Pollard slams Windies as Phillips blasts Black Caps to series win
WEST Indies captain Kieron Pollard accused his side of not performing to international standards Sunday after New
ealand comprehensively won the second Twenty20I by 72 runs on the back of a record century by Glenn Phillips.
New ealand wrapped up the series at Mount Maunganui with a game to spare, after winning the opening match on Friday by five wickets, as Phillips provided a batting masterclass.
Called up to the Twenty20 side while regular skipper Kane Williamson focuses on the upcoming Tests, Phillips plundered eight sixes and 10 fours on his way to 108 as New ealand posted a mammoth 238 for three and then restricted the West Indies to 166 for nine.
“ou never know when the next opportunity is going to come and I came into this going ‘let’s go in as hard as I possibly can. I know I can do it’,” Phillips said.
The 23-year-old, who was born in South Africa but moved to New ealand at the age of five, took just 46 deliveries to reach his century, the 10th fastest in T20I and one ball faster than the previous New ealand record held by Colin Munro. Phillips plays in the Caribbean in the New ealand off-season and said familiarity with the West Indies attack was a big help.
After winning the toss and sending New ealand into bat under overcast skies, Pollard believed the West Indies were in control when the Black Caps reached the halfway mark at 84 for two. “But between overs 10 to 15 we sort of lost it there,” Pollard said.
“In terms of the energy and feel and erraticness in the field, that’s not the standard that we want to set for ourselves, and not the standard anyone wants to see in international cricket.
“I think it’s attitude and I think it’s our mindset.
“If we had stayed in the contest a bit longer, try to limit the damage to 200, 190 or so, we’d have been for the challenge but we were behind the eight ball after that 10th over and it just went pear-shaped from there.” Scores: New Zealand 238 for 3 (Phillips 108, Conway 65*, Pollard 1-33) beat West Indies 166 for 9 (Pollard 28, Paul 26*, Jamieson 2-15, Santner 2-41) by 72 runs.