The loss feels like it brings to an end an incredible run of tournament results for New Zealand, who have made the semifinals at least of the last six World Cups, across both 20- and 50-over cricket, dating back to 2015.
In particular, the decision not to play any warm-up fixtures was exposed again, as the Kiwi batting unit struggled in unfamiliar conditions, as the hosts’ spinners took hold.
Defeat is an even harder pill to swallow, after having the West Indies on the ropes at 112/9 batting first. A late blitz from Sherfane Rutherford (68 not out off 39) set the Black Caps 150 for victory, only to respond with 136/9.
Trent Boult (3/16) and Tim Southee (2/21) stood out with the ball, however the rest of New Zealand’s attack conceded 112 runs in 12 overs to leave a tough ask for the batters.
Seamer Alzarri Joseph (4/20), the spin duo of Gudakesh Motie (3/25) and Akeal Hossein (1/21) combined to stifle the Black Caps, as only Glenn Phillips (40 off 33), Finn Allen (26 off 23) and Mitchell Santner (21 not out off 12) made more than 20 runs.
Finn Allen reacts to his dismissal against the West Indies. Photo / AP
The defeat leaves the Black Caps essentially playing only for pride in their remaining two fixtures, as this year’s World Cup appears to be the fullstop on New Zealand cricket’s golden generation.
However, the Black Caps could still sneak into the next stage, provided Afghanistan fail to beat the West Indies. But they also need Afghanistan to lose to Papua New Guinea on Friday by large enough margins to eliminate their net run rate of +5.225.
After winning the toss and opting to bowl first, having made three changes to the side that were hammered by Afghanistan first up, Kane Williamson’s decision was vindicated by Boult, who bowled Johnson Charles for a duck at the end of the opening over.
Southee joined in in the fourth over, as Devon Conway held on to a difficult chance to remove Nicholas Pooran at 20/2, which became 21/3 when Lockie Ferguson (2/27) struck with his third ball to remove Roston Chase for a duck, courtesy of a Rachin Ravindra catch.
And when Southee had rival captain Rovman Powell caught behind for one, the Black Caps were in control of the first innings in restricting their hosts to 23/4 in the powerplay.
But as the Black Caps reduced the West Indies to 7/76 in the 13th over, and Boult returned to snare the dangerous Andre Russell for 14, Rutherford remained – and bolstered the total, even as Ferguson struck from the other end to trap Romario Shepherd LBW.
As Boult bowled Alzarri Joseph for 16 to leave the West Indies 112/9, Daryl Mitchell’s arrival at the bowling crease in the penultimate over was a gamble too far from Williamson, as Rutherford hammered 19 runs to move to 50 from 33 balls, with 30 of those runs coming in sixes alone.
That proved the spark the West Indies’ innings needed, as Rutherford finished by hitting 37 from his last 12 balls, ending the innings with a career-best score that saw his side post 149/9 from their 20 overs.
Finn Allen (26 off 23) got the innings off to a good start, and cleared midwicket for his first six – even if he lost Conway at the other end – but failed to cash in on a dropped catch when he holed out to deep square leg, as the Black Caps finished the powerplay at 36/2.
The Black Caps celebrate a wicket against the West Indies. Photo / AP
Demoted down the order to No 4, Williamson came and went for a single, as he cut Gudakesh Motie into Pooran’s gloves for one at 39/3, and Motie had a second wicket when Ravindra found the hands of Russell at deep midwicket for 10, as New Zealand limped to 58/4 at the halfway stage.
Motie had his third after drinks, as a ball turned past the bat to bowl Daryl Mitchell for 12 to make it 63/5 –the Black Caps quickly running out of recognised batters.
Glenn Phillips and Jimmy Neesham stemmed the flow of wickets, but needed to hit more than two runs per ball in the final five overs, with the equation reading 65 from 30 needed for an unthinkable victory in the conditions.
But Neesham perished one delivery later, when he skied a chance off Joseph to King at mid-off, even as Phillips launched a counter-attack in the 17th over against Russell to bring up New Zealand’s 100, only to fall to Joseph at 108/8.
Boult managed to clear the ropes, but fell one ball later when he sliced Russell to Chase, leaving Santner needing to hit 33 from the final over.
And while Santner (21 not out off 12) obliged with two sixes from the first two balls, a dot ball on the third all but ended New Zealand’s hopes.
Victory sends the West Indies into the Super Eight stage, with three wins from their first three games, regardless of the result against Afghanistan on Tuesday.
The Black Caps conclude their group stage campaign with two clashes against minnows, facing Uganda on Saturday afternoon (NZT), and Papua New Guinea on Tuesday morning.
West Indies 149/9 (Rutherford 68 not out; Boult 3/16) New Zealand 136/9 (Phillips 40; Joseph 4/19)
Alex Powell is an Online Sports Editor for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016, and previously worked for both Newshub and 1News.
