Battling WI lose ‘bowl-off’

A crowd in excess of 30,000 had come to celebrate the farewell of long-serving all-rounder Chris Cairns, but it was fast bowler Shane Bond who emerged as the hero for the hosts after they faltered in pursuit of a modest West Indies total of 126 for seven off their allotted 20 overs.

Having impressed with a pacy opening spell of two for 15 off four overs, Bond crashed the last ball of the match off Bradshaw over extra cover for four to close the Black Caps' innings at 126 for eight just when it seemed the Caribbean side, who played with great determination in the field, were poised to spoil the farewell party for Cairns.

The fast bowler was also the hero in the "bowl-off," which took some time to get going as both teams and match officials seemed unsure as to what to do in the event of a tie.

With each side required to use five players bowling two balls each at unguarded stumps, three pairs of bowlers completely missed the wicket before Bond dislodged the bails with his two deliveries.

Bradshaw, who had conceded just eight runs in his first three overs before the final flurry by Bond and James Franklin, then missed with his two attempts and Scott Styris struck the stumps with his first delivery to steal a win that looked highly unlikely when Chris Gayle bowled Peter Fulton in the 19th over to reduce the opposition to 107 for eight. Gayle and Dwayne Smith got the rewards for exceptional accuracy in triggering the home team's slide from the comfort of 72 for two in the tenth over, but both seemed to have switched off their radar in the "bowl-off."

Jerome Taylor and Dwayne Bravo also picked up two wickets but there was concern over the fitness of Bravo who left the field for an unspecified ailment immediately after he bowled Cairns for two in the 12th over.

Another worry for the West Indies was the fitness of Wavell Hinds, who left the field with what was initially diagnosed as a thigh strain.

Given the proximity of the opening fixture of the five-match One-Day International series today in Wellington, the tourists will be worried that an encouraging start to a hectic campaign could be spoiled already by injuries and ailments, especially as vice-captain Ramnaresh Sarwan was ruled out of the Twenty20 opener because of influenza.

Hinds was one of two run out victims earlier in the evening as the West Indies struggled to establish any momentum after they were put in to bat on a "drop-in" pitch that offered encouraging bounce for the faster bowlers.

Any hopes for a flying start ended in the fourth over when Gayle mistimed a lofted drive off Bond and Nathan Astle held a comfortable catch at mid-on.

Daren Ganga and skipper Shivnarine Chanderpaul were the joint top-scorers with 26, while Bravo was unbeaten on 19, but a total just fractionally above six runs-per-over seemed well within the reach of New Zealand, especially as their players would have had considerably more experience in this new, popular version of the game at domestic level than their West Indian counterparts.

Taylor gave the West Indies early encouragement in defence of that modest total when he removed New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming in his first over. However when the other opener, Lou Vincent, crashed two boundaries off Deighton Butler and then took 15 runs off Taylor's next over, it seemed only a matter of time before the home team rushed to victory. Yet perseverance paid off for the Caribbean side as new batsman Nathan Astle fell to a fine diving catch by Chanderpaul off Taylor and when Bravo bowled Scott Styris four overs later, the complexion of the match changed dramatically. Cairns' swift demise and Bravo's immediate departure gave Smith the opportunity to show his worth with the ball. He responded by bowling Vincent for a topscore of 42 and was again on target when wicketkeeper-batsman Brendon McCullum swung and missed.

At the other end, Gayle disposed of Hamish Marshall to a catch by Bradshaw and with desperation growing in the New Zealand camp, Fulton, the tall right-hander, paid the price for swinging hopefully at another delivery from the Jamaican that was speared unerringly into the stumps.

With 16 runs required to win off the final over, Bradshaw made the mistake of bowling too full to Franklin and the left-hander smashed the seamer's second delivery for six over midwicket to bring the contest back to life.

A flurry of scrambled singles meant that Bond needed a big hit off the final ball, and in Bradshaw's eagerness to bowl the yorker, he served up a full toss which the tail-ender slammed over cover to take the match into cricket's equivalent of a penalty shoot-out.

Even as the West Indies finished on the losing end in the "bowl-off," they were able to leave Eden Park with their heads held high, having sent an early warning to their favoured opponents that they are capable of pulling off more than a few surprises, especially in the shorter version of the game, if they continue to battle with the same purpose and spirit they showed under the Eden Park lights yesterday.