February 26, 2006	Sunday	Muharram 27, 1427

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CHRISTCHURCH (New Zealand), Feb 25: An unbeaten 118 by Nathan Astle guided New Zealand to a 21-run victory on Saturday and an unassailable 3-0 lead in their five match one-day cricket series against the West Indies.

Astle reached his 16th One-day International century in the last over of the innings and he celebrated by smashing the last three balls of Chris Gayle’s over for six. To cap a special day, he took an astonishing leaping catch on the boundary as the West Indian challenge crumbled.

The home side batted first after skipper Stephen Fleming won the toss, scoring 276-6 and in reply the West Indies were all out for 255.

New Zealand had to overcome another shaky start when they slumped to 87-4, while in contrast the West Indies squandered a promising first 20 overs which saw them pass 120 for the loss of just two wickets.

Six wickets tumbled for 46 runs and only some late heroics by Ramnaresh Sarwan (65) and Ian Bradshaw (37) gave them a glimmer of hope in the last overs.

For New Zealand, speedster Shane Bond took 3-47 off his ten overs while young spinner Jeetan Patel provided more evidence of his promise with 3-42 from eight overs.

But the day belonged to Astle, who appears to be returning to top form after a recent slump. After scoring 90 in the first match in Wellington, he batted patiently through most of his latest innings, playing an anchoring role after his side’s mid-innings wobbles.

His 118 came off 126 balls and included seven fours and three sixes and was crucial to New Zealand posting a respectable score on the batting-friendly Jade Stadium pitch.

The only other major contribution came from Hamish Marshall who scored 43. He and Astle put on 99 together before Marshall holed out to Ganga at long on off Gayle’s bowling.

New Zealand accelerated in the last 10 overs, scoring 96 runs after becoming bogged down by some tight West Indian bowling.

Ian Bradshaw was the best of the West Indies bowlers, taking 3-41 from his eight overs.

Things started promisingly for New Zealand soon after they took the field, Bond bowled Daren Ganga for one in the second over with a perfect yorker.

Chris Gayle failed in the first two games of the series but showed a glimpse of his class with a quick 38 off 23 balls before lofting a slower ball from Michael Mason to Vettori at long on.

Runako Morton kept the momentum going for the tourists, scoring 58 in a 62 ball innings which included seven fours and a six.

The West Indies collapse started when Morton skied Vettori to Franklin at long-on with the score on 127, triggering a collapse which saw them stumble to 173-8 by the 38th over.

Astle grabbed the limelight again when he caught Dwayne Smith (2) off the bowling of Patel right on the mid-wicket boundary. He timed his leap perfectly to pluck the ball from the air, before landing just inside the boundary rope.

Scoreboard

NEW ZEALAND:

L. Vincent c Chanderpaul b Bradshaw 25

S.P. Fleming c Morton b Bradshaw 15

N.J. Astle not out 118

S.B. Styris c Ramdin b Bradshaw 1

P.G. Fulton c Gayle b Smith 21

H.J.H. Marshall c Ganga b Gayle 43

B.B. McCullum run out 13

J.E.C. Franklin not out 17

EXTRAS (LB-12, W-8, NB-3) 23

TOTAL (for six wkts, 50 overs) 276

FALL OF WKTS: 1-34, 2-61, 3-64, 4-87, 5-186, 6-211.

DID NOT BAT: D.L. Vettori, S.E. Bond, M. Mason.

BOWLING: Bradshaw 8-0-41-3 (1nb, 2w); Edwards 10-2-49-0 (2nb, 5w); Butler 10-0-37-0; Smith 7-0-33-1; Hinds 6-0-34-0; Gayle 9-0-70-1 (1w).

WEST INDIES:

C.H. Gayle c Vettori b Mason 38

D. Ganga b Bond 1

R.S. Morton c Franklin b Vettori 58

D. Ramdin lbw b Vettori 28

R.R. Sarwan c Vincent b Bond 65

S. Chanderpaul lbw b Bond 4

W.W. Hinds st McCullum b Patel 4

D.R. Smith c Astle b Patel 2

R.N. Lewis c McCullum b Patel 10

I.D.R. Bradshaw c Vincent b Mason 37

D.C. Butler not out 3

EXTRAS (LB-1, W-4) 5

TOTAL (all out, 49 overs) 255

FALL OF WKTS: 1-2, 2-58, 3-127, 4-128, 5-141, 6-147, 7-153, 8-173, 9-250.

DID NOT BAT: F.H. Edwards.

BOWLING: Franklin 6-0-47–0; Bond 10-0-47-3; Mason 10-1-63-2 (3w); Vettori 10-2-40-2 ; Styris 5-0-15-0; Patel 8-0-42-3 (1w).

RESULT: New Zealand won by 21 runs

UMPIRES: B.F. Bowden (New Zealand) and R.E. Koertzen (South Africa).

TV UMPIRE: G.A. Baxter (New Zealand).

MATCH REFEREE: M.J. Procter (South Africa).

MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Nathan Astle.

NEXT MATCH: At Napier on Wednesday.—Agencies