Kiwis win World double-wicket

CASTRIES: The West Indies exited the World Double-Wicket Cricket Championship at the semi-final stage and New Zealand went on to capture the title in the US$175,000 event at the Beausejour Stadium yesterday.

Sri Lanka eliminated the West Indies with a three -run victory in the first semi-final, and New Zealand defeated England by 53 runs early in the afternoon, to join the Sri Lankans in the late afternoon championship decider. England had been promoted into the last four to replace semi-final qualifiers Pakistan, who were forced to withdraw because of an injury to Shahid Afridi. Batting first against Sri Lanka in their semi-final, the West Indies scored well with Chris Gayle slamming 46 and Carl Hooper 17 in a total of 68, reflecting a 30-run reduction because they suffered three dismissals. Sri Lanka’s pair of Mahela Jayawardene (42) and Aravinda de Silva (24) suffered only one wicket-loss and squeezed to victory with 71 runs from their 10 overs, handing the West Indies pair their only defeat of the tournament.

The second semi-final produced many runs and many wickets as New Zealand prevailed for a handsome win. With the format dictating a 10-run deduction from the batting team’s score each time a wicket is taken, England suffered badly. Responding to New Zealand’s score of 93, England actually gathered 130 runs but suffered nine dismissals, adjusting their final score to 40 off their 10 overs. Oram had earlier belted 52 and Vettori, 36, in pushing the New Zealand total to 113 runs, revised to the 93 total because of two dismissals. In the final, the Sri Lankans batted first and amassed a final tally of 70 runs during their 12 overs. De Silva’s contribution was 47 and Jayawardene 22. Sri Lanka picked up US$30,000 for second and beaten semi-finalists West Indies and England got US$20,000 each.