22nd of June, 2019. The 29th game of the ICC Cricket World Cup.
The fixture was a must-win game for the West Indies. If they lost, then their hopes of qualifying for the playoffs would be done and dusted.
On the other hand, the Kiwis came into the game after a tense game another tense World Cup game against Southern Hemisphere rivals, South Africa.
New Zealand, did not lose a game heading into the fixture. A win over the Windies would most likely guarantee them a spot in the World Cup semi-finals.
The game was an all-time classic, that did not disappoint the estimated 23, 000 people in attendance at Old Trafford, Manchester.
The West Indies won the toss and elected to bowl. They got off to a great start through the characteristic left-arm pacer, Sheldon Cottrell.
Cotrell snared both New Zealand openers for golden ducks. He got Martin Guptill, leg before off the first ball of the match and Colin Munro clean bowled off the fifth ball of the first over.
The New Zealand captain, Kane Williamson was already at the crease in the first over of the match and needed to pull off a rescue act for the again Blackcaps. The scorecard read, 2/10 after the first over.
New Zealand accumulated their way to 50 in 15 overs. With the steady accumulation of runs, star batsman Kane Williamson and Ross Taylor brought up their fourth 150-run partnership, made off 194 balls.
Simultaneously, the pair achieved the world cup record for the highest third wicket partnership beating fellow countrymen, Glenn Turner and John Parker’s partnership of 149 against East Africa in the 1975 World Cup.
Ross Taylor departed for 69 off 95 balls in the 35th over. Chris Gayle picked up the wicket and Jason Holder took the catch. Chris Gayle went past Courtney Walsh’s record for the most wickets by a West Indian bowler against New Zealand in ODIs.
Kane Williamson continued his sublime run in the tournament notching up his 15th ODI ton and his second of the tournament. Williamson became the 11th batsman in World Cup history to score back-to-back World Cup hundreds, swatting Kemar Roach for four down fine-leg for four. Sheldon Cotrell dismissed the out-of-form Tom Latham for 12.
Kane Williamson of New Zealand (Photo by Hagen Hopkins/Getty Images)
The accolades kept coming for the Kiwi captain Williamson. He now has the record for most runs in a World Cup without being dismissed, reaching 333 runs without having his wicket bothered.
Sheldon added another wicket to his tally as he ended Williamson’s brilliant innings of 148 off 154 balls.
Cotrell manufactured a run-out and two consecutive catches, completing a memorable day in the field. New Zealand finished the innings at 291/8 off their 50 overs, spanking 92 runs off the last 10 overs.
The West Indies needed 292 off the allotted 50 overs. The men from the Caribbean required a solid start and unfortunately for them, they got off to a shocking start.
Trent Boult dismissed both talented youngsters, Shai Hope and Nicholas Pooran for 1. The West Indies were 20/2 and New Zealand were clearly on top.
However, Chris Gayle and Shimron Hetmyer had other ideas. The pair added 122 in rapid time.
Gayle was dropped three times, and it looked like New Zealand were going to get blown away by some amazing Calypso batting. Hetmyer and Gayle played some powerful and flashy shots. The New Zealand bowlers looked out of sorts, especially Matt Henry.
The initial game-changing moment came in the 23rd over, when express pacer Lockie Ferguson broke the deadly partnership between Gayle and Hetmyer.
Ferguson dismissed Hetmyer with a slower ball for 54. The West Indies collapsed from 142/2 to 164/7 within four overs.
Jason Holder went for a golden duck when he nicked the ball to Tom Latham. Colin de Grandhomme got the big wicket of Chris Gayle. Trent Boult completed the catch. Then Trent Boult came back to get rid of Ashley Nurse and Evin Lewis with bouncers.
The West Indies looked like they were going to be dismissed for a score under 200. That was until Carlos Braithwaite smacked a brutal knock of 101 off 82 balls.
In that knock, Braithwaite hit nine fours and five big sixes at an astonishing strike rate of 123.17.
