Carlos Brathwaite fought a lone battle after West Indies was reduced to 162 for seven. But through sizeable partnerships with Kemar Roach first, Sheldon Cottrell and Oshane Thomas, the all-rounder took the West Indies close to a win. He was a hit away from taking his team over the line, but found Trent Boult at long-on with six runs needed for the win.
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◘ WICKET! AND NEW ZEALAND WINS! Carlos Brathwaite holes out at long-on trying to clear the same fielder and take the West Indies to a win. New Zealand wins by 5 runs.
◘ 25 runs off the 48th over, West Indies 284 for none, needs 8 more runs from 12 balls. Carlos Brathwaite goes 2, 6, 6, 6, 4, 1. He gets to his maiden ODI century, too! Brathwaite's on strike at the start of the penultimate over, to be bowled by James Neesham.
◘ Seven runs off the 47th over, West Indies 259 for nine, needs 33 more runs from 18 balls. Carlos Brathwaite hits a full-length ball from Lockie Ferguson for a six and then pinches a single off the penultimate ball of the over. Matt Henry into the attack.
◘ Seven runs off the 46th over, West Indies 252 for nine. Oshane Thomas kept out three of Trent Boult's final three balls, including an inch-perfect yorker. Lockie Ferguson to continue with Carlos Brathwaite on strike.
◘ WICKET! Lockie Ferguson cleans up Sheldon Cottrell with the last ball of the over. Gone for 15, West Indies 245 for nine after 45 overs. Just one run off the over. Oshane Thomas joins Carlos Brathwaite in the middle.
◘ Just one run off the 44th over, West Indies 244 for eight, needs 48 more runs from 36 balls. Sheldon Cottrell survived five balls after Carlos Brathwaite took a single off the first ball of the Trent Boult over.
◘ Eight runs off the 43rd over, West Indies 243 for eight, needs 49 more runs from 42 balls. Sheldon Cottrell showed deft in that over to find the boundary twice, once helping a ball on his pads to the fine leg boundary and then opening the bat face and guiding the ball past the keeper for four. Trent Boult back into the attack for what is his ninth over.
◘ Eight runs off the 42nd over, West Indies 235 for eight, needs 57 more runs from 48 balls. Mitchell Santner has bowled out. James Neesham continues.
◘ Five runs off the 41st over, West Indies 227 for eight, needs 65 more runs from 54 balls. Carlos Brathwaite has reached his half-century, his second in ODI cricket. Sheldon Cottrell has shown reasonable defence, but it's all down to Brathwaite if West Indies is to go on and win this match.
◘ Four runs off the 40th over, West Indies 222 for eight, needs 70 more runs from 60 balls. Carlos Brathwaite is happy to give Sheldon Cottrell strike and hasn't yet started to think he has to do it on his own. James Neesham is back into the attack.
◘ A four off the final ball of the 39th over, which produces seven runs and a wicket. West Indies 218 for seven, needs 74 more runs from 66 balls. Mitchell Santner continues.
◘ WICKET! Kemar Roach nicks behind, Matt Henry takes a wicket with the first ball of his comeback spell. Roach goes for 14, West Indies 211 for eight. Sheldon Cottrell comes out to the middle.
◘ Another quiet over, just two runs off the 38th, West Indies 211 for seven, needs 81 more runs from 72 balls. Matt Henry comes back into the attack.
◘ Just one run off the 37th over, West Indies 209 for seven, needs 83 runs more from 78 balls. We're getting to a point where one of Carlos Brathwaite and Kemar Roach might look to play the big shots, most probably the latter. Mitchell Santner comes back into the attack.
◘ 10 runs off the 35th over, West Indies 206 for seven. Carlos Brathwaite helps himself to a couple of fours off Colin de Grandhomme straying onto his pads with the fine-leg fielder inside the circle. West Indies needs 86 more runs from 90 balls.
◘ West Indies 196 for seven after 34 overs. Five wides helping New Zealand bring the target to less than a hundred. Carlos Brathwaite and Kemar Roach are batting sensibly and giving the West Indies just a glimmer of hope.
◘ West Indies 188 for seven after 33 overs. A quiet over, Colin de Grandhomme bowling a disciplined line and length and Kemar Roach and Carlos Brathwaite are happy to sit in and play defensively.
