Seven wickets for Boult as New Zealand rout Windies
A career best 7-34 by Trent Boult destroyed the West Indies as New Zealand wrapped up their one-day international (ODI) series with a game to spare in Christchurch yesterday.
Boult had 3-6 after his first three overs as the West Indies fell apart at the start of their innings after being set an imposing 326-run target.
The tourists struggled through to 121 before Boult finished off the tail to give New Zealand victory by 204 runs to go along with their five-wicket win in the first ODI on Wednesday.
When Boult had finished off the West Indies top order, Lochie Ferguson plucked out the middle with three wickets in 10 deliveries, including Jason Mohammed and Rovman Powell with successive balls.
New Zealand, sent into bat first, posted a healthy 325-6 after an impressive final 10 overs by Henry Nicholls and Todd Astle which produced 103 runs.
Nicholls, given out lbw on 22 but reinstated on review when replays showed the ball would have missed the stumps, went on to be unbeaten on 83 at the close.
Astle went for 49 in the final over after the pair had put on a whirlwind 130 for the sixth wicket.
George Worker and Colin Munro gave New Zealand a flying start, reaching 50 off 40 deliveries before Sheldon Cottrell removed Munro (30) and his replacement Neil Broom (six).
Worker and Ross Taylor kept the run rate at better than a run-a-ball in a 58-run partnership until Worker, who had been dropped on seven, was removed by Ronsford Beaton for 58.
West Indies captain Jason Holder reduced New Zealand to 186-5 when he removed Tom Latham and Taylor in the space of 11 balls, leaving Nicholls and Astle to build the formidable target.
Nicholls’ 83 came off 62 balls and included two sixes and seven fours, while Astle faced 45 deliveries for his 49 but only reached the boundary three times.
For the West Indies, Sheldon Cottrell took 3-62.
The West Indies struggled throughout their reply with Shai Hope’s 23 their best performance with the bat.
The third and final match in the series will be on Tuesday at Hagley Oval where New Zealand have now won all seven ODIs they have played there.
Tom Latham, the stand-in captain in the absence of the rested Kane Williamson, said that he and his teammates were fully focused on now completing a whitewash on the West Indies in the series.
“Obviously one more game and hopefully we can put in another dominant performance,” he said.
For disappointed West Indies captain Jason Holder, coming off a 2-0 loss in the Test series, there were no excuses for back-to-back ODI defeats.
“We didn’t play good enough cricket today,” he said. “We’ve definitely got to address the way we play.
“In terms of our batting, we’ve got to put some runs on the board whether we bat first or are chasing.”