The majority of the estimated 23, 000 people in attendance at Old Trafford were cheering Braithwaite on. Braithwaite batted really well with the tail and manufactured three vital partnerships of 47 with Kemar Roach, 34 with Sheldon Cotrell and 41 with Oshane Thomas.
Matt Henry picked up Kemar Roach while Lockie Ferguson bowled Sheldon Cotrell. Ferguson increased his tally to 14 wickets for the tournament.
The wicket of Roach was the only highlight for Matt Henry, as he leaked runs at a rate of 8.44 per over. Braithwaite pummelled Henry for 25 runs in the 48th over, leaving New Zealand with eight runs to defend off two overs.
All-rounder James Neesham bowled the 49th over of the West Indies innings. Braithwaite got two runs to bring up his maiden ODI century.
Unfortunately for Braithwaite and the West Indies, they fell short by just 5 runs. He went for the glory shot and was caught on the ropes by Trent Boult.
Credit goes to Neesham for bowling some clever short balls. Scenes of jubilation for the Blackcaps and their supporters, while there were feelings of despair and misery for the Windies and their supporters.
Braithwaite was on his knees feeling dejected. The Kiwi players consoled Braithwaite. It was a wonderful sporting gesture by the Kiwis, and the picture of that particular gesture has gone viral.
This game will go down as one of the greatest World Cup encounters of all time. In addition, this game definitely ranks as the best game of the tournament till date. The game featured many great performances from both sides.
It went from celebration to commiseration for the Windies. (Oli Scarff/AFP)
Williamson received the man of the match for his brilliant ton, but Braithwaite stole the show with some brilliant hitting.
Three thrilling games in a row at the 12h edition of the ICC Cricket World Cup, including the England-Sr Lanka and the Afghanistan-India games.
There were two memorable games in one day. What else could a cricket fan ask for? Hopefully, there will be more classic World Cup encounters in the coming weeks.
Diamond Jackie
Roar Rookie
Spot on.
Neel
Roar Guru
Yeah DJ. Those guys make up the fab 4 of this generation. Ranking wise it would be, Kohli, Smith, Williamson and then Root.
Diamond Jackie
Roar Rookie
Yes. He is well and truly in the top 4 batsmen globally across one dayers and tests - the others being kohli , smith and root.
Neel
Roar Guru
100% fair Paul. Thanks Paul. Pakistan outplayed them from the beginning, despite Guptill hitting a four of the the 1st ball of the innings. The positives were Neesham and de Grandhomme. Excellent innings from both of them. The openers failed again and even though Latham got it to a good delivery, his spot in the team is under the scanner. Or it should be under the scanner. Munro has to go to be honest. Averaging 22 after 59 ODIs is a major concern and there are plenty of fans in New Zealand who said he should never have been selected in the first place. Team selection was dubious as well Paul. Sodhi should have at least played this game considering the conditions. Henry might be dropped in place of Southee as well. Other than that, Pakistan, clicking when they have their backs against the wall. Haris Sohail has added some positivity to the team and Babar Azam is just all class. Pressure is on England now.
Paul
Roar Guru
keen to read your take on last night's game, Neel. The opening bats did the team no favours, but I don't think any blame can be attached to Latham, Taylor or Williamson, all of whom got out to terrific pieces of cricket. For once the bowlers didn't get the job done in conditions I thought would have suited them. Again, hard to know whether the loss was a result of some underwhelming bowling or some very good batting ( I suspect a bit of both). I also don't know if the Kiwis lost that game as a result of issues with individual players or because they were outplayed in the conditions, on the day. I guess the next game will provide more clues about how the Black Caps are really tracking.
Neel
Roar Guru
True Paul. Hopefully the openers fire tonight and Latham gets some runs on the board. Taylor hasn’t been bad at all in this tournament. From the 4 innings he has batted he has crossed 40 three times I think and he has scored 200 runs at an average of 50 with a strike rate of 83.33. Not too shabby from our senior talisman.
