Black Caps trounce woeful West Indies to win series
Feeble, dismal, pathetic – call it what you want, the West Indies will probably agree.
Highlighted by a career-best 7-34 by left-armer Trent Boult, the Black Caps thrashed the visitors by a record 204-runs at Christchurch’s Hagley Oval yesterday to wrap up the three-match series with a game to play.
Without star batsman Chris Gayle (illness), the visitors were always going to struggle to chase down New Zealand’s imposing 325-6, and so it proved as they lost their seventh consecutive ODI in embarrassing fashion.
Their 3-15 2017 record includes some ugly losses, but perhaps yesterday’s ranks only behind their 63-run defeat to Afghanistan in June on the humiliation scale.
Minus regular captain Kane Williamson and seamer Tim Southee, the Black Caps didn’t miss a beat under Tom Latham’s leadership as they bettered their 203-run win against the Windies in Hamilton in 2014.
Henry Nicholls, George Worker, Ross Taylor and Todd Astle made West Indies captain Jason Holder’s decision to bowl first appear foolish, before Boult struck four times in his first five overs to doom the tourists.
They never recovered from 52-4 inside 10 overs, which soon became 70-6. They were put out of their misery in just 28 overs
Boult, who became the 16th Kiwi to take 100 ODI wickets, destroyed the sorry West Indies, with help from speedster Lockie Ferguson, who came within a whisker of taking a hat-trick on his way to his best figures (3-13).
The Black Caps had a 130-run partnership between hometown players Nicholls and Astle – a record sixth-wicket stand against the West Indies – to thank for their first 300-plus total in home ODIs this year.
Nicholls struck a career-high 83 not out from 62 balls, while Astle, playing in just his second ODI, scored 49 from 45 balls before he was bowled. Their stand surpassed Nathan Astle’s and Scott Styris’ 122 run-partnership in Port of Spain in 2002, and ensured New Zealand scored 129 from the last 15 overs.
Nicholls’ third ODI 50 included seven fours and a pair of sixes, but only after he successfully reviewed an lbw decision when he was on just 22.
Umpire Wayne Knights adjudged the left-hander lbw off Sheldon Cottrell, only for replays to show the ball was missing leg stump.
Nicholls, who scored two runs off the final ball of the innings to surpass his previous highest score (82 against Pakistan), was one of three Black Caps to go past 50.
Worker (58 runs) and Taylor (57) raised their bats against a bowling attack that rarely troubled the home side.
Taylor’s 39th ODI 50 – only Nathan Astle (41) and Stephen Fleming (49) have more for NZ – came off 60 deliveries, while Worker needed just 45 balls.
Worker, given a life by wicketkeeper Shai Hope who dropped him when he was on seven, had ample time to turn his third ODI half century into a maiden ton.
Minus gloving a bouncer to Hope, who couldn’t snaffle the chance diving to his left, he was untroubled by the visitors’ attack as he backed up the 57 he scored in the opening match of the series.
However, having just survived a mix-up with Taylor, he blew his chance when he pulled a Ronsford Beaton delivery down fine leg’s throat.
It ended his 58-run partnership with Taylor, who edged a shortpitched Holder delivery to Hope as New Zealand got through to the 33rd over at 186-5.
Taylor’s latest knock continued a rich run of form in ODIs, having scored 603 runs at 60.3 in his last 12 innings, including an unbeaten 49 in Wednesday’s series opening win in Whangarei.
Rain is forecast in Christchurch for Tuesday’s third and final match.
Experienced Otago allrounder Anaru Kitchen is the shock selection in New Zealand’s Twenty20 squad to face the West Indies in a three-match series, starting on Friday.
The 33-year-old left-arm spinner, who usually bats in the middle order, earned his spot after consistent performances for the Volts in white-ball cricket in recent seasons.
Kitchen typically opens the bowling in the limited-over forms and has proved difficult to get away, while often picking up early wickets.
He pipped Canterbury legspinner Todd Astle, who is in the ODI squad, for the third frontline spinner role in the squad, alongside Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi.
‘‘Anaru has performed superbly for Otago the past couple of seasons and with his ability to bowl as well, he brings a lot to the side,’’ Black Caps chief selector Gavin Larsen said.
Kitchen attracted international headlines earlier this month after bowling suspended English allrounder Ben Stokes in his return to cricket for birth province Canterbury.
Veteran batsman Ross Taylor, who was named in the T20 squad for the tour of India in OctoberNovember, but didn’t feature, has been selected for the opening T20 in Nelson.
He will bolster the top order with regular skipper Kane Williamson sitting out the first T20, but returning for the last two matches in Mount Maunganui.
Taylor hasn’t played a T20 for New Zealand since March 2016 in a World Cup semifinal loss to England. The 33-year-old has appeared in 73 T20 internationals since 2006, averaging 24 at a strike rate of 120.
Tim Southee will captain the side in Williamson’s absence in the first match.
With a busy summer ahead, Trent Boult will miss the first two T20s as part of a planned break, returning for the final game.
Hard-hitting opener Martin Guptill rejoins the side after recovering from a left hamstring issue, which ruled him out of the ODIs against the West Indies.
‘‘It will be nice to see Martin Guptill come back from injury,’’ Larsen said.
‘‘He’s made good progress and recently trained with the side in Whangarei [ahead of the first ODI]. Every side in the world is aware of how dangerous a player Martin is.’’
Central Stags swing bowler Seth Rance, who was called into the ODI squad on Thursday in place of the injured Adam Milne, is poised for a T20 debut after being selected. Rance played in two ODIs during the pre-Champions Trophy triseries against Ireland and Bangladesh in May.
Larsen said there was plenty of firepower at the top of the batting order.
‘‘I think there are more explosive batting options in this squad than ever before.
‘‘When you add Anaru Kitchen to the likes of Colin Munro, Martin Guptill, Glenn Phillips and Tom Bruce, there’s a lot of threats throughout the batting line-up.’’
Aside from Astle’s non-selection, other notable omissions include batsmen Tom Latham and Henry Nicholls, who were both in the T20 squad in India.
Allrounder Colin de Grandhomme will return to the squad once back in New Zealand following the death of his father in Zimbabwe. This date is not yet known.
Anaru has performed superbly for Otago the past couple of seasons. Black Caps chief selector Gavin Larsen