◘ 15 runs off the 32nd over, West Indies 185 for seven. Carlos Brathwaite and Kemar Roach hitting a six each off Mitchell Santner, who was made to pay for giving the ball too much air and overpitching it. West Indies is still some way away from worrying New Zealand.
◘ West Indies 170 for seven after 31 overs. A couple of singles in the over. Carlos Brathwaite and Kemar Roach are holding themselves back for now, with the required run-rate a shade over six runs per over.
◘ Another quiet over from Mitchell Santner, just one off the 30th, West Indies 168 for seven. Santner is putting plenty of revolutions on the ball and is getting it to turn and bounce. He's also enjoying bowling to two right-handers. Trent Boult to continue from the other end.
◘ Two runs off the 29th over, a couple of singles off the final two deliveries. West Indies 167 for seven.
◘ Just one run off the 28th over, West Indies 165 for seven. Mitchell Santner is finding sharp turn and is having enough rough on and around the right-hander's off-stump to exploit. Carlos Brathwaite has held himself back so far.
◘ WICKET! Evin Lewis, who's having a hamstring problem, goes for the pull and is caught at deep square leg. West Indies slips further to 164 for seven. Kemar Roach is the new man in.
◘ WICKET! Ashley Nurse gloves one behind to Tom Latham trying to hook a short ball from Trent Boult. West Indies 163 for six. Evin Lewis walks in to bat
◘ A maiden over from Mitchell Santner! Ashley Nurse playing him with a straight bat and happy to sit in rather than attack him again with the West Indies five down already. Trent Boult is back into the attack.
◘ 10 runs off the 25th over, West Indies 162 for two. A couple of drives through the infield on the offside for fours from the blade of Carlos Brathwaite, followed by two singles. Mitchell Santner is back into the attack.
◘ WICKET! And it's the big one! Chris Gayle holes out to long-on off the bowling of Colin de Grandhomme, gone for 87, West Indies 152 for five after 24 overs. Gayle had collected six runs in the over but chose to take on the long-on fielder and doesn't get the distance on his shot. Ashley Nurse joins Carlos Brathwaite.
◘ Four runs and two wickets off the 23rd over, West Indies 146 for four. A streaky four gets Carlos Brathwaite off the mark, but an excellent, probing over from Lockie Ferguson.
◘ WICKET! TWO WICKETS IN TWO BALLS! Lockie Ferguson gets Jason Holder to nick behind for a first-ball duck. West Indies 142 for four. Carlos Brathwaite is the new batsman in.
◘ WICKET! Lockie Ferguson removes Shimron Hetmyer with a cutter! The Guyanese left-hander is early into the shot and the ball under the bat and hits the top of leg stump. Gone for 54, West Indies 142 for three. Jason Holder has walked out to bat.
◘ Four runs off the 22nd over, West Indies 142 for two. Colin de Grandhomme was accurate for the most part in his first over, but on the one occasion he gave width to Chris Gayle outside his off-stump, he was cut for four past point. Lockie Ferguson continues.
◘ Eight runs off the 21st over, West Indies 138 for two. New Zealand bowlers have not been able to hit the right length to either trouble the West Indies batsmen or keep them in check. While New Zealand has had chances to remove Gayle (thrice) and Hetmyer, it has also been made to pay for erring in its line and length. Colin de Grandhomme's into the attack.
◘ FIFTY for Shimron Hetmyer, his fourth in ODI cricket! Lockie Ferguson drops it fractionally short and Hetmyer pulls it away for a six over square leg off the front foot.
◘ 15 runs off the 20th over, West Indies 130 for two. Clean ball-striking from Chris Gayle this time, makes Mitchell Santner pay for erring in his length: lofts him for a 97m six when he gave the ball a bit of air and then, when the ball was short, stood tall and flat-batted it over long-on for a 90m six. Lockie Ferguson's back into the attack.
◘ Just one runs off the 19th over, West Indies 115 for two after 19 overs. Mitchell Santner to continue. Will Chris Gayle take him on again?
