Cricket: Windies await medical reports on Sarwan, Bravo

Ramnaresh Sarwan and Dwayne Bravo

The West Indies cricketers will be keenly waiting on medical reports on two key players today as they prepare for the start of the one-day international series against New Zealand in Wellington tomorrow.

The West Indies put in a competitive effort against the Black Caps in their Twenty20 international at Eden Park yesterday, losing in a bowling shootout after scores were tied at the end of each team's 20 overs.

However, they went into the match without vice-captain Ramnaresh Sarwan, who was suffering from influenza, and had key allrounder Dwayne Bravo leave the field injured after bowling two overs and four balls.

Captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul said more detail was expected about the seriousness of the injury today.

"It's a side injury but I don't know much about it yet," he said.

Bravo had been a major contributor to the game. He scored 19 not out off 16 balls with the bat and had taken two wickets for 16 runs from his 2.4 overs until leaving the field immediately after he bowled Chris Cairns for two in his final international game.

Sarwan woke up yesterday morning with influenza. He was apparently keen to head to the ground, but advised by team medical staff to stay at the team's hotel.

It was not clear yesterday whether he would recover in time for tomorrow's match.

The West Indies had looked out of the contest for most of the Twenty20 match yesterday.

Their total of 126 for seven seemed too low to be competitive, and when New Zealand cruised to 73 for two in the 10th over it seemed the home side were in for an easy win.

But New Zealand lost six wickets for 34 runs in the last 10 overs, leaving them 107 for eight at one stage, and were only able to tie the match when tailenders James Franklin and Shane Bond took 16 off Ian Bradshaw's bowling in the last over of the innings.

Chanderpaul said he was delighted with the effort given that it was the West Indies' first Twenty20 international.

"It's a good experience, fast-paced game. You have to have your thinking cap on early and you have to be ready at all times," he said.

"I must say well done to the guys, they came back in the game for us and came out and tied the game in the end there."

New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming was less pleased with his team's batting after they looked set for victory.

"I thought our bowling went really well and the fielding set a pretty good standard for the five one-day games coming up," he said.

"But our batting was pretty dumb, we just got caught up in trying to get the game won and play the big shots and please the crowd, and no one really did any hard work.

"Hopefully we get it out of the way now but I'm not overly happy."

Much of the bowling recovery from the West Indies came through the efforts of Bravo and his bowling replacement Dwayne Smith, who took two for nine off his 3.2 overs.

Smith had also looked good in his brief time with the bat, scoring eight off four runs before being run out by Cairns.

"I was disappointed I didn't really to put the runs on the board but I came back well with the ball and I'm happy with my performance."

Smith was somewhat surprisingly named man of the match ahead of Shane Bond.

The New Zealand quick bowler took two for 13 in his four overs, hit the last ball of the New Zealand innings for four to force the bowling shootout and then hit the stumps with his two deliveries in the shootout to set up New Zealand's 3-0 victory.

Bond's bowling was one of the main reasons for the West Indies' slow batting start which saw them just 28 for two after eight overs.

They picked the pace up after that point through the efforts of Chanderpaul (26), Daren Ganga (26), Bravo (19 not out) and Wavell Hinds (14), but their score still seemed too low to be competitive.

It seemed even less likely to give the West Indies a winning chance as Lou Vincent scored 42 off 37 balls at the top of the New Zealand order, but the bowling of Bravo, Smith and Chris Gayle helped earn the West Indies their tie.

New Zealand's first Twenty20 shootout -- in which five bowlers from each side were each given two deliveries to hit the stumps -- was a fizzer at the start as the first three bowlers from each side missed with every delivery.

Bond then struck with both his deliveries, and when Bradshaw followed with two misses, Scott Styris needed only one strike to secure the shootout victory and achieved it with his first ball.

Cairns had a mixed match in his last international appearance, effecting a run out and a catch in the field, bowling a good spell of none for 24 off his four overs. He was then dismissed for two when batting and missed the stumps with both his shootout deliveries.

Cairns said he was delighted with the result and the send-off he received.

"How can you top that? It's an amazing way to finish a career," he said.

"I was just really keen to put in a professional performance, that was the biggest thing I wanted to do on the field.

"I wanted to make sure that my fielding was good, that I bowled okay -- it's just unfortunate that I couldn't clock one into the stands with the bat, that would have been nice."

The two teams -- minus Cairns -- head to Wellington today ahead of tomorrow's first one-day international, the first of five they will contest.

- NZPA