ICC World Cup 2019: Match 29, Windies vs New Zealand – Who Said What

The 2019 World Cup was a witness to another closely-fought encounter, this time between New Zealand and Windies at the Old Trafford in Manchester. The match had a number of twists and in the end, the Black Caps won by five runs. However, one player by the name of Carlos ‘Ricky’ Brathwaite entertained the audience with a masterful knock that almost took the Caribbean team over the finishing line.

Williamson weaves magic

After losing the toss and being put in to bat first, New Zealand got off to a terrible start. Left-armer Sheldon Cottrell removed both the openers- Colin Munro and Martin Guptill- for golden ducks. Thereafter, Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor bailed the Black Caps with a stand of 160 runs. The very experienced Taylor carried on his good form and notched his second fifty of the World Cup off 68 balls.

He got out to Chris Gayle in the 35th over. Tom Latham’s poor run of form continued and he gave a simple caught and bowled to Cottrell. Williamson went on to rack up yet another ton off 124 balls. He stayed until the death overs and notched a classy 148 off 154 with 14 boundaries and one six. James Neesham and Colin de Grandhomme played useful cameos even as the Kiwis ended on 291 in 50 overs.

Carlos wreaks havoc in Manchester

Trent Boult gave the Caribbean team a nightmarish start, dismissing Shai Hope and Nicholas Pooran cheaply. Chris Gayle and Shimron Hetmyer didn’t allow the pressure to build and the duo stitched together a quick-fire stand of 122 runs in 95 balls. Hetmyer notched his fifty but got out to an atrocious shot off pacer Lockie Ferguson. In his very next ball, Lockie got Jason Holder’s number for a golden duck.

Gayle was looking ominous and he gifted his wicket away to Colin de Grandhomme after scoring 87 off 84 balls. A hobbling Evin Lewis and Ashley Nurse couldn’t survive the heat either. With 128 runs needed off the last 23.5 overs, Carlos Brathwaite and Kemar Roach got the Windies back into the contest. The duo put on 47 for the eighth wicket after which Matt Henry got rid of Roach for 14.

Brathwaite showed maturity and brought up his fifty off 52, keeping his team in the game. Cottrell gave it his all and became Ferguson’s third victim. With 47 runs required, Ferguson got the ninth wicket in the form of Cottrell. Then Brathwaite took the onus upon himself and murdered the New Zealand bowling with his maiden international ton off 80 balls. Unfortunately, his efforts weren’t enough to save Windies.

Kane Williamson, the New Zealand captain and Player of the Match, said

Obviously, West Indies are incredibly dangerous, the power they generate throughout the order, we saw it even today. Not the best of starts, they got the ball to swing which made life incredibly difficult. They bowled in the right areas for a lengthy amount of time, the ball did a bit, we did well to put on partnerships which helped us post a decent total on the board. It didn’t do anything like that in the second innings though, but a great game of cricket.

We have been to different venues and it’s been different conditions, got plenty of swing in Cardiff (in our first game) and a variety in other places including some rain. We have been able to adjust according to the conditions. I wanted to be clear in my mind, wanted to play according to the merit of the ball, make the best possible decisions and play according to the situation of the game. He has got very good hands. We did put a few down today and wasn’t our best fielding effort.

That paved way for a close contest I suppose. Too close for comfort. Those sort of games are good for the crowd. Fantastic crowd in. Very fortunate to be on the right side of the result. The game ebbed and flowed. Some of their guys were able to hit the ball out of the park and we were able to pick up the wickets and stem the flow. The run rate came in to the equation and then again they hit a few more out of the park. Was a brilliant game and a lot of learning for us before we move into the next match.

I thought the guys and the roles given to them, they did an outstanding job. It is always a balance to an attack and guys execute their skills on different surfaces. I mean of the striking the Windies team are able to achieve is unrivalled. Lot of learning to take and buy your trade.

Jason Holder, the Windies captain, said

Tough game. Proud of the guys. Chris set the tone for us. Lot of positives. One or two areas, we looked poor. You can’t fault the efforts. We needed to seize a few moments. We lost wickets at crucial stages. I came in and got out. Credit to Kemar to get that partnership with Carlos. Win all three hopefully. We have our pride to play for.