Lewis cuts loose as West Indies beat England by 8 wickets in the rain-affected 1st ODI

NORTH SOUND, Antigua (AP) — Evin Lewis hit four times as many sixes as the entire England team in a commanding innings of 94 which led the West Indies to an eight-wicket win Thursday in the rain-affected first one-day international.

First-time captain Liam Livingstone hit two sixes in a top score of 48 in his team's under-par total of 209. That was England's best performance as it was bowled out in 45.1 overs on a tricky pitch on which only Lewis flourished.

The left-handed Lewis hit eight sixes in his innings of only 69 balls but was out 13 runs before the West Indies reached their Duckworth-Lewis System revised total of 157 to lead the three-match ODI series.

No overs were lost when rain extended the interval between innings but the West Indies innings was reduced by 15 overs after a lengthy rain break after the 15th over.

They already were in command, thanks to Lewis. He had reached his half century from 46 balls before the rain came and the West Indies were 81-0, 48 runs ahead of the Duckworth Lewis calculation though they had to face 20 overs for the result to count.

Lewis returned to the West Indies ODI lineup for the first time in almost three years during their recent tour to Sri Lanka, scoring an unbeaten 102 in the third one-day international in Pallekele. That was his last innings before Thursday and he narrowly missed back-to-back centuries.

Lewis was the only batter to command tricky conditions at the Sir Viv Richards Stadium. During the England innings, deliveries from both the seamers and spinners tended to grip and hold up, making expansive stroke play difficult.

Brandon King made 30 in a 118-run opening partnership with Lewis and Keacy Carty was 19 not out when the West Indies won with 9.1 overs remaining.

Livingstone's 48 and Sam Curran's 37 in a 72-run partnership for the fifth wicket provided the backbone of England's innings. Both batters were undone by left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie, who took 4-41.

England may have struggled because it was coming off a test series against Pakistan while the West Indies have been playing white-ball cricket in Sri Lanka.

England named four players on debut — Jamie Overton, Jordan Cox, John Turner and Dan Mousley — though Overton and Cox previously had played Twenty20 internationals and Overton had played one test.

Livingstone hit the first six of the England innings in the 32nd over, signaling the difficulty that England had getting the ball to the boundary.

Phil Salt had made 18 and England was 38 in the ninth over when he swung hard at a ball from Jayden Seales which held up after bouncing and he mis-timed his shot to Alzarri Joseph, who took an outstanding running catch in the deep.

Will Jacks was on 19 when he tried to crack a full delivery from Seales into the leg side. Again the ball gripped and took the leading edge of Jacks' bat flying to Motie, who ran around behind the bowler to take the catch.

Cox was looking settled on 17 when he tried to hit hard down the ground and the ball, which stood up sharply, took a top edge and flew to third man.

Livingstone's disciplined innings of 48 from 49 balls ended when he pushed too far forward at a ball from Motie which held up and straightened and which he patted back to the bowler.

The teams are scheduled to play the second ODI Saturday and the third next Wednesday ahead of a five-match Twenty20 series.

AP cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket

England's captain Liam Livingstone plays a shot against West Indies during the first ODI cricket match at Sir Vivian Richards Ground in North Sound, Antigua and Barbuda, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

England's Sam Curran plays a shot during the first ODI cricket match against West Indies at Sir Vivian Richards Ground in North Sound, Antigua and Barbuda, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

West Indies' Matthew Forde celebrates dismissing England's Sam Curran during the first ODI cricket match at Sir Vivian Richards Ground in North Sound, Antigua and Barbuda, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

England's Jamie Overton, right, and Sam Curran look at the scoreboard during the first ODI cricket match against West Indies at Sir Vivian Richards Ground in North Sound, Antigua and Barbuda, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

West Indies' Shimron Hetmyer, left, celebrates with Matthew Forde talking the catch to dismiss England's Sam Curran during the first ODI cricket match at Sir Vivian Richards Ground in North Sound, Antigua and Barbuda, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

England's Jamie Overton is dismissed LBW by West Indies' Gudakesh Motie during the first ODI cricket match at Sir Vivian Richards Ground in North Sound, Antigua and Barbuda, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

England's Dan Mousley avoids a delivery from West Indies' Jayden Seales during the first ODI cricket match at Sir Vivian Richards Ground in North Sound, Antigua and Barbuda, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

England's Jacob Bethell reacts after his dismissal, caught by West Indies' Brandon King, during the first ODI cricket match at Sir Vivian Richards Ground in North Sound, Antigua and Barbuda, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

England's captain Liam Livingstone reacts after delivering as West Indies' Keacy Carty and Evin Lewis run during the first ODI cricket match at Sir Vivian Richards Ground in North Sound, Antigua and Barbuda, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

West Indies' Brandon King plays a shot from a delivery of England's captain Liam Livingstone during the first ODI cricket match at Sir Vivian Richards Ground in North Sound, Antigua and Barbuda, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

West Indies' Roston Chase fields next to England's Sam Curran during the first ODI cricket match at Sir Vivian Richards Ground in North Sound, Antigua and Barbuda, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