◘ DROPPED, AND DROPPED, AGAIN! Chris Gayle is reprieved twice in one over, off Mitchell Santner! He hits the first ball of the over for a six; he then tries to swat away a full-toss for a six over midwicket but drags his shot and finds the fielder at square leg, who spills it; Gayle goes for another big hit, trying to clear the fielder at deep mid-wicket. The fielder has to make ground to his right, he gets his hands to the ball but can't cling on. Big misses! West Indies 114 for two after 18 overs.
◘ A big 17th over for the West Indies, 10 runs off it, West Indies 102 for two. Shimron Hetmyer is enjoying the short-pitched deliveries and but for miscuing one, he has been very successful in finding the boundary. This time, he pulls Matt Henry for fours in front of square, once to the right of the deep midwicket fielder and once to his left. The brace of fours is followed by a brace of singles. Mitchell Santner continues.
◘ Three runs off the 16th over, West Indies 92 for two. Mitchell Santner doesn't give a lot of air and angles the ball into leg and middle. Shimron Hetmyer and Chris Gayle content to collect the singles on offer for now. Matt Henry is back into the attack.
◘ FIFTY for Chris Gayle, his 53rd in ODI cricket! James Neesham gives him width outside off-stump and the ball comes at a nice height for him to cut it over the fielder at point, beating the onrushing third-man fielder for a four and get to his half-century. Five runs off the 15th over, West Indies 89 for two. Mitchell Santner is into the attack.
◘ Six runs off the 14th over, West Indies 84 for two. Shimron Hetmyer is relishing the short-pitched deliveries bowled to him. He slaps a short delivery angled away from him over the mid-off fielder for four. Lockie Ferguson admonishes himself, perhaps because he allowed Hetmyer to free his arms. James Neesham continues.
◘ One tight over followed up by another! James Neesham concedes just three runs, West Indies 78 for two after 13 overs. Lockie Ferguson continues.
◘ Lockie Ferguson goes for just four runs in his second over, West Indies 75 for two after 12 overs. Ferguson is mixing his lines and lengths to keep the rampaging Chris Gayle and Shimron Hetmyer honest.
◘ Three fours in the 11th over, West Indies 71 for two. Shimron Hetmyer is taking on the bowling here. He punishes James Neesham's short deliveries for fours through midwicket before driving the pitched-up final delivery for four through cover, beating the fielder at sweeper cover. Lockie Ferguson to continue,
◘ Nine runs off the 10th over, West Indies 59 for two. A pull for four from Shimron Hetmyer first but he top-edges the next attempt and the ball falls in no-man's land. Chris Gayle collects four off the final ball, helping a ball on his pads past the short fine-leg fielder. James Neesham is into the attack.
◘ Shimron Hetmyer brings up West Indies' fifty with a drive to mid-off for single. Ninth over yields the West Indies six runs. It's 50 for two. Bowling change: Lockie Ferguson replaces Matt Henry.
◘ 18 runs off the eighth over, which could have yielded a wicket for New Zealand and Matt Henry. Chris Gayle top-edges an attempted pull and the skier is dropped at square leg before the ball rolls onto the boundary for four. The next ball is flat-batted straight down the ground for a 98m six, which is followed by a hook for a six over fine leg. Chris Gayle seems to have made his mind up to play his shots! Trent Boult continues from the other end.
◘ Six runs and a wicket off the seventh over, West Indies 26 for two. Shimron Hetmyer announces his arrival with a sweetly-timed flick for four, follows it up with a couple. Trent Boult closes out the over with a length ball which is defended.
◘ WICKET! Nicholas Pooran skies a pull and is caught by Tam Latham off the bowling of Trent Boult. Gone for 1. Shimron Hetmuer is the new batsman in.
◘ A four and a six off Chris Gayle's bat and West Indies moves to 20 for one. Matt Henry went for the short ball directed to the armpit of Gayle, who rolled his wrist to beat the fielder at fine leg for four before pulling the next delivery for a six over deep midwicket.
◘ Three runs off the fifth over, West Indies 9 for one. A couple of fuller-length deliveries from Trent Boult posing trouble for Chris Gayle in that over, one going past the outside edge and the other taking a thick outside edge and flying past the second slip fielder. Matt Henry to continues.
