The Black Caps have taken control of their one-day series in the Caribbean, beating the West Indies by six wickets in Guyana to move 2-1 ahead in the best-of-five contest with two matches still to play. It was a second heavy defeat in a row for the hosts, and once again it was New Zealand’s spinners who did the damage on a slow, turning pitch in Georgetown.
Sent in to bat, the West Indies never got going. New Zealand’s slow bowlers strangled the innings from both ends and the home side were held to 140, a total that always looked light on a surface where big shots were a gamble. Keacy Carty top scored with 48 and was one of the few home batters to look settled, but wickets kept falling around him and no one else could build a partnership of any weight.
Jayden Lennox was again the standout, finishing with 4 for 52 to add to the five wickets he claimed in the second match. The young spinner has now taken 10 wickets across the three games, double the tally of his nearest rival on either side, and he has become the story of the tour. Captain Mitchell Santner chipped in with 2 for 15 from his 10 overs and off-spinning all-rounder Michael Bracewell took 2 for 33, meaning the New Zealand spin trio shared eight of the wickets to fall. The West Indies simply had no answer to the flight, drift and turn on offer.
The chase was never comfortable in the sense of being quick, but it was rarely in doubt. New Zealand lost a few wickets in the middle overs as they picked off the runs, with Will Young making 23 and Henry Nicholls 24 before both fell. Tom Latham then steadied things with an unbeaten 31, guiding the visitors home in the 40th over with Dean Foxcroft alongside him on 22 not out. New Zealand reached 141 for the loss of four wickets to seal the win with plenty of overs to spare.
Vitel Lawes, the teenage West Indies quick who impressed on debut earlier in the series, again bowled with heart and took 3 for 39, but he had too little on the board to defend. The result completed a striking turnaround for the New Zealanders, who had lost the opening match of the series by seven wickets before winning the next two in commanding fashion.
That first-up defeat now feels a long time ago. In the second ODI the Black Caps spinners humbled the hosts, with Lennox taking 5 for 19 as the West Indies were bowled out cheaply and New Zealand levelled the series. The third match followed a similar script, and it has left the tourists one win away from taking the series with a game in hand. For a side that has rebuilt its bowling attack around slow bowling in Caribbean conditions, the plan could hardly be working better.
The West Indies, by contrast, have batting problems to solve in a hurry. Twice in a row they have been rolled for modest totals, unable to cope with spin on pitches that were expected to suit their own attack. Carty aside, their top order has struggled to read the New Zealand slow bowlers, and the middle order has offered little resistance once the shine has gone off the ball. With the series slipping away, the hosts will need a much sharper batting effort to force the contest to a decider.
Both squads now leave Guyana and head to Barbados for the final two matches. The fourth ODI is scheduled for Monday morning New Zealand time at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, and a New Zealand win there would wrap up the series with the fifth game to spare. A West Indies victory would keep them alive and set up a decider later in the week.
For New Zealand, the tour has become a useful audition as much as a winning run. Lennox has forced his way into the conversation as a genuine limited-overs option, and the depth in the spin department has given the selectors plenty to think about ahead of a busy home and away calendar. Latham’s calm finishing and the contributions from Young, Nicholls and Foxcroft have also shown a batting group able to grind out a modest chase without fuss, which is exactly the sort of hard-nosed cricket that wins series away from home.
The change in conditions in Barbados could shift the balance. Kensington Oval has historically offered more for the quicker bowlers than the slow, low pitches of Guyana, and that may hand the West Indies pace attack a better platform to strike back. If the surface does carry more bounce, New Zealand’s own seamers will need to shoulder more of the load, and the batting group may face a stiffer test than the low totals of the past two games.
For now, though, the Black Caps hold all the momentum. Two comprehensive wins, a spinner in the form of his life and a 2-1 lead have turned a shaky start into a strong position. You can follow the build-up and result of the third ODI at the NZ Herald, RNZ Sport and the Otago Daily Times.
Do you think the Black Caps can close out the series in Barbados, or will the change of pitch let the West Indies fight back? Have your say in the comments below.
This article was written by AI, briefed to report the facts, hopefully without some of the bias people bring to the job 🙂
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