Tymal Mills is the last man in and he under-edges through to the keeper. It’s a fine edge and isn’t spotted by the umpire, but West Indies review and the spike is clear. Mills goes for 0 (1) and England are all out for 171.

Russell has looked good on his return to the team and gets Livingstone with the first ball of the penultimate over. The right-hander had his sights set on a big heave out to cow corner, but drags it onto his stumps. Livingstone leaves the middle for 27 (19) after an odd innings that featured some huge hits and just as many horrible miscued heaves.

Rehan Ahmed is the next man in and looks for a big hit down the ground, but doesn’t make the contact he was looking for off a slower ball and holes out. Rehan goes for 1 (3).

Russell finishes with brilliant figures of 3-19 from his four overs, the best of his whole T20I career, and the West Indies have really brought this game back under their control in the second half of the innings.

Outstanding fielding from Joseph! Curran skies Shepherd into the deep and Joseph has to move a long way before taking a high catch above his head.

The bowler applauds, that was class. Curran goes for 13 (14) and Chris Woakes heads out to the middle.

The final ball of the over is chipped into the covers by Woakes and Holder puts down a catch diving forward. He should have caught that.

Shepherd finishes with outstanding figures of 2-22 from his four overs.

One of those big swings connects from Livingstone and he hooks straight into the crowd for a maximum.

And he follows it up with his best shot of the night by far, planting his feet and sending a booming drive deep into the crowd over long-off.

Is England’s big-hitting all-rounder playing himself into form here?

Joseph does Livingstone with a slower ball and the batter’s head is swung around well before the ball crashes into his shoulder. That’s a painful one, and the England all-rounder’s patchy form with the bat looks to be continuing.

Livingstone is such a useful player when he’s on song – a powerful finisher and a spinner with that remarkable ability to switch styles depending on who is facing – and so England will be keen to stick by him. But right now he’s in danger of dropping out of the first-choice XI, especially with Rehan Ahmed and Will Jacks adding to the spin armoury.

Livingstone finally connects with one off the last ball of Joseph’s delivery, lashing a drive back down the ground for four. It races away and maybe that’ll give him some confidence.

England are consolidating a bit here, partly purposefully and partly due to a lack of execution.

Four runs come from Russell’s over as Livingstone twice almost swings himself off his feet. The first is toed towards long-off with a horrible-sounding clunk and is lucky to land safe, and the second sees Livingstone fail to make contact at all, almost dislocating his shoulder with the extent of the swing.

The intent is there for sure. The execution not so much.

England are setting the sights a bit lower now, although 200 still isn’t off the table if they keep wickets in hand.

Class from Shepherd as he sees Duckett move early and adjusts his line and speed, luring the England man into a mistimed ramp shot off a slower ball, sending it straight in the hands of Hosein. Duckett departs for 14 (12) and England are in danger of missing out on the big total that they promised early on.

Curran comes to the crease and nails a four off the last ball of the over through the on side to ensure England get out of an excellent over with something positive.

Hosein rattles through his final over to go for six singles and finish with figures of 1/32.

The pace of the game is high, helped out by the stop-clock, which is definitely getting both teams through the gaps between overs quicker.

The West Indies keep chipping away. Holder returns to the attack and gets one to move back in to Brook, getting the edge through the keeper. Brook goes for 1 (2) and Livingstone is in for England at number six.

This is the test for England now. Their team selection today has plenty of all-rounder options, with Curran, Woakes and Rehan still to come, but they gambled slightly with that balance and need the lower order to back up the decision now.

Hosein gets the big one. The spinner gets rewards for a tight over, with Buttler mistiming a pull into the night sky, with Hetmyer taking a good catch.

Buttler goes for 39 (31). Brook is in at five.

This is really excellent bowling from Romario Shepherd, stemming the tide once again with a tidy over.

A thick edge off Duckett races away for four to keep England rolling towards a mammoth total, but Shepherd is doing his best to keep things under control. His two overs have gone for just 14 so far.

However, England are really well placed at this midway point of the innings. A total in excess of 200 is the minimum aim from this position really.

Jacks goes big. It’s not the cleanest hitting, but he starts the over in spectacular fashion.

His first shot goes searing up into the night sky but has just enough on it to come down from orbit and over the rope for six. And his second is top-edged for another maximum behind him, off a no-ball too.

Joseph does really nicely with the free-hit, restricting Jacks well. And Jacks falls for 17 (9) going for another huge hit down the ground. Again it goes miles up and Brandon King takes a steepling catch over his shoulder.

It’s Duckett in at four, playing that tricky middle-order role that Ben Stokes occupied during the last World Cup. This is a big series for Duckett too. He’s the only left-hander in England’s top six today and his ability to rotate the strike against spin on these sort of surfaces could be crucial.

Much better from West Indies as Shepherd’s first over yields just five singles. The run rate is still huge but there’s a semblance of pressure on England now after that brutal powerplay.

Outstanding fielding! Hetmyer takes a superb catch on the rope off Russell, knocking it up as he topples out of play, and jumping back over the rope before securing the catch.

That means the end of Salt for 40 (20) – a brutal opening knock.

Jacks is slightly out of control with his first shot as a Russell bumper rises under his chin, but he gets away with it.

This is a big series for Jacks, who has a platform to lay down a big marker for a top three spot ahead of the World Cup.

It’s a much better over, just three runs coming from it.

England could barely have asked for a better start from this opening pair. It’s brutal stuff and gives them a platform for their powerful batting line-up to build off.

This time it’s Alzarri Joseph who gets the treatment, smacked for a four down the ground and a six over deep third off the first two legitimate deliveries of the over.