◘ West Indies 6 for one after four overs. Chris Gayle misses out on a couple of hittable deliveries from Matt Henry, one outside off that he hits to the fielder at cover and another a knee-high full-toss that he knocks down the ground and jogs about for a single. Trent Boult to continue.
◘ End of the third over, West Indies 3 for one. Trent Boult gets the big wicket of Shai Hope, who's the anchor in the West Indies batting line-up, allowing the stroke-makers to play their natural game. Matt Henry continues from the other end.
◘ WICKET! Shai Hope drags a wide, full delivery from Trent Boult onto his stumps, gone for 1, West Indies three for one. Nicholas Pooran is the new batsman in.
◘ West Indies 2 for no loss after two overs. Chris Gayle and Shai are off the mark. Trent Boult and Matt Henry have begun with disciplined lines and lengths, testing the West Indies openers outside their off-stump.
◘ The West Indies chase is underway. Chris Gayle and Shai Hope have walked out to the middle. Evin Lewis, who went off with a hamstring injury, cannot bat until 90 minutes have lapsed in the innings.
◘ 10 runs and two wickets off the final over, New Zealand ends with 291 for eight. Mitchell Santner and James Neesham dismissed by Carlos Brathwaite trying to play the big shot but were unable to clear Sheldon Cottrell at mid-off. Join us in 30 minutes for West Indies's chase, as it tries to keep itself in the top-four race.
◘ Sheldon Cottrell's final over goes for 11 runs, New Zealand 281 for six with six balls left in the innings. Cottrell went short but didn't get the ball to bounce high enough to force a false shot from James Neesham. He stands tall and swats the short ball through midwicket for four. For a split second, the long-on fielder feels he can stop the ball from getting to the boundary but it races away. Carlos Brathwaite to bowl the final over of the innings.
◘ WICKET! Colin de Grandhomme is run out for 16. Mitchell Santner is the new batsman in.
◘ A six to finish the 48th over, which yields 17 runs and New Zealand is 270 for five with 12 balls left. Colin de Grandhomme continuing from where he left off against South Africa. He makes the inside-out shot off a Carlos Brathwaite length delivery look ridiculously easy. Shimron Hetmyer at sweeper cover feels he can catch it, but the ball flies above him.
◘ Just three runs off the 47th over, New Zealand 253 for five. Sheldon Cottrell has been West Indies's best bowler today and it's another excellent over under pressure from the left-arm pacer. Carlos Brathwaite continues.
◘ WICKET! Kane Williamson is caught trying to deposit Sheldon Cottrell to the midwicket boundary, out for 148! Colin de Grandhomme joins James Neesham. Good bowling from Cottrell, bowling the hard length and denying the batsman the chance to get underneath the delivery. Great catch from Shai Hope to run back, stay balance and catch the swerving ball.
◘ 11 runs off the 46th over, 250 up for New Zealand, it is 250 for four. James Neesham benefitting from the short square boundary at Old Trafford to hit a maximum and turn it into a big over. He flicks one off his pads and Shimron Hetmyer, fielding at midwicket, makes a great effort to catch and hold on to the ball but he steps on the skirting with the ball in his hands. Unfortunate. Sheldon Cottrell to continue.
◘ Another 11-run over, New Zealand 239 for four after 45 overs. Williamson has put his foot down and is beginning to find the gaps on the field with five fielders manning the boundary. This time, here slog sweeps Ashley Nurse for a four bisecting deep midwicket and deep square leg and the other five balls in the over yield seven runs. Carlos Brathwaite continues.
◘ A four and six off Kane Williamson's bat and New Zealand moves to 228 for four. Williamson improvised cleverly there, against Sheldon Cottrell: firstly, giving himself room and carve a length ball on middle stump through point before moving inside the line and clearing the short square boundary on the onside. Ashely Nurse continues.
◘ Seven runs off the 43rd over, New Zealand 217 for four. West Indies sneaking in some good overs as we approach the end of the innings. James Neesham looking to cut loose but Sheldon Cottrell is bowling impeccable lines and lengths have been impeccable. He continues with three overs up his sleeve.
◘ Just four runs, and a wicket, off the 42nd over, New Zealand 210 for four. Kane Williamson has laid the foundation and it's now over to James Neesham and Colin de Grandhomme to up the run-rate and take the Blackcaps to 300 potentially. with eight overs left. Ashley Nurse continues.
