NZ down WI in ‘topsy-turvy’ opening T20

By AFP

November 28, 2020

AUCKLAND: Paceman Lockie Ferguson unleashed a devastating five-wicket barrage as New Zealand downed the West Indies in a roller coaster Twenty20 series opener in Auckland on Friday.

The match — the first international cricket played in New Zealand for almost nine months — produced a nail-biting finale as the Black Caps reached 179-5 in the final over after being set a target of 176.

Persistent showers meant the innings were reduced to 16 and many players, particularly the tourists, were rusty after only emerging from Covid-19 quarantine on Thursday.

But there were outstanding individual performances on both sides, particularly man of the match Ferguson and West Indies captain Kieron Pollard’s unbeaten 75 from 37 balls.

Ferguson claimed a career-best haul of 5-21 to put the brakes on a flying start from the West Indies, saying the short boundaries at Eden Park helped his cause.

“It’s one of the craziest grounds you could ever play at, the ball flies everywhere and fortunately for me today it went to hand, which is nice,” he said.

Pollard almost swung momentum back to the West Indies single-handedly, clubbing eight sixes and four fours to ensure his team set a competitive target.

“It was fantastic cricket, in terms of the ball flaying all over the boundaries,” he said.

“It was a topsy-turvy sort of game, a bit of indiscipline showed with us on the bowling side.”

Before play commenced, both sides took a knee in a gesture against racism, with the West Indies players each raising a black-gloved fist.

Score Board

New Zealand won toss

West Indies

A. Fletcher b Ferguson 34

B. King c Neesham b Southee 13

S. Hetmyer c Siefert b Ferguson 0

N. Pooran lbw b Ferguson 1

R. Powell c Ferguson b Southee 0

*K. Pollard not out 75

F. Allen c Siefert b Ferguson 30

K. Paul c Siefert b Ferguson 0

S. Cottrell not out 1

Extras (lb6, nb4, w16) 26

Total (7 wkts, 16 overs) 180

Did not bat: K. Williams, O. Thomas.

Fall: 1-58, 2-58, 3-58, 4-58, 5-59, 6-143, 7-146

Bowling: Southee 3-0-22-2 (3w); Jamieson 3-0-26-0 (3w); Bennett 2.3-0-50-0 (5w, 3nb); Ferguson 4-0-21-5 (3w); Santner 2-0-23-0 (1nb); Neesham 1.3-0-32-0 (2w)

New Zealand

M. Guptill c Pooran b Cottrell 5

T. Siefert c Powell b Thomas 17

D. Conway c Thomas b Pollard 41

G. Phillips b Thomas 22

R. Taylor run out 0

J. Neesham not out 48

M. Santner not out 31

Extras (b4, lb2, nb6, w3) 15

Total (5 wkts, 15.2 overs) 179

Did not bat: *T. Southee, K. Jamieson, L. Ferguson, H. Bennett

Fall: 1-7, 2-34, 3-62, 4-63, 5-140