Shivnarine Chanderpaul of the West Indies hits out during the Twenty20 international match between New Zealand and the West Indies at Eden Park yesterday. The West Indian skipper top scored with 26. Looking on is NZ keeper Brendon McCullum. - REUTERS
AUCKLAND, New Zealand (AP):
SHANE BOND hit the last ball of a tense match for four as New Zealand and the West Indies tied their Twenty20 cricket international at Eden Park yesterday.
New Zealand needed 16 runs from the final over to surpass the West Indies' score of 126 for seven, but Bond's last boundary, from the bowling of Ian Bradshaw, was only enough to carry New Zealand to 126 for eight.
The first tie in the history of Twenty20 internationals was unofficially decided by a "bowl-off" between the teams in which bowlers nominated by each side attempted to hit a single stump in the manner of soccer's penalty shoot-outs.
Bond hit the stump twice with two balls and Scott Styris one, the West Indies bowlers not at all to give New Zealand a technical win which celebrated Chris Cairns' final match in New Zealand's colours.
Cairns, 35, who retired from Tests last year and one-day internationals last month ended his celebrated international career with the match. He made only two runs during a faltering New Zealand innings, but contributed a catch and run out as New Zealand restrained the West Indies, who batted on winning the toss.
The match was the West Indies first in the Twenty20 format and their unfamiliarity with the rapid-fire style showed as they struggled to a moderate total, swelled only by a single six and 13 fours.
MATCH ALTERED
At 73 for two in the 10th over with a legion of heavy hitters, including Cairns, still to bat, New Zealand seemed to be coasting to victory, but accurate, intelligent bowling by Jerome Taylor, Dwayne Bravo, Chris Gayle and Dwayne Smith altered the course of the match.
New Zealand lost their next six wickets for 33 runs, and Bond was left at the crease with all-rounder James Franklin to face the last over, to attempt to eke out the 16 runs still needed for victory.
Franklin hit a six from the second ball to swell Kiwi hopes but Bradshaw did not allow another boundary until the final ball, when New Zealand were still in need of five runs to win.
Taylor finished with two for 29, Smith two for nine, Gayle two for 22 and Bravo two for 16 but Bravo also posed the West Indies' first injury crisis of the tour when he left the field after bowling 2.4 overs with an apparent leg injury.
Earlier, captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul and opener Daren Ganga had shared the West Indies top score of 26 while Bravo made 19 not out.
