Sammy Shines As Windies Topple New Zealand

West Indies got their one-day series with New Zealand off to a winning start with a thrilling two-wicket victory in a low-scoring clash in Auckland.

Darren Sammy was the match-winner for the tourists, his unbeaten 43 making sure they successfully chased down 157.

New Zealand were skittled for just 156 after being put in - the McCullum brothers contributing 98 of those runs - and the chase looked a routine one.

But Mitchell McClenaghan's five-wicket haul gave the Windies a real fright before they scraped home with two wickets to spare.

It took Sammy to make it happen, with the all-rounder steadying a creaking ship that had been holed by McClenaghan.

He cleaned up Kieran Powell for five and Johnson Charles for nine and then, when he snared out Darren Bravo for 14, the tourists were reeling on 32-3.

Respite followed but McClenaghan pinned Dwayne Bravo in front for 12, with Lendl Simmons following as he he found the hands of Ross Taylor off Kyle Mills when in on 34.

But with such a low total to chase progress had been made, meaning that when Mills castled Narsingh Deonarine, there was still a chance of turning 96-6 into a winning score.

Sammy took that chance and, even though Denesh Ramdin, tempted by McClenaghan (five for 58), and Jason Holder deserted him, he got the job done from 27 balls, deciding time was not his friend as he clubbed five fours and three sixes.

Earlier, the McCullums had kept it moderately competitive, with Nathan's 47 bettered only by captain Brendon's 51.

Dwayne Bravo finished with figures of 4-44, with two wickets apiece for Ravi Rampaul - the key scalps of openers Martin Guptill and Jesse Ryder - and Holder.

New Zealand's top four batsmen managed just 13 runs between them, Rampaul doing the early damage by dismissing Ryder and Guptill in his opening two overs.

Ryder, returning to international cricket after a 22-month absence, was caught at cover by Darren Bravo without having troubled the scorers, with Guptill (two) trapped lbw playing across the line.

They slumped to 10 for three in the seventh over when the in-form Ross Taylor (three) attempted a quick single and was caught well short by Holder.

Kane Williamson (eight) was next to go, his outside edge off the bowling of Holder snapped up by wicketkeeper Ramdin.

Dwayne Bravo then took centre stage with the ball. He snared the wicket of Corey Anderson (13) and then, after Sunil Narine had accounted for Luke Ronchi (seven), returned to see off James Neesham (10) and Brendon McCullum.

The 51-run knock from the skipper - who was dropped on 29 by Sammy at point - came off just 57 balls, included five fours and a six and also saw him pass 5,000 runs in ODIs.

Nathan McCullum continued to dig in following his brother's departure, particularly in a last-wicket stand with McClenaghan after Dwayne Bravo had had Kyle Mills (three) caught at first slip by Sammy.

The final partnership yielded 44 runs for the home team, but McCullum fell three runs short of his fifty when he was caught at backward square leg by Darren Bravo off the bowling of Holder.

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Boult brilliant as NZ smash Windies

West Indies will be looking to getting their bowling up to scratch before they head to Hamilton to try and save their three-match series after New Zealand won the second test by an innings and 73 runs inside three days.

The test, which finished on Friday, saw the West Indies failing to make use of the ball, despite winning the toss and electing to bowl.

The home side bowled a fuller length on the Basin Reserve wicket that allowed the ball to swing and seam as well as force the West Indies batsmen to play shots at more deliveries, which the tourists' captain said they must learn from.

The Black Caps took 16 wickets in a little over two sessions on Friday as the West Indies were bowled out for 193 then 175 in reply to New Zealand's first innings of 441.

It was New Zealand's first test win in 12 months, taking a 1-0 lead in the three-match series. It was also their first win in 11 tests with Brendon McCullum as captain.

Left-arm bowler Trent Boult took a career-best 6-40 in the first innings, including a spell of 5-15 in six overs of the morning session, and followed up with 4-40 in the second.

The loss was the West Indies' third by an innings in their last four tests after their two innings defeats by India in November. The first test of this series was drawn when rain halted play with New Zealand needing 33 runs to win.

"We had to work incredibly hard and, after losing the toss as well, we were on the back foot from the start. We saw some guys step up and perform well, Ross Taylor with the bat and Boult and the other seamers were outstanding."

"These performances in the last two test matches have been excellent and we've been led by Ross Taylor with the bat," McCullum said.

"He's in sublime form...and our bowling unit is that strong in our conditions and when there's a little bit in the wicket we see these guys really stand up and deliver.''

Futile resistance

Kirk Edwards (35) and Kieran Powell (36) shared a 74-run stand at the start of the second innings which might have briefly caused McCullum to question his decision to enforce the follow on.

Tim Southee then removed both openers within the space of one run and Samuels for 12 while Neil Wagner dismissed first test double century-maker Darren Bravo for a duck as the tourists crumbled to 94-4.

Veteran Shivnarine Chanderpaul tried to marshall some resistance, batting two hours for an unbeaten 31. But from 145-5, the West Indies' lower order again capitulated and they lost their last five wickets for 30 runs.

Chanderpaul found little support until Tino Best, at No. 10, produced a bright and but futile late cameo, dashing 21 from 18 balls.

"Boult bowled really well and again we have a lot to learn from the opposition," West Indies captain Darren Sammy said.

"We won the toss and bowled first but we just didn't exploit the conditions.

"We didn't bowl well, we didn't bat well and that's the reason why we're 1-0 down in the series."

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