Neel
Roar Guru
Yeah, Paul. We might as well make Williamson the opener the way Guptill-Munro are going. I think tonight should be the night the others (openers, Latham, the Neesham, De Grandhomme and Taylor to an extent) fire. If Williamson, scores another hundred then man, hats off to him. He is an outstanding player though and I don’t know how he stays so calm all the time.
Paul
Roar Guru
Neel, it has to be concerning that your openers and a middle order bat are identified issues, only 2 games out from the finals. Hopefully tonight's game against Pakistan will allow a few to find some form.
Paul
Roar Guru
hi Neel, resourcefulness is never a substitute for good old fashion form and right now, there are a few in the Kiwi side who need to lift. Teams can only scramble wins so many times before it finally comes back to bite.
Neel
Roar Guru
He is such an amazing captain and player, DJ. Gets the job done without much fuss. He is one of the best in the world at this point in time. Go Kiwis indeed DJ.
Neel
Roar Guru
Hey Ricc. How are you mate? Ferguson has been really impressive. The development of that slower ball over the last World Cup has been the key to Ferguson picking up 14 wickets from 5 games. Sodhi leaks a lot of runs but he can be a wicket-taker. He proved that over the summer against Sri Lanka and I think Bangladesh as well( I don’t remember if he played against them). Nicholls has a good summer at home and I would have invested with him or Will Young(unfortunately the bloke is out for 6-9 months due to injury) as an opener from the Sri Lanka series to now over Colin Munro. I do hope Munro fires as he has the ability to take the game away from the opposition but I just don’t see it happening anytime soon Ricc. Hopefully, I’m proven wrong about Munro.
Neel
Roar Guru
I think leave Williamson where he is. Dropping him will create too much of a disturbance in the rhythm of the team.
Neel
Roar Guru
Guptill has to come to the party soon. He has scored 15 ODI tons and New Zealand have only lost once when he has scored an ODI ton and they win 80% of the matches Guptill scores a ton in. Besides the first game and to an extent, the South African game, he hasn’t faired too well. Munro’s selection in the World Cup squad was always questionable. Hopefully he fires in the next game or else Nicholls should come in for him.
Neel
Roar Guru
The West Indies might have still been in the running if that game against South Africa wasn’t rained out. They would have backed themselves to win that game, especially considering how South Africa were batting. I reckon South Africa have been the most disappointing team so far. Yes, they have been battling issues and injuries but no doubt they have been disappointing this campaign. If some of those games weren’t washed out, the table would have been a lot tighter and England who are under pressure right now would be under more pressure if those matches weren’t rained out. The next week or so will give an indicator of who will most likely lift the trophy on July 14th at Lords in the ICC World Cup final.
Neel
Roar Guru
England have a lot more issues now after last night’s game Bob. They need to come up with a Plan B when the pitch is a bit tricky otherwise they could be in serious trouble.
Neel
Roar Guru
Williamson might as well open the batting the way our openers are going at the moment.
Neel
Roar Guru
Your concerns are fair Paul. The other batsman need to fire in the next three games. However, one thing that Ian Bishop stars in the West Indies game is that New Zealand is a resourceful team. Hopefully, the other batsman resources come good sooner for us rather than later.
Neel
Roar Guru
True statement Jeff. Thanks for your comments mate.
Neel
Roar Guru
Thanks Paul. Yeah, we have been scratchy in 3 games particularly. The Bangladesh, South Africa and the West Indies games were the games where we were really rusty. Williamson is all class and he is such an integral part of our team. Taylor has done alright so far and Neesham & De Grandhomme have come in with handy powers order knocks when required. The concerns with the batting are Latham – 14 runs I think from 4 innings – and the openers. Nicholls might need to come in for Munro in my opinion. The fielding needs to improve a bit as we have dropped 6 catches in the tournament so far. Our bowling is fine and Henry just had an off day
Neel
Roar Guru
Trent Boult the batsman. He has the best defensive shot of all time. The flamingo.