New Zealand beat West Indies by seven wickets
Chasing a low score of 178, Kiwis register an easy win over the World Cup hosts in their Super Eights match.
New Zealand register a convincing seven-wicket win over West Indies in the World Cup Super Eights match at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in St John's on Thursday. Chasing a low target of 178, the Kiwis finished the game in 39.2 overs.
New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming won the toss and elected to field in their first Super Eights match against Windies, who were playing for the third straight day after their opening match of the second round.
Jacob Oram was the Man of the Match for his economic bowling spell.
Daren Powell got the first breakthrough for Windies when he packed Peter Fulton in the second delivery of the maiden over. Hamish Marshall was his next victim in the ninth over. The World Cup hosts would have hoped to nail a few more Black Caps at an appropriate time to take hold of the game but luck did not favour them.
The game which had started growing torpid with each over found some reprieve when Brian Lara effected the run out of Kiwi skipper Fleming. The crowd, though not huge, it seemed preferred the siesta under dark clouds over watching a rather boring game. Play was stopped in the 32nd over due to heavy drizzle only to resume soon.
All rounder Scott Styris and Craig McMillan led the run chase to finish the game with 64 balls remaining. Styris remained unbeaten at 80 in his 102-stand with McMillan.
Earlier, Windies batsmen surrendered meekly to the Kiwi bowling attack as they were packed off in 44.4 overs.
After a draggy start, West Indies got an early setback losing opener Shivnarine Chanderpaul cheaply off Kiwi pacer Shane Bond in the eighth over. Oram struck twice to dismiss Ramnaresh Sarwan (19) and Marlon Samuels (9).
The bowler cast another blow to uproot key Windies batsman Chris Gayle for 44. West Indies' hopes lay with Lara and Bravo. Bond came back in the 34th over to dispatch Dwayne Bravo for 18. Styris followed suit to scalp the prized wicket of skipper Brain Lara, who looked to steady the innings, at 37 runs.
Off-spinner Daniel Vettori also claimed three wickets - Ramdin (15) Smith (8), Powell (0) - as the home side looked as if they were to suffer a second successive defeat having lost by 103 runs to Australia on Wednesday. Bond finished the innings in the fourth delivery of the 45th over when he sent off Collymore for a duck.
West Indies made one change in their playing eleven, with Lendl Simmons in for fast bowler Jerome Taylor whose 10 wicketless overs against Australia cost 67 runs.
The Black Caps were without batsman Lou Vincent who was forced out of the World Cup on Sunday after having his wrist broken batting in the nets against Bond.
Fulton moved up to open in his place alongside captain Fleming with Marshall drafted into the top order barely two days after arriving in Antigua.
Group C winners New Zealand carried forward two points into the second round after beating fellow qualifiers England.
Teams
West Indies: Chris Gayle, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Marlon Samuels, Brian Lara (capt), Dwayne Bravo, Dwayne Smith, Denesh Ramdin (wk), Lendl Simmons, Daren Powell, Corey Collymore, Ian Bradshaw.
New Zealand: Stephen Fleming (capt), Peter Fulton, Hamish Marshall, Scott Styris, Craig McMillan, Jacob Oram, Brendon McCullum (wk), Daniel Vettori, James Franklin, Shane Bond, Michael Mason.