◘ WICKET! Tom Latham top-edges Sheldon Cottrell, who takes the catch off his own bowling. A timely wicket for the West Indies and New Zealand is 210 for four. James Neesham is the new batsman in, walking into a perfect situation for himself.
◘ A four off the final ball of the over makes it a good one for New Zealand, 206 for three after 41 overs. Ashley Nurse admonishes himself after giving Kane Williamson width to cut and find the third-man boundary with a thick outside edge. Sheldon Cottrell replaces Jason Holder from the other end.
◘ Twelve runs off the 40th over, New Zealand 199 for three. Back-to-back fours off the blade of Kane Williamson, one through fine leg and the other through over (both with the fine leg and mid-off fielder in the circle) to start the over followed by four singles in a row. Ashley Nurse continues.
◘ Good over from Ashley Nurse, restricting New Zealand to just four runs off the 39th, it's now 187 for three. Kane Williamson is looking to cut loose and play the big shots, but the key for the West Indies is to continue taking wickets. An interesting passage of play to follow. Jason Holder continues.
◘ Six runs off the 38th over, New Zealand 183 for three. Some good overs in succession for West Indies, but the onus is now on Kane Williamson to shift gears with seven wickets in hand. Ashley Nurse to bowl from the other end.
◘ ODI hundred No. 13 for Kane Williamson, gets to the landmark with a pull on the swivel for four past the fine-leg fielder. Can he now kick on and take New Zealand to a good score?
◘ New Zealand 177 for three after 37 overs. Kane Williamson made to wait for his century. A good over from Jason Holder, bowls to his field and manages to delay Williamson getting to his hundred. Kemar Roach continues.
◘ Five runs off the 36th over, New Zealand 174 for three. Guess what, Chris Gayle is walking off the field, perhaps after a twinge in his right shoulder after celebrating Ross Taylor's wicket. Jason Holder replaces him from the other end. Kane Williamson two away from a century.
◘ Three runs and the wicket of Ross Taylor off Chris Gayle's second over, New Zealand 169 for three. Kemar Roach to bowl from the other end.
◘ WICKET! Chris Gayle breaks the Kane Williamson-Ross Taylor partnership, worth 160! Taylor tries to loft the ball over mid-off but doesn't get the elevation and is caught by Jason Holder. Gone for 69, New Zealand 167 for three. Tom Latham joins Kane Williamson.
◘ Eight runs off the 34th over, New Zealand 166 for two. A punch-drive from Kane Williamson, off the third ball, sped past cover for a four, while the remaining five deliveries yielded four singles. Chris Gayle continues.
◘ Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor put on 150 runs (and counting) for the third wicket. Chris Gayle introduced into the attack and he goes for five runs in his first over. New Zealand 158 for two after 33 overs.
◘ A quiet over, just three off the 32nd, New Zealand 153 for two. Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor hit the fielders in the circle, quite strangely, in the over and Oshane Thomas closed it out with a length ball on middle and leg. Drinks.
◘ Six singles off the 31st over, New Zealand 150 for two. The singles are on offer and Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor, at least for the moment, are not trying anything extravagant to push the run-rate up. Oshane Thomas is into the attack.
◘ A four and four singles off the 30th over, New Zealand 144 for two. After two wickets in the first over, this has been an excellent recovery from New Zealand thanks to captain Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor, who have found the right balance between scoring runs and ensuring they don't lose their wickets. The gauntlet laid down to West Indies, which has so far not managed to build pressure since the first spell from Sheldon Cottrell and Kemar Roach. Ashley Nurse continues.
◘ Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor are collecting six, seven or eight runs every over with consummate ease. Seven runs off the 29th over take New Zealand to 136 for two. Kane Williamson has moved into the 70s and in partnership with Ross Taylor, New Zealand is getting a wonderful platform going into the final 20 overs. Oshane Thomas replaces Sheldon Cottrell from the other end.
◘ Eight runs off the 28th over, New Zealand 129 for two. Sheldon Cottrell changed the angle and came round the wicket, in doing so bowled one in the arc for Kane Williamson to put his front foot forward and in classic Williamson style, drive the ball down the ground with a straight bat. Ashley Nurse continues from the other end, into his fourth over.
