NELSON – The first string players couldn’t get it done. And the West Indies’ second-string players don’t seem able to do much better either.
The wobbbly Windies tour of New Zealand continued to go from bad to worse yesterday, when New Zealand beat them by 58 runs under the Duckworth-Lewis method to win the fourth One Day International (ODI) at the Saxton Oval to take a 2-1 lead in the five-match series.
Rain shortened play during the tourists’ reply to New Zealand’s 285 for six off their 50 overs. West Indies were 134 for five in the 34th over when play was officially called off.
West Indies struggled from the start, losing both openers – Chadwick Walton and Johnson Charles – for ducks. Kirk Edwards and Lendl Simmons stabilized the innings before Edwards was run out by Brendon McCullum for 24 and Simmons was caught on the boundary for 43 off 48 balls.
When the rain came, Dwayne Bravo (43) and Denesh Ramdin (17) were at the wickets but still short of the run equation.
West Indies coach Ottis Gibson put the poor results mostly down to second-string players not grabbing the opportunities given to them.
In this particular game, the fielders let the team down at the death and his batsmen were unnecessarily run out, he said, resulting in the defeat.
“Yeah, another tough loss. The first 25 overs of our [bowling] innings was excellent,” Gibson said. “But our fielding . . . couple of dropped catches, which would’ve changed [things]. The way we fielded in the whole innings, particularly towards the end, New Zealand got 25, 30 runs too many. It wasn’t a 280 pitch.
“Then losing a wicket through a run-out, when you need to be sensible for the first 20 [overs] with the new balls; it’s going be difficult. Losing a couple of wickets to run-outs was a tough blow. And then weather interrupted and that was that.”
Earlier, opener Martin Guptill set the stage for the hosts with a knock of 81. Ross Taylor (49), and 47 each from Jesse Ryder and Kane Williamson ensured a challenging target for the West Indies.
Bravo finished with two for 35 and a wicket each for Sunil Narine, Jason Holder and Tino Best.
Best was the most expensive of the bowlers, conceding 22 runs off his final over to end with one for 70 off nine overs.
West Indies were down to 12 fit players after pacer Ravi Rampaul suffered an injured finger while batting in the nets on Friday. This followed injuries to Marlon Samuels and Darren Sammy and the withdrawal of Darren Bravo for personal reasons.
The fifth and final ODI will be played in Hamilton on Wednesday (Tuesday evening Eastern Caribbean time). The teams will also contest two Twenty20 matches.
While Test captain Sammy, who has suffered a hamstring injury, is out for two to three weeks, Gibson said Ravi Rampaul – who has a finger injury – might be ready in time to play the fifth ODI which the West Indies must win to tie the series.
“Ravi’s [finger] was a little sore, but he’s a tough guy. It’s just his left hand, so his bowling won’t be affected and once we get him pain-free, I’m pretty sure he will play,” the coach said in a Press conference.
“We’re still waiting for the results [of the tests done on Sammy]. He’s still limping around a bit. We’re not sure how he’s going to travel, but he’s staying with us for a little longer. The injury is a two- to three-week situation. Hopefully, we can assess his situation for the T20s.”
Gibson said the squad would be strengthened with the arrival of specialist T20 players from the Caribbean.
“There are some guys coming in for the T20s in two days’ time: Samuel Badree, Andre Russell and Andre Fletcher. We’re down to bare bones, and need to look at integrating them into the mix, and try and move forward,” the coach said. (BA/CMC)