Mark Wood
England bowler on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

Great shot. He's targeting that side. That's the shorter boundary and with the wind.

I didn't think it was a bad ball but England are targeting that side.

Consecutive boundaries for Jamie Smith who elegantly picks it up back of a length from Jason Holder and effortlessly flicks square for four.

Jason Holder sends down a wide.

Something's bothering him in his run up and he's scratching like a rabbit at a spot near his take-off point before walking to the top of his mark having dropped a bit of sawdust on it.

Mark Wood
England bowler on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

I find it a bit strange having Tom Banton at five but that's how England want to play.

It's a totally different role than he's used to.

Jamie Smith skips down the pitch and drives Jason Holder straight down the ground for four. He timed that beautifully and showed some impressive intent.

Kieran Parmley
Cricviz analyst

After losing 29 wickets to spin during their last T20I series in India, England will be quietly delighted to see the No.2 ranked T20I bowler Akeal Hosein miss out today. The addition of two batters with exceptional domestic T20 returns against spin in Jamie Smith (28 avg, 170 SR) and Tom Banton (44 avg, 173 SR) should also improve their returns against spin as a batting unit.

Hosein and batter Jyd Goolie have been unable to travel to the UK for the matches against England and Ireland because of visa issues.

Right, Jamie Smith has just taken his guard at the striker's end. Jason Holder has the white ball in hand and is at the top of his mark for the West Indies.

Let's do this.

Ebony Rainford-Brent
Former England batter on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

Harry Brook wants an aggressive side. You want players who can keep their foot on the gas. We saw that in the ODIs. You look down [the order] and when you look at Adil Rashid at number 10, that is genuinely impressive depth.

I'm interested to see how Tom Banton goes. He hasn't been in the runs of late but we've seen in the past he has the capability to be alongside the top players.

Image source, Getty Images

Is the Brook-McCullum axis a recipe for success in T20? What do England need to do to ensure they will be competitive at the T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka next year?

What have you made of Liam Dawson's return from the international wilderness? What do we reckon of Jamie Smith opening instead of Tom Banton and Will Jacks?

We'd love to know your thoughts on the above, and whatever else takes your fancy.

You can get in touch with us on X using the hashtag #bbccricket or via WhatsApp on 03301231826 or text 81111 (standard network charges apply)

Mark Wood
England bowler on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

Traditionally, Durham is a seaming wicket. You never associate this part of the world with only two seamers, so that's a bit of a surprise. But it's two local lads, which is great to see.

Maybe the dimensions of the ground bring spin into play. Shai Hope said it looks a bit dry, too.

Matthew Henry
BBC Sport journalist at Chester-le-Street

It’s grim up north…

Image source, BBC Weatehr

There has been a bit of rain about in the glorious North East of England the past few days, but the forecast is for a clear but crisp evening.

Our man Matthew Henry is in place at the ground. Whatever the conditions at Chester-le-Street he'll be used to the conditions having been born and raised in that neck of the woods.

Image source, Getty Images

At the age of 35, and having not played for England since November 2022, you could be forgiven for thinking that Liam Dawson's international career was over.

Yet the left-arm spinner, who said last year he did not want to be "running the drinks" for England - having gone on tours and not player - as he looked to make some bucks on the franchise circuit, is back in the fold.

One thing he brings to the table is bags of T20 experience. In addition to the Blast and The Hundred he's played in the SA20, ILT20, BBL, PSL, BPL, CLT20.

The next T20 World Cup is in India and Sri Lanka so perhaps his subcontinental experience, and point of difference as a left-arm spinner, is why he's been brought back in from the wildnerness.

So, Jamie Smith handed a chance to open the batting with Ben Duckett in the absence of Phil Salt rather than Tom Banton and Will Jacks, who are in the middle order.

England: Jamie Smith, Ben Duckett, Jos Buttler (wicketkeeper), Harry Brook (captain), Tom Banton, Jacob Bethell, Will Jacks, Liam Dawson, Brydon Carse, Adil Rashid, Matthew Potts..

West Indies: Johnson Charles, Evin Lewis, Shai Hope (captain and wicketkeeper), Sherfane Rutherford, Rovman Powell, Roston Chase, Andre Russell, Romario Shepherd, Jason Holder, Gudakesh Motie, Alzarri Joseph

West Indies skipper Shai Hope to Sky Sports: "We have a lot of experience and depth in our batting. It's great to see those boys here and ready to go and hopefully we can turn things around in the T20 series.

"The message to the players is to keep doing what we've done well in the past few years as a batting group. We are positive thinkers and doers and want to continue that. Hopefully it can translate into the bowling and we can have the complete game."

England captain Harry Brook to Sky Sports: "We'll have a bat. It looks like a good pitch and hopefully we can get a score on the board."

On Matthew Potts' debut: "He's got exceptional death skills. He gives 100%. I'm looking forward to him playing tonight."

On Jos Buttler's role: "He'll be batting at three tonight. Hopefully, he can do what he usually does: score big runs and win us matches."

No messing about, straight to the toss.

England captain Harry Brook has just given the coin a flick and West Indies counterpart Shai Hope called heads.

It's come down a tail so England have won the toss and Brook has decided to make first use of the pitch at Chester-le-Street and his side will bat first.

Harry Brook's tenure as England limited-overs skipper has got off to a flying start after a thumping 3-0 series win over West Indies in their one-dayers.

Can his side carry that momentum into the shorter white-ball format?

The tourists are ranked ninth in the world for ODIs but fifth for T20s so this should be a sterner test of Brook's captaincy credentials you would have thought.

Welcome to live coverage of the first T20 international from Chester-le-Street in County Durham.