◘ Four runs off the 27th over, New Zealand 121 for two. Ashley Nurse bowls a middle-and-leg-stump line and his length in this over has been good too. Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor collect four singles. Sheldon Cottrell continues.
◘ Five runs off the 26th over, New Zealand 117 for two. An excellent comeback over from Sheldon Cottrell, who has troubled the New Zealand batsmen the most. Here, he doesn't err with his line or length but the subtlety of Williamson and Taylor yields five runs for New Zealand. Ashley Nurse continues.
◘ New Zealand 112 for two after 25 overs. Seven runs off Ashley Nurse's second over. Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor still happy to pick the singles on offer and find the odd boundary without altering the tempo too much. Bowling change: Sheldon Cottrell replaces Kemar Roach.
◘ Fifty for Kane Williamson, his 39th and New Zealand goes past 100. It's 105 for two after 24 overs. Kemar Roach concedes a four off the final ball again, Ross Taylor drives down the ground again to bring up his half-century, making it a good over for the Blackcaps. Ashley Nurse continues.
◘ Four singles off Ashley Nurse's first over, New Zealand 99 for two after 23 overs. Good line and a short-ish length from Nurse and Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor could rock on to the back foot and punch him to long-on and sweeper cover for singles. Kemar Roach continues.
◘ New Zealand 95 for two after 22 overs. Ross Taylor clips the final ball, on his pads, for a four. Anguish for Kemar Roach, who had bowled a good over until then, conceding just one run. Kane Williamson and Taylor are approaching their half-centuries with Ashley Nurse introduced into the attack.
◘ Nine runs off the 21st over, New Zealand 90 for two. It's another over that produces a boundary, this time off the blade of Kane Williamson, who makes room and drives a length ball from Carlos Brathwaite off the back foot. Brathwaite continues to bowl short and into the armpits, helping Williamson and Taylor to nudge the ball down the fine leg for singles and make it into a big over. Bowling change: Kemar Roach replaces Oshane Thomas.
◘ New Zealand 81 for two after 20 overs. A four off the final ball makes it a good over for New Zealand. Ross Taylor spanks a length delivery from Oshane Thomas through cover and clenches his fist in delight. An indication of how the match is panning out at this stage! West Indies is starting to lose control and Jason Holder has to put his thinking cap on. Carlos Brathwaite continues.
◘ New Zealand 76 for two after 19 overs. A probing first over from Carlos Brathwaite. The third ball, bowled short and at the body, disconcerted Ross Taylor, who played it in an ungainly fashion. Three singles off the over. Oshane Thomas continues.
◘ Six runs off the 18th over, New Zealand 73 for two. It's another over that produces a boundary for New Zealand, this time Ross Taylor drives Oshane Thomas down the ground and beats mid-on. New Zealand's run-rate has improved markedly. Carlos Brathwaite is into the attack.
◘ Eight runs off the 17th over, New Zealand 67 for two. Jason Holder is struggling to hit the right length for this pitch and conditions. He has bowled short and strayed onto the pads. This over, he has been short again and on the one occasion he tries to pitch the ball up, he overpitches fractionally and Kane Williamson drives him through extra cover for four. He then compensates and pulls his length back, gets tucked square of the wicket on the onside for singles. Oshane Thomas continues.
◘ Three runs off the 16th over, New Zealand 59 for two. The partnership between Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor is now 52 and this is a good phase for the Blackcaps. The last six overs have produced 29 runs and the batsmen have adapted to the pace and bounce of the pitch. West Indies bowlers continue to hunt for a wicket. Jason Holder continues. from the other end.
◘ An expensive over from West Indies captain Jason Holder, eight runs off 15th, New Zealand 56 for two. Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor have batted together for 14.1 overs now, their partnership now 49. West Indies is getting to a phase when it needs another wicket to reassert control. Oshane Thomas continues after the drinks break.
◘ Another good over for New Zealand, five runs off the 14th and Blackcaps move to 48 for two. Oshane Thomas bowled a short-ish length throughout the over and gave width for Kane Williamson to free his arms on the fourth ball. The New Zealand captain punished it for four and New Zealand is beginning to get a move on. Jason Holder continues.
