West Indies used the backdrop of an old stomping ground to end their barren run in the One-Day International format yesterday in Barbados.
Kensington Oval has been a fortress for the Windies in the sport over the years, and the embattled, unheralded brigade, under Nicholas Pooran, used it to clinch an unlikely win over the No. 1 ODI side in the world.
For the couple thousand Barbadians that defied a few seasonal showers, beloved Barbadian batsman Shamarh Brooks rewarded them with a gritty half-century that earned him the Player-of-the-Match award and anchored the Caribbean side to a five-wicket win over New Zealand in the rain-marred first ODI.
Brooks gathered 79 from 91 balls that included nine fours and one six, and West Indies successfully chased a modest target of 191 to end a two-and-a-half-month wait for their first ODI win since they beat the Netherlands by 20 runs on June 4 in Amstelveen, Holland.
Since then, the Windies were swept by Pakistan away, and India and Bangladesh at home for a run of nine successive losses. (AR)
