WI vs NZ: Hetmyer, Rutherford star as West Indies end series on a high with 2-wicket win

West Indies finished the five-match series against New Zealand with a consolation victory in the fifth ODI on Tuesday, July 21 at Kensington Oval, Bridgetown, Barbados. After being put in to bat first, New Zealand posted a decent score of 268/9 in their allotted 50 overs, riding on half-centuries from Tom Latham (69 off 71) and Nick Kelly (64 off 80).

For West Indies, Alzarri Joseph (2/38) and Vitel Lawes (2/63) scalped two wickets each. In reply, the hosts pulled off a thrilling run chase, reaching the target in 47.3 overs with Shimron Hetmyer leading the run chase, alongside Sherfane Rutherford (61 off 58).

Jayden Lennox and Jacob Duffy (3/67, 8 overs) tried their best to stop the West Indies mayhem, scalping three wickets each, but the hosts capped off the series with a win. Despite their loss, New Zealand won the five-match series 3-2, registering their fourth successive victory in a bilateral ODI competition against West Indies.

Top run-scorer of the Match

Top wicket-taker of the Match

Player of the Match

Shimron Hetmyer was adjudged Player of the Match for his brilliant innings of 69* (64), laced with two fours and four sixes. He came to the crease with West Indies on 123/4 in 25.2 overs and stitched a game-changing stand alongside Sherfane Rutherford. The duo added 95 runs for the fifth wicket off 90 balls, which brought West Indies on the cusp of victory.

Turning Point

New Zealand had a golden opportunity to end the partnership between Rutherford and Hetmyer within just six runs. On the first ball of the 29^th over, Sherfane Rutherford tried to sweep Michael Bracewell but got a top edge, which went towards Will Young at deep square leg. However, he ended up dropping a simple chance, and Rutherford ensured to rub salt into his wounds with a match-winning fifty.

What did the captains say:

Winning Captain, Shai Hope (West Indies):

[On what it means to win the final ODI] Fight, something that we've shown quite a bit in this series, and it's great to get a win in the last one. Unfortunately, it didn't be 3-2 on our side, but that's how it goes sometimes. [On the learnings] A bit more consistency, well a lot more consistency. Something that we lacked in the last few series, from I guess a holistic standpoint. Sometimes when we bowl well, we find ourselves struggling a bit with the bat, and vice versa. So it's about playing that complete game more often than not. Other than that, it's just about having that same intent with both bat and ball, and finding ways to win in crucial moments of the game. [On the defining difference between both teams] I would say grasping those moments. There were very, very key moments in a couple of the games in Guyana, when our batters, we didn't really capitalise on some of the starts that we got. Challenging conditions, yes, but that's what we have to do here in international cricket. When you're faced with challenges, you've got to find a way to overcome them. And like I said, those crucial moments, last game. We're going to look at the catch, but there's always a way. We could have probably scored a bit more runs with the bat as well, give our bowlers a bit more cushion. So there's so many areas of the game that you can look at. But, you know, we're always going to look at a one moment, but still the crucial moments of the game, we need to be able to grasp a lot more and be more consistent on that. [How can you get more victories for the West Indian public?] To be honest, we're trying. I think something that we don't see, the guys are putting a lot of work behind the scenes. You know, the schedule is very tight. When we travel, sometimes we're traveling, and next morning we've got to be up in the nets trying to get those little tweaks out. So the guys are working hard, it's just about being able to execute when things are tough. I think that's the key for us, you know. We've got the capabilities, the guys have the skill set. We all can play cricket, but it's about doing it more consistently when, you know, the pressure situations come, and they're right. But yeah, we're going to get there, man, we're going to get there.

Losing Captain, Mitchell Santner (New Zealand):

Another great game, as it's been out through this whole series. Obviously, it's nice to win the trophy 3-2, but it could have gone either way, probably every game in the series. Today, we set it up quite nicely with the bat. We probably fell a touch short of where we wanted, but I think the fight that the lads showed with the ball was outstanding. [On the depth of New Zealand cricket] It's in a great place. I guess with the condensed schedules at the moment, there is a little bit of rotation. So, it gives guys opportunities, which is always good to grow the depth, like you said. And with the guys that have come in and stepped up straight away, as they did in Bangladesh and India when there's a few boys away. So, we're in a pretty good spot at the moment, which is nice. [How challenging are these conditions for the batters?] Yeah, they are. I mean, they're obviously a little bit slower than especially when you're back home. Guyana was, I think a bit of a challenge. You've got to take your par score down to kind of 210, 220 if you're batting first. And tosses actually were quite important this series, which you don't really want it to be. But, yeah, and then I guess here it was nice. Today it played quite well, I think. We were probably a little bit short with the bat, but I think under lights there it played quite nicely. But I guess there is a little bit of turn in the West Indies, which is nice (smiles). [On Jayden Lennox] He's done it for a long time in New Zealand where it can be quite challenging, I think. The thing with him, he's very clear in how he wants to operate. I guess he's done it for a long time. And, when you get him on the international stage, he's still very clear and understands what the role is out there. I guess here it spins a bit more, and I think attacking the stumps like he always does is always a challenge. And same with Motie as well. An outstanding series for him. I guess when you come to these conditions and you kind of expect to take wickets, but, he kind of went about it the same as he usually would, and 14 wickets in the five games is pretty good.