A free hit compounds Joseph’s issues, with Buttler whipping it to the rope for four. And a leg-side wide is missed by Pooran, slipping through the keeper’s legs to run away for five wides.

That’s 26 runs off the over, the most expensive of Joseph’s career, and England are flying at the end of the Powerplay.

West Indies turn to Andre Russell to try and get a breakthrough, and his first delivery is brutally batted back over his head with a back-foot slash from Buttler. That’s a terrific shot.

Russell thinks he’s got his man midway through the over and reviews, but there’s no spike on the DRS.

Buttler rubs salt in the wounds by ramping the pacer for six – England’s first maximum of the innings.

Salt’s aggression is the reason he’s getting this start at the top of the order, and he starts Holder’s second over with back-to-back fours.

The first is brutally pulled away to the rope, and the second mowed over cover.

That’s a gem from Buttler. Hosein’s second over is much tighter until the fifth delivery, when the England captain picks up the length and drills a drive through the vacant long-off area for a classy four.

Buttler’s strategy of late has been to give himself a bit of time at the top of the order, with the other opener having the onus to go big early. That’s precisely the way this pair are going about things right now, just as they do for Lancashire and the Manchester Originals.

Jason Holder is a classy operator in T20s and looks to keep England in check, mixing things up through the first half of the over.

But a length ball is right in Buttler’s slot to tee the England captain up for a hit over the top down the ground for four, taking the sheen off the over.

Phil Salt gets the not to come out alongside Jos Buttler at the top of the order, and he gets off to a flier against spin first up, hitting 13 off the first over including three boundaries – one a lovely sweep before finishing it off with a cut to the rope and a nudge for a single to keep the strike.

It hasn’t been a great couple of years for the West Indies’ men’s team in white-ball tournaments, but one look at that starting XI is a stark reminder that this is a squad with some serious potential.

There’s every chance that this West Indies group could challenge for the major honours at the World Cup next year if they can get this line-up firing.

Hetmyer, Russell, Shepherd, Holder at 6-9 is ridiculously strong, and England will need a big score if they are to defend a total against that sort of firepower.

Andre Russell is back. He’s not played for the national team for more than two years, including missing out on the last T20 World Cup.

But it’s a huge deal for the squad to have a player of his experience and quality back in the set-up. He’s a bowling option and remains one of the best finishers in the game – the sort of x-factor player that wins tournaments.

It’s an 100th T20I appearance for Adil Rashid this evening, making him just the third England man to reach that milestone.

He hasn’t played as part of a two-pronged leg-spin attack many times across those previous 99 games.

England have made an exciting call by opting to include Rehan Ahmed in the XI as well as Adil Rashid. It’s a deserved selection for the young leg-spinner, and gives England two front-line leggies.

Phil Salt, Will Jacks and Ben Duckett are given a chance to stake their case for a World Cup selection in the top four, with Jonny Bairstow and possibly Ben Stokes likely to come back into contention for the tournament.

Moeen Ali is the main frontline absentee from the XI, with Liam Livingstone and Sam Curran arguably in greater need of the game-time after mixed returns of late.

West Indies: 1 Brandon King, 2 Kyle Mayers, 3 Nicholas Pooran, 4 Shai Hope, 5 Rovman Powell (capt), 6 Shimron Hetmyer, 7 Andre Russell, 8 Romario Shepherd, 9 Jason Holder, 10 Akeal Hosein, 11 Alzarri Joseph

England: 1 Jos Buttler (capt & wk), 2 Phil Salt, 3 Will Jacks, 4 Ben Duckett, 5 Harry Brook, 6 Liam Livingstone, 7 Sam Curran, 8 Chris Woakes 9 Rehan Ahmed, 10 Adil Rashid, 11 Tymal Mills

The home side call it right at the toss and opt to bowl first and chase.

Rovman Powell reveals that he’s looking to test out his bowlers on a decent batting surface against a strong England XI.

This match will see the introduction of a new feature being trialled by the ICC in the run-up to the World Cup – a stop clock.

The idea is that teams will now have a regulated amount of time to be in position to start a new over. The intention is to speed up a format that has is meant to be fast-paced but has become increasingly sluggish in big games as teams use breaks in play to make big tactical decisions.

Whether we’ll notice it or not will be intriguing, but it’s definitely a good idea to try and keep the pace of play up.

The toss is still a few minutes away so here’s a reminder of what happened last time these two teams met, with the West Indies finding inspiration from a debutant in Matthew Forde to complete a famous ODI series win.

That result means that West Indies have now won home series against England in all three formats in the past two years.

England’s ODI struggles continued with a 2-1 series defeat in the opening matches of this tour of the Caribbean. And while those matches were important as the start of a new cycle for both teams, it was always the T20 leg of this trip that was the more important of the two.

There’s a T20 World Cup looming on the horizon, coming up next summer, with the West Indies jointly hosting along with the USA.

So this series is the hosts versus the defending champions – a crucial point in both teams’ preparations for the big tournament in 2024.

Thanks for joining TNT Sports' coverage of the opening Twenty20 clash between West Indies and England at the Kensington Oval in Barbados.

TNT Sports presents the premium live sports rights previously carried by BT Sport including the Premier League, UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League, UEFA Conference League, Gallagher Premiership Rugby, Investec Champions Cup, EPCR Challenge Cup, MotoGP, Cricket, UFC, Boxing and WWE. The streaming home for TNT Sports in the UK is discovery+, where fans can enjoy a subscription that includes TNT Sports, Eurosport and entertainment in one destination. You can also watch TNT Sports through BT, EE, Sky, and Virgin Media