Cricket: Styris cool but Windies sneak over the line

So devoid was this match of the necessities of life that you expected it to end not with a wicket or a stolen single, but with the sight of tumbleweed blowing across this desolate scene.

This was cricket's version of a Broadway flop, where the actors go through the motions to keep the sponsors happy, knowing the public has long given up on the hackneyed script. The audience stayed away in their droves yesterday, this city of more than a million-and-plenty coughing up just 10,000 paying customers.

As is often the case, it ended up being the best match - in terms of the finish if not the quality - of the series.

The West Indies at least put a surprise twist at the end, winning just their third game in 22 - by three wickets with two balls to spare - proving at least they can rise to the small occasion. Lou Vincent, too, threw in a comedy routine by downtrou-ing himself sliding for a ball on the boundary and making the return with his pants around his ankles.

The Windies' long-awaited victory came thanks to a 58-run eighth-wicket partnership of 41 balls from Denesh Ramdin and Wavell Hinds. Ramdin had the agony of falling to Bond with the scores tied but Hinds finished it with a blooped single over mid-on.

However it was far too little, far too late to save face in this series.

With less than 20 minutes to go before the first ball was bowled, the yellow-jacketed security sticklers out-numbered paying customers on the infamous terraces. Maybe it was because light beer was being sold underneath the terraces. But even that was fitting; out in the middle it was cricket-lite being served up.

Not that New Zealand should feel culpable. They're not the ones that went into this deadest of rubbers facing a nil-four deficit and, even more damning, charges of not trying to win in the midweek match at Napier.

Brian Lara might have bemoaned the lack of respect afforded West Indian cricket as he shuffled through the arrivals hall on Friday, but he would do well to note that until last night, his was the feistiest performance of the tour to date.

New Zealand won't admit it but there was a definite air of going through the motions, particularly in the field where they dropped catches they should of held and gave away unnecessary overthrows.

Kyle Mills, James Franklin and Jeetan Patel were bowling for places in the eleven for the first test - the latter two were unimpressive - but that was about it as far as intrigue went.

Fleming won the toss and batted on a pitch held together by glue and two-paced enough to have most batsmen struggling for timing.

Lou Vincent followed his hit (102) in Napier with a miss (1), and player of the series Nathan Astle nicked out before 10 runs were on the board.

Ross Taylor played a knock that was rich in promise but poor in patience, heaving across the line at a pedestrian Ian Bradshaw with his score on 31.

Stephen Fleming looked sound in reaching 32 but the arrival of Scott Styris seemed to give him the jitters. That was understandable as Styris seemed to have it in mind that the best way for career advancement was to strand the skipper with suicidal running.

Fleming survived that, but not a nick off Dwayne Smith that was excellently taken by keeper Denesh Ramdin.

Styris looked anything but the fluent strokeplayer he can be but was determined that he would be the one to bat through, especially after Chris Gayle dropped a simple return catch when he was 28.

But if Styris was going to provide the bulk of the runs at one end, a bit of oomph had to be provided at the other end.

But Peter Fulton and Hamish Marshall just ate up balls before leaving Brendon McCullum with a pitiful few overs from which to launch an assault.

McCullum might be, in coach John Bracewell's eyes, the best closer in the game but when New Zealand bat first, surely there is scope to use his talents higher up the order rather than place him in a near-hopeless position like yesterday.

As it was, even given the difficulties with the surface, 16 boundaries (seven to Taylor) was a poor return from 50 overs and summed up the dead rubber.

-HERALD ON SUNDAY