◘ Seven runs off the 13th over, New Zealand 43 for two. A pick-up shot by Ross Taylor over mid-wicket fetches him a four and breaks the shackles somewhat. Second bowling change for the West Indies: Oshane Thomas replaces Kemar Roach.
◘ Another relatively quiet over from Kemar Roach, New Zealand moves to 36 for two. A couple of twos in the over. It's a game of attrition at the moment. Jason Holder continues.
◘ Just two runs off the 11th over, New Zealand 32 for two. Jason Holder overstepped on the third ball and conceded a free-hit, which, however, didn't yield any runs for New Zealand. Ross Taylor and Kane Williamson still content to play the ball on merit and the West Indies bowlers continue to probe. Kemar Roach continues, set to bowl his sixth over.
◘ End of the first powerplay, New Zealand 30 for two. Another good over from Kemar Roach, but the West Indies bowlers have pulled their length back in the last couple of overs and that's made life easier for Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor. Importantly, New Zealand hasn't gotten going and West Indies pacers are keeping a lid on the scoring rate. Jason Holder continues.
◘ Three runs off Jason Holder's first over, New Zealand 28 for two after nine overs. Holder strayed onto leg-stump a touch and his length was also a little short, elements that didn't bother Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor. Kemar Roach continues.
◘ Back-to-back maidens from Kemar Roach, New Zealand 25 for two after eight overs. Roach pulled his length back a bit in that over and Kane Williamson was able to play him serenely off the back foot. Bowling change. Jason Holder comes on from the end where Sheldon Cottrell was operating.
◘ Three runs from the seventh over, New Zealand 25 for two. Three singles in the over. Sheldon Cottrell mixing his length nicely and keeping the batsmen honest. Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor have looked to play straight and have, therefore, been able to avert danger against the moving ball for most of the time. Kemar Roach continues.
◘ Maiden from Kemar Roach, New Zealand 22 for two after six overs. Ross Taylor outside-edged a delivery in the channel from Roach, but fortunately, the edge didn't carry to Chris Gayle at first slip. West Indies keeping the pressure on the New Zealand batsmen. Sheldon Cottrell continues.
◘ One run off the fifth, New Zealand 22 for two. Sheldon Cottrell is asking questions off the two most experienced New Zealand batsmen, who are surviving this excellent spell of pace bowling.
◘ Seven runs off the fourth over, New Zealand 21 for two. Kemar Roach found the outside edge of Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor's blades but both were reprieved.
◘ Maiden from Sheldon Cottrell, New Zealand 14 for two after three overs. An excellent over, had Kane Williamson guessing by moving the ball both ways and even pulling his length back as the over progressed. Cottrell went past the outside edge twice and the New Zealand captain was lucky to not edge behind. Williamson and Taylor need to get through this testing phase from Cottrell and Kemar Roach, who continues from the other end.
◘ New Zealand 14 for two after two overs. Ross Taylor with a crisp drive through cover, on the up, for the second four of the innings. Kemar Roach bowled excellent line and length and had the New Zealand batsman hopping on the crease. No damage done and Sheldon Cottrell continues, Kane Williamson on strike.
◘ OUT! Colin Munro is cleaned up first ball with the perfect yorker from Sheldon Cottrell! Gone for nought, New Zealand 10 for 2 after one over. Ross Taylor has walked in to join Kane Williamson. This is a dream start for Cottrell and West Indies. It's the fuller-length deliveries that have brought the wickets. Was New Zealand even expecting this, after seeing West Indies trouble teams with the short-ball barrage? Kemar Roach to bowl from the other end.
◘ OUT! Martin Guptill out leg-before to Sheldon Cottrell on the first ball of the match! New Zealand 0 for one, Kane Williamson walks in to face the music. The perfect delivery from the left-arm pacer first up: full, straight and Guptill was caught on the crease. The ball straightened after pitching, missed the inside-edge and hit Guptill on the back pad. The umpire said not out, but West Indies reviewed successfully and it's a brilliant start to the match!
◘ No surprises upfront: Martin Guptill and Colin Munro open the batting for New Zealand, with Sheldon Cottrell taking one of the new balls for the West Indies. Will the bowling tactics of the West Indies be any different after the short-ball strategy failed to pay dividends against Bangladesh? Here we go.
