New Zealand’s batting collapsed under the pressure of an ever-increasing scoring rate as the West Indies claimed a 39-run victory in the second and final Twenty20 International on Sunday.
Replying to the hosts’ total of 165 for six, the Black Caps lost their final six wickets for 13 runs to be dismissed for 126 off 19.1 overs at Windsor Park in Dominica.
The series finished 1-1 after New Zealand had taken the three-matches Test series 2-1.
Kane Williamson, New Zealand’s captain for the match, topscored with 37 at the top of the order, but it was his dismissal to Kieron Pollard and the demise of Ross Taylor (21) off the bowling of the wily Sunil Narine that effectively spelled the end for the tourists in the Dominican capital of Roseau.
Narine and fellow spinner Samuel Badree kept all the batsmen in check, their combined eight overs costing only 39 runs for three wickets.
Left-arm fast bowler Sheldon Cottrell, who replaced Krishmar Santokie in the final eleven from the team who lost the rain-affected first match on Saturday, finished with three for 28 as New Zealand’s lower-order hit and hoped with an increasing level of desperation toward the end.
Andre Fletcher’s second half-century in as many matches put the West Indies on their way toward a competitive total.
Picking up from where he left off in the first match, Fletcher smashed three sixes and three fours off 49 deliveries in another entertaining innings after the West Indies were put in to bat.
Dwayne Smith fell cheaply again at the start of the innings, but Fletcher joined Lendl Simmons (36) in putting on 66 for the second wicket before the opening batsman was caught on the long-on boundary by Corey Anderson.
Trent Boult took a much more spectacular boundary catch in the late rush for runs to account for Pollard off Anderson. Despite the success, Anderson proved the most expensive bowler, conceding 51 runs off his four overs.
In contrast, Boult was a model of economy, conceding 22 runs and taking the wickets of Fletcher and West Indies captain Darren Sammy.
At the end though, his efforts with the ball and in the field made no difference, Darren Bravo running him out at the non-striker’s end with a direct hit from cover-point to seal the West Indies’ victory.
In April last year, Taiwanese badminton ace Tai Tzu-ying finally opened up about her future in the sport in which she had competed professionally since 2009. “My plan is to retire after the end of next year’s season. Even if I’m still able to compete, I would prefer not to,” she said at a promotional event. If true, the Paris Olympics would be her last stab at an Olympic gold medal, a prize some might think a player who has topped the rankings in women’s singles for a record total of 214 weeks — between December 2016 and September 2022 — should
Vivian Kong on Saturday won Hong Kong’s third ever Olympic gold medal, disappointing the home crowd as she beat France’s Auriane Mallo-Breton 13-12 in sudden death in the women’s epee final. Kong wiped away tears after she clinched the title, having held her nerve when she trailed 7-1 in the second period and with a passionate home crowd, including French President Emmanuel Macron, urging Mallo-Breton on. Her gold emulates that of fellow fencer Cheung Ka-long in the men’s foil in Tokyo three years ago and sailor Lee Lai-shan who won the women’s sailboard title at Atlanta in 1996. “I just thought it was
POLYNESIAN FOCUS: The separate opening event welcomed visitors with Tahitian dancing, while athletes participated in rituals to mark the occasion Tahitian dancers in palm-leaf skirts mingled with Olympic surfers, locals and tourists as the opening ceremony for the Olympic Games commenced in French Polynesia on Friday, about 16,000km from the main ceremony in Paris. “The people of Tahiti, we are all enchanted to have these Olympics Games here and to welcome all our friends from all over the world,” French Polynesia President Moetai Brotherson told reporters. “This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for us. All the world is looking at us for this mighty wave.” Just steps from the ocean and set against the lush green mountains of Tahiti, the event was heavily
Canada women’s soccer coach Bev Priestman on Wednesday said she would step away from the team’s opening game against New Zealand at the Paris Olympics in the wake of a drone scandal. New Zealand complained to the International Olympic Committee’s integrity unit after it said drones were flown over closed practice sessions earlier in the week. As of press time last night, Canada, the defending Olympic champions, were set to open the Paris Games against New Zealand in Saint-Etienne. In the fallout of the complaint, two staff members — assistant coach Jasmine Mander and analyst Joseph Lombardi — were sent home, the