Keacy Carty struck 95, captain Shai Hope made an unbeaten 87 and debutant Vitel Lawes claimed three wickets as West Indies defeated New Zealand by seven wickets in the opening One-Day International at the National Stadium, Providence, yesterday.
Backed by a decent-sized and vocal crowd chasing 268 for victory, Carty and Hope shared a match-winning 131-run partnership for the third wicket to guide West Indies to 268-3 in 48.5 overs. Their efforts followed strong bowling performances from Lawes and Alzarri Joseph, who collected 3-54 and 4-41, respectively, as New Zealand were dismissed for 267 in 49.5 overs.
Carty, who was named Player of the Match, compiled his 95 from 112 deliveries and struck 10 fours and two sixes. Hope faced 92 balls for his unbeaten 87, which included four fours and four sixes.
West Indies lost John Campbell for 11 at 28-1 before Carty and Ackeem Auguste steadied the chase with a 64-run second-wicket partnership. Auguste made 38 from 58 balls before he was caught by Tom Latham off Jayden Lennox at 92-2.
Hope then joined Carty and the pair placed West Indies firmly in control. Carty was eventually caught by Nathan Smith off Michael Bracewell with the score on 223 in the 44th over, five runs short of a century.
However, Hope remained until the end and added an unbroken 45 with Sherfane Rutherford, who contributed 22 not out from 16 balls, to complete the victory with seven deliveries remaining.
Carty was pleased to return to form after enduring a difficult period with the bat.
“I was able to contribute and West Indies got over the line, which is most important. It is good to be back in the runs,” Carty said.
He described the pitch as slow and low and said scoring became more difficult after he made a positive start. Carty also credited Hope for maintaining the momentum during their partnership.
“He was flowing when he came in. I think he was going over a 100 strike rate, which was good for me,” Carty said. “Our partnership then kind of flipped later on in the evening. We worked well together.”
Earlier, New Zealand made a solid start after being asked to bat, with Henry Nicholls and Will Young adding 80 for the first wicket.
The 19-year-old Lawes made the first breakthrough of his international career when Nicholls was caught by Khary Pierre for 27. Gudakesh Motie then removed Young for 49, while Lawes had Mark Chapman stumped by Hope for 27 with perhaps the delivery of the day, pitching on the left-hander’s leg stump before jagging back across with Chapman completely missing the ball and well out of his crease.
Daryl Mitchell led New Zealand’s recovery with 65 from 73 deliveries, including seven fours and one six. He added 44 with Latham, who made 25, and 65 with Bracewell, who contributed 29.
New Zealand reached 234-4 in the 44th over, but West Indies took their final six wickets for just 33 runs.
Lawes removed Bracewell to claim his third wicket before Joseph produced a destructive spell at the death. Joseph dismissed Mitchell, Nathan Smith, Mitchell Santner and Matthew Fisher as New Zealand lost their final five wickets in 27 balls.
Santner scored 21 from 17 deliveries, while Motie finished with 2-51 and Pierre took 1-39. Shamar Joseph and Rutherford were the other bowlers used by West Indies.
Hope praised the fight shown by his side and said the victory was an important first step in their push for automatic qualification for the 50-over World Cup.
“The automatic qualification for the 50-over World Cup is still a long way off, but you have to start somewhere and I am happy with the game today,” Hope said.
The captain also praised Carty for controlling the chase on a surface where scoring freely was difficult.
“Credit to Keacy for the way he came in and controlled the game,” Hope said. “He shepherded the innings and I was there to support him.”
Hope was equally impressed with Lawes, saying the young left-arm wrist-spinner settled after showing some early nerves.
“He was extremely commendable,” Hope said. “It was good to see him come in and express himself. He has a unique skill which we lack in the Caribbean.”
The victory gave West Indies a strong start to the five-match series and they will look to build on that start in the second ODI, another day/night fixture slated for Monday, July 13.
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