West Indies' Evin Lewis hits a six from a delivery of England's Adil Rashid during the first ODI cricket match at Sir Vivian Richards Ground in North Sound, Antigua and Barbuda, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

England's Sam Curran safely makes his ground as West Indies' bowler Roston Chase jumps during the first ODI cricket match at Sir Vivian Richards Ground in North Sound, Antigua and Barbuda, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

West Indies' Keacy Carty takes the catch to dismiss England's Jordan Cox during the first ODI cricket match at Sir Vivian Richards Ground in North Sound, Antigua and Barbuda, Thursday, Oct. 31, 2024. (AP Photo/Ricardo Mazalan)

WASHINGTON (AP) — White House press officials altered the official transcript of a call in which President Joe Biden appeared to take a swipe at supporters of Donald Trump, drawing objections from the federal workers who document such remarks for posterity, according to two U.S. government officials and an internal email obtained Thursday by The Associated Press.

Biden created an uproar earlier this week with his remarks to Latino activists responding to racist comments at a Trump rally made by the comedian Tony Hinchcliffe, who referred to the U.S. island territory of Puerto Rico as a “floating island of garbage.”

Biden, according to a transcript prepared by the official White House stenographers, told the Latino group on a Tuesday evening video call, “The only garbage I see floating out there is his supporters — his — his demonization of Latinos is unconscionable, and it’s un-American.”

The transcript released by the White House press office, however, rendered the quote with an apostrophe, reading “supporter's" rather than “supporters,” which aides said pointed to Biden criticizing Hinchcliffe, not the millions of Americans who are supporting Trump for president.

The change was made after the press office “conferred with the president,” according to an internal email from the head of the stenographers' office that was obtained by The AP. The authenticity of the email was confirmed by two government officials who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal matters.

The supervisor, in the email, called the press office's handling of the matter “a breach of protocol and spoliation of transcript integrity between the Stenography and Press Offices.”

“If there is a difference in interpretation, the Press Office may choose to withhold the transcript but cannot edit it independently,” the supervisor wrote, adding, “Our Stenography Office transcript — released to our distro, which includes the National Archives — is now different than the version edited and released to the public by Press Office staff."

The edit of the transcript came as the White House scrambled to respond to a wave of queries from reporters about Biden’s comments. The president's remarks clashed with Vice President Kamala Harris' near-simultaneous speech outside the White House in which she called for treating Americans of differing ideologies with respect.

The Trump campaign quickly moved to fundraise off the quote, and the next day, Trump himself held a photo op inside a garbage truck to try to capitalize on Biden's criticism.

Harris on Wednesday distanced herself from Biden’s comments — making the clearest break from the president since she took over for him at the top of the Democratic ticket just over three months ago. “Let me be clear,” she told reporters, “I strongly disagree with any criticism of people based on who they vote for.”

According to the email, the press office had asked the stenographers to quickly produce a transcript of the call amid the firestorm. Biden himself took to social media to say that he he was not calling all Trump supporters garbage and that he was referring specifically to the “hateful rhetoric about Puerto Rico spewed by Trump’s supporter at his Madison Square Garden rally.”

The stenographers office is charged with preparing accurate transcripts of public and private remarks of the president for preservation by the National Archives and distribution to the public.

The two-person stenography team on duty that evening — a “typer” and “proofer” — said any edit to the transcript would have to be approved by their supervisor, the head of stenographers’ office.

The supervisor was not immediately available to review the audio, but the press office went ahead and published the altered transcript on the White House website and distributed it to press and on social media in an effort to tamp down the story.

White House senior deputy press secretary Andrew Bates that evening also posted on X the edited version of the quote and wrote that Biden was referring ”to the hateful rhetoric at the Madison Square Garden rally as ‘garbage.’”

The supervisor, a career employee of the White House, raised the concerns about the press office action — but did not weigh in on the accuracy of the edit — in an email to White House communications director Ben LaBolt, press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre and other press and communications officials.

“Regardless of urgency, it is essential to our transcripts’ authenticity and legitimacy that we adhere to consistent protocol for requesting edits, approval, and release,” the supervisor wrote.

The supervisor declined to comment to The AP and referred questions about the matter to the White House press office.

Asked to comment, Bates did not address the alteration of the transcript and said: “The President confirmed in his tweet on Tuesday evening that he was addressing the hateful rhetoric from the comedian at Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally. That was reflected in the transcript.”

House Republicans, meanwhile, were debating launching an investigation into the matter. House Republican Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., and House Oversight and Accountability Chairman James Comer, R-Ky., on Wednesday accused White House staff of “releasing a false transcript” of Biden's remarks.

In a letter to White House counsel Ed Siskel on Wednesday, they called on the administration to retain documents and internal communications related to Biden's remarks and the release of the transcript.

“White House staff cannot rewrite the words of the President of the United States to be more politically on message," the lawmakers wrote to Siskel.

Stefanik and Comer said the action could be in violation of the Presidential Records Act of 1978.

—

Madhani reported from Las Vegas.

President Joe Biden speaks during an event about his Investing in America agenda, Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024, at the Dundalk Marine Terminal in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Daniel Kucin Jr.)