BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, (AFP) — West Indies skipper Rovman Powell won the toss and elected to field first against England in the two teams’ opening Twenty20 international in Antigua on Tuesday.

“It looks a pretty good surface,” Powell said. “We’ve got to bat and bowl either way. We’re going to bowl first, it’s a decision we’ll stick with.”

Tuesday’s clash is the first of a five-match series which follows West Indies’ 2-1 victory over the tourists in the three-match one-day international series.

The series is a key staging post for both sides as they build towards next year’s T20 World Cup, which will be staged in the United States and the West Indies.

“It’s very important, with a World Cup in less than six months,” Powell said.

“All the teams are trying to fine tune their squads, and this provides us with an opportunity to do so.”

West Indies: Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Nicholas Pooran, Shai Hope, Rovman Powell (capt), Shimron Hetmyer, Andre Russell, Romario Shepherd, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph

England: Jos Buttler (capt), Phil Salt, Will Jacks, Ben Duckett, Harry Brook, Liam Livingstone, Sam Curran, Chris Woakes, Rehan Ahmed, Adil Rashid, Tymal Mills