Fidel Edwards claimed 2-41 in a losing effort for the West Indies against New Zealand in the second ODI in Queenstown yesterday. - DIGICEL PHOTO
QUEENSTOWN, New Zealand, (CMC):
CRIPPLED BY a debilitating habit of losing, the West Indies squandered a seemingly impregnable position as New Zealand rallied for a three-wicket victory with fully eight overs to spare in the second one-day international (ODI) of the five-match series yesterday.
In his 100th ODI, Wavell Hinds top-scored with 76 in the tourists' total of 200 for nine in front of a small but appreciative crowd of approximately 3,000 at the Queenstown Events Centre. That modest target seemed way beyond the reach of the Black Caps when the opening pair of Fidel Edwards and Ian Bradshaw reduced the home side to 13 for four in reply.
Jerome Taylor then claimed only his third wicket in one-dayers and at 49 for five, the Caribbean side needed to press home this considerable advantage to claim just their third victory in 20 ODIs since the two-wicket win over England in the Champions' Trophy final 17 months earlier.
However, a counter-attack led by wicketkeeper-batsman Brendon McCullum (45) and supported by Peter Fulton (49), saw the tourists meekly surrender the initiative and it was left to Man of the Match Daniel Vettori to seal New Zealand's 2-0 lead in the series with a boundary off the last ball of the 42nd over off Chris Gayle that also brought up just his second half-century in 171 one-dayers.
Earlier, the experienced left-arm spinner produced another miserly 10-over spell, conceding just 28 runs for the wicket of Runako Morton.
FIFTH-WICKET PARTNERSHIP
The Nevisian had battled through a searching examination from New Zealand's trio of faster bowlers - Shane Bond, James Franklin and Michael Mason - only to perish to the guile of the slow bowler for 39, having featured in a 70-run fifth-wicket partnership with Hinds.
The pair had come together with the West Indies faltering at 60 for four in the 22nd over after home skipper Stephen Fleming put them in.
In bitterly cold conditions and with thick grey clouds blanketing the spectacular backdrop of mountains surrounding the ground, Bond turned up the heat with a searing opening spell in which he bowled Gayle round his legs for a duck in the fourth over of the innings.
Restrained by disciplined bowling, opening partner Daren Ganga attempted an ugly swing to leg off Mason and succeeded only in edging a catch to McCullum to leave the tourists at 10 for two in the 11th over.
Ramnaresh Sarwan, as is his wont, flirted carelessly outside the off-stump to the same bowler to give the wicketkeeper another straightforward catch and when skipper Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who had struck three boundaries in 17, played on to Franklin, an early finish and crushing New Zealand victory seemed on the cards.
But Morton and Hinds played with determination and as the clouds lifted, so did the rate of scoring increase, especially when Smith replaced Morton in the 41st over with the innings still in trouble at 130 for five.
The hard-hitting right-hander pulled the first ball that he faced off Bond out of the ground over midwicket.
SIX OVER LONG-ON
He crashed another six over long-on and stroked a boundary in reaching 19 off 11 balls when he was needlessly run out in being called through for a single by Hinds.
A continuation of his assault over the final five overs might have given the West Indies are more competitive total, especially as Hinds fell to Bond in the 48th over, edging a typical full-blooded drive to McCullum. The fast bowler and Mason claimed two wickets each with only Scott Styris' medium pace being to the West Indians' liking as 51 runs were plundered off his six overs.
Yet the visitors could not have wished for a better start in defence of their total.
Edwards, again impressing with his raw pace, trapped Jamie How lbw without scoring in the opening over.
Bradshaw followed up by bowling the other opener, Lou Vincent, in his first over. It was to be the first of three wickets falling with the score at 13, leaving the partisan home crowd in stunned silence.
Nathan Astle attempted his favourite pull shot to a delivery of extra pace from Edwards and succeeded only in lobbing a catch to Hinds at square leg while Fleming's demise, leg-before to Bradshaw, triggered such celebrations among the West Indies players as if to suggest that the match was already over.
Styris stemmed the tide briefly before edging Taylor to Gayle at slip but it was McCullum who turned the opposition's forward march into a confused retreat.
The teams travelled to Christchurch yesterday to prepare for tomorrow's third ODI at Jade Stadium, a fixture the West Indies must win to retain any interest in the series.
West Indies innings
C. Gayle b Bond 0
D. Ganga c McCullum b Mason 7
R. Morton c Astle b Vettori 39
R. Sarwan c McCullum b Mason 14
S. Chanderpaul b Franklin 17
W. Hinds c McCullum b Bond 76
D.R. Smith run out (Styris-McCullum) 19
D. Ramdin not out 11
I. Bradshaw b Patel 5
F. Edwards run out (Franklin-Bond) 2
Extras (b4, lb2, w1, nb3) 10
TOTAL (for nine wkts - 50 overs) 200
J. Taylor did not bat.
Super Sub: J. Patel (M. Mason, West Indies innings, 44 overs)
Fall: 1-5, 2-10, 3-37, 4-60, 5-130, 6-158, 7-184, 8-197, 9-200.
Bowling: Franklin 10-2-28-1, Bond 10-4-23-2, Mason 8-1-32-2, Styris 6-0-51-0, Vettori 10-1-28-1, Astle 4-0-18-0, Patel 2-0-14-1.
New Zealand innings
L. Vincent b Bradshaw 5
J. How lbw Edwards 0
N. Astle c Hinds b Edwards 2
S. Fleming lbw Bradshaw 0
S. Styris c Gayle b Taylor 10
P. Fulton c Ramdin b Lewis 49
B. McCullum run out (Morton-Ramdin) 45
D. Vettori not out 53
J. Franklin not out 15
Extras (b7, w14, nb4) 25
TOTAL (for seven wkts - 42 overs) 204
S. Bond, J. Patel did not bat.
Super Sub: R. Lewis (R. Sarwan, New Zealand innings, 25 overs)
Fall: 1-10, 2-13, 3-13, 4-13, 5-49, 6-120,
7-141.
Bowling: Edwards 10-1-41-2, Bradshaw 10-2-31-2, Taylor 5-0-40-1, Smith 3-0-18-0, Gayle 8-0-38-0, Lewis 6-0-29-1.
Result: New Zealand won by three wickets.
Series: New Zealand lead five-match series 2-0.
Man of the Match: Daniel Vettori (New Zealand).
