Kiwis rout Windies in final

LONDON: Spinner Daniel Vettori took five for 30 and ran out two batsmen at Lord’s as New Zealand bowled out the West Indies for 159 yesterday to win the tri-nations NatWest Series cricket final by 107 runs. After New Zealand, powered by an opening stand of 120 by captain Stephen Fleming and Nathan Astle, had scored 266 all out in its final over, leftarm spinner Vettori sparked a late West  Indies collapse. The West Indies appeared to be going well at 98 for two at the halfway stage but were bogged down in the middle of the innings as Vettori and medium pacer Chris Harris slowed them  down.

Vettori captured the prize wicket of West Indies captain Brian Lara leg before wicket for 30 while Devon Smith top scored with 44 before the spinner ran him out with a direct throw. After Fleming and Astle had hit half centuries, the Kiwis, sent into bat, lost their last seven wickets for 49 runs to slide to 266 all out off 49.2 overs. Fleming spearheaded the early charge with a run-a-ball 67 that was spiced with nine fours. Astle, who struck seven boundaries, contributed a solid 57 off 81 balls. Hamish Marshall (44) and Craig McMillan (52) held together the middle order but the West Indies dominated the tail-end of the innings. Ramnaresh Sarwan grabbed a career-best three for 31 off six overs of leg spin and fast bowler Tino Best bounced back from an early mauling to claim two crucial wickets.

Earlier, Lara won the toss and predictably sent in the New Zealanders. The six completed matches in the preliminary round leading up to the final were all won by the team batting second. Fleming and Astle survived a few early scares to anchor the New Zealand innings with some fluent stroke-play. Best ended with expensive figures of two for 57 off 7.2  overs but should have claimed a breakthrough in the third over. Fleming was just seven when his flashing square cut was dropped  by Chris Gayle at first slip. Astle, on 11, survived a chance against Ian Bradshaw as Devon Smith just got his fingertips to a scorching square cut. The Canterbury batsman was let off again at 30 as Ricardo Powell failed to grasp another spanked cut off Best. But the opening duo soon found their touch and the boundaries with increasing regularity. Fleming brought up his half century off just 49 deliveries in the 16th over. A light rain shower stalled New Zealand at 105 without loss after 18.1 overs.

Fleming fell soon after the resumption as Dwayne Bravo’s medium pace sparked the breakthrough. The elegant left-hander steered a square drive to gully where Gayle made up for his earlier miss. Astle passed his fifty off 73 balls, but perished to the same combination at 143 for two. The right-hander smacked his square cut straight to deep gully. Scott Styris fell three runs later as he skied a pull off Dwayne Smith to backward point off the leading edge. Marshall and McMillan restored New Zealand’s advantage in a fourth wicket stand of 71 in 69 balls. But the dismissal of Marshall, lofting a drive to extra cover off Gayle’s off spin, sparked a terminal collapse. Light rain again arrived at 220 for four after 40.3 overs and the West Indies made all the running after the restart. The big hitting Chris Cairns was Sarwan’s first victim, stumped off a leg side wide which rebounded off Ridley Jacobs’ body onto the stumps.

McMillan had just passed his half century when Best returned to cut him short as he sliced a catch to deep cover. The right-hander hit a six and a four off 53 balls. A diving Sarwan pouched a return catch to account for Chris Harris and soon had Daniel Vettori caught at deep midwicket. Best left the New Zealanders fully deflated as he finished off the innings with the first two balls of the final over. Jacob Oram nicked a swipe to wicketkeeper Jacobs and, next ball, Best followed through to run out Gareth Hopkins.