◘ Teams are walking out for the national anthems and we are eight minutes away from the scheduled start at 1.30pm local time and 6.00pm Indian time.
◘ Toss update: Jason Holder has won the toss and West Indies will bowl first. Some confusion as to who won the toss, but eventually, it was the West Indies captain who won it and for the fourth time this World Cup, will bowl first. New Zealand is unchanged for the match. Ashley Nurse, Carlos Brathwaite and Kemar Roach are the three players in the West Indies playing XI. Shannon Gabriel, Andre Russell and Darren Bravo are out.
◘ Toss in about five minutes. Teams batting first in the previous two matches at this venue have gone on to win. Will the captains factor in that, or will they look to play to their strengths? West Indies has preferred to bowl first and played better doing so. But given that it's in a do-or-die situation, will it look to put runs on the board and try to defend the score?
◘ We are well into the second half of the league phase of the 2019 World Cup, but West Indies wouldn't be wrong to take a leaf out of the performance against New Zealand in the final warm-up match for both teams. West Indies batted first, posted 421 against a bowling attack that had bowled India out for less than 200 in its previous warm-up, and went on to win by 91 runs. You can read the match report of that run-fest here .
◘ Exactly an hour left for the start of play. This is the third match at Old Trafford in Manchester, where teams batting first in the two matches played here - India and England - have scored heavily. Will we see a repeat of that pattern? The square boundaries are short and the straight boundaries are longer. The ground dimensions and the nature of the pitch will certainly play their role in the lengths the two teams bowl. West Indies batsmen didn't relish the long square boundaries at Hampshire Bowl in Southampton in the match against England, but they will enjoy the dimensions at Old Trafford, where the pitch has been batsmen-friendly.
New Zealand, with nine points from five matches, takes on a West Indies team that desperately needs a win to keep itself afloat in the top-four race. Jason Holder and co. have fallen away after getting their World Cup campaign off to a winning start against Pakistan. Holder revealed in the pre-match press conference that West Indies will be without the services of all-rounder Andre Russell. New Zealand dug deep against South Africa and Kane Williamson's unbeaten century led the Blackcaps to a four-wicket win. A win this evening will take it to 11 points and almost guarantee it of a spot in the final.
Match preview
The form guide offers little hope for West Indies as it looks to keep the rapidly fading World Cup hopes alive against a New Zealand side that continues to impress. A demolition of Pakistan suggested the Windies could be a force to be reckoned with at this tournament, but they have failed to fire in any of their subsequent matches.
Winless since the opener, the Windies have only three points from five matches and have lost six of their last eight World Cup games.
No Windies batsman has scored a century in the competition so far and both their bowling and fielding left a lot of be desired as they were beaten by seven wickets by Bangladesh last time out.
That will need to change in order for them to have any hope against a New Zealand team boasting one of the world's best batsmen in Kane Williamson, who delivered a decisive century as it recorded the fourth win of the tournament by defeating South Africa.
Another triumph for the Black Caps will all but seal their top-four spot and effectively condemn the Windies to elimination. With New Zealand having won eight of their last nine completed ODI matches, there is nothing to suggest that will not be the outcome.
Tournament so far
Since blowing away Pakistan in their opener the Windies' performances have grown progressively worse. Haphazard batting in the run chase cost them in a 15-run defeat to Australia and an abandonment of their clash with South Africa was followed by a crushing defeat to England and a performance against Bangladesh that was dreadful in every department.
New Zealand have flown under the radar compared to the likes of Australia, England and India but the showings have been no less impressive. They began with a dominant 10-wicket victory over Sri Lanka and were comfortable in seeing off Bangladesh and Afghanistan. A blockbuster meeting with India was rained off before Williamson's ton helped seal a nervy win over South Africa.
What they said
West Indies captain Jason Holder: "It's looking tough at this present moment [to qualify], but it's not impossible. We have to play every game here now as a final. If we want to go through into the semi-finals we've got to beat the best teams."
New Zealand's Matt Henry: "The West Indies are a very dangerous side so we'll give them that respect but we're looking forward to the challenge."
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