Georgetown (Guyana: England beat West Indies by one run in the first One-Day International here in a game which ended in farce when the home side suffered an embarrassing Duckworth-Lewis mix-up.

The West Indies were 244-7 in the 47th over when their Australian coach John Dyson called in his batsmen Daren Sammy and Nikita Miller, who had been offered the light, believing his side were ahead on the run-rate required under the D/L method.

However, the home side were a run short of the target after Dyson had apparently forgotten to factor in the seventh wicket fall of Denesh Ramdin which had complicated the calculations.

After lengthy discussions, and with both teams having celebrated victory, England, without a win all winter, were declared the winners of the first of a five-match series.

West Indies had been ahead before what proved to be the final ball of the match, but Ramdin was then given lbw to Stuart Broad to put England ahead once again.

Dyson, believed to be a contender for the vacant post of England coach, called his players in while needing just four runs off the remaining four balls to secure victory.

England had made 270-7 off their 50 overs with Paul Collingwood and Owais Shah both making half-centuries.