Cricket World Cup: How the international media reacted to the Black Caps' win

The Black Caps celebrate during their big win over the West Indies. Photo / Mark Mitchell

The Black Caps hammered the West Indies in Wellington yesterday to march into the semifinals of the Cricket World Cup.

Brendon McCullum's side set up the 143-run win with a massive first innings total of 393. Opener Martin Guptill was the star of the show, smashing an unforgettable 237 to become the first New Zealander to score a double-hundred in ODI cricket. It was also the highest individual total scored at this World Cup.

The Black Caps have now won seven from seven at the tournament, and will go into Tuesday's semifinal against South Africa at Eden Park high on confidence.

The scale of New Zealand's win last night sent shock waves around the cricketing world. Here are some of the reactions from the international media and cricket's well-known pundits.

Guptill puts Windies to the sword
"Counter-intuitive as it is, this account must begin with Marlon Samuels. It was he who - dozy as if still on his deckchair in Jamaica - dropped Martin Guptill at square leg from the third ball. Has any man since Lazarus gained such instant and surely everlasting fame from a life? Fifty overs later, the rueful West Indies to a man trudged up to shake Guptill's hand and then with Daniel Vettori stood aside as Guptill paraded from the Cake Tin while 32,000 New Zealanders chanted his name. Beside it was 237 not out, thesecond highest score in one-day history. 'Welcome the elite,' said Chris Gayle, himself a double century-maker in this World Cup, and Guptill grinned. 'I'm still not sure what happened today, to be honest,' Guptill said later."
Greg Baum, Sydney Morning Herald

West Indies swept aside by record breaking innings from NZ's Martin Guptill
"So in a competition that has offered much to enjoy in the past five weeks, the four indisputably best teams will contest the semi-finals. Clearly South Africa will have the better training period heading in to the game, and, frankly, the two days grace that New Zealand are allowed now, one of them a travel day, between two matches of such high intensity, is unfair. But Brendon McCullum's side are riding a crest and the support at Eden Park promises to get the adrenaline pumping through even the most weary of bodies. It promises to be quite a spectacle. The innings played by Guptill was remarkable not just for the runs he made but the manner in which they came. When it comes to batsmanship, this, we are constantly being told, is the age of invention: of flicks and flamingos, ramps and reverses, switch-hits and sixes, IPLs and Big Bashes. Except nobody appears to have told him, for if this, ultimately, was a display of power-hitting delivered by a tall fellow with long levers and a penchant for the front foot, then it was the orthodoxy of it all that caught the eye, utterly without recourse to frills or frippery: no dancing down the pitch, or moving around the crease."
Mike Selvey, The Guardian

Martin Guptill hits World Cup record 237 to help New Zealand beat West Indies
"It has to be a prime candidate for the most expensive mistake in a cricket World Cup, or even in the whole history of white-ball cricket, as it paved the way for New Zealand to reach the semi-finals, for the seventh time in 11 tournaments. Martin Guptill, New Zealand's tall 28 year-old opening batsman, had scored four runs against West Indies when he clipped a catch to square-leg, where Marlon Samuels dropped it. Three hours later Guptill had scored 237 - the highest innings ever in World Cups - and he was still not out."
Scyld Berry, The Telegraph

New Zealand ready to dream after Guptill knock
"Throughout the World Cup, a television advertisement has featured Brendon McCullum telling his country to 'dream big, New Zealand'. As the crowds streamed towards the stadium known as the Cake Tin on a gloriously sunny Saturday afternoon, it seemed like the message of the Black Caps captain was getting through. By the time they drifted away into the Wellington night, having seen the Martin Guptill-inspired Kiwis destroy West Indies to earn a place in the semi-finals, the dream was fast becoming a reality."
Stephan Shemilt, BBC Sport

The @BLACKCAPS are a great team to watch ... So aggressive and powerful .. Lead by a great Captain.. #CWC15 #Guptill

— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) March 21, 2015

That has got to be one of the catches of this World Cup !!!
The evergreen Daniel Vettori ... Magnificent !!

— BeefyBotham (@BeefyBotham) March 21, 2015

Just woke up ......what ?????? Martin Guptill 237 !!!!!!! Well played !!!

— David 'Bumble' Lloyd (@BumbleCricket) March 21, 2015