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| March 31, 2007 | Saturday | Rabi-ul-Awwal 11, 1428 |
Styris stars as New Zealand outclass West Indies
ST PETER’S (Antigua), March 30: New Zealand all-rounder Scott Styris featured with both bat and ball on Thursday in a comfortable seven-wicket win for the Black Caps in their World Cup Super Eights match against West Indies (also partially reported in Friday’s edition).
Styris captured the wicket of captain Brian Lara for 37 during a spell of 10 overs for 35 runs in West Indies' 177 all out from 44.4 overs.
He then batted with the pragmatic assurance to score an unbeaten 80 as New Zealand easily reached their target with 10.4 overs to spare.
New Zealand join Australia on top of the Super Eights standings with four points while West Indies face an uphill struggle if they are to qualify for the semi-finals in the tournament culminating with the final in Barbados on April 28.
They have now lost both their second-round matches at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium before disappointingly small crowds.
Jacob Oram, who came to the World Cup nursing a broken finger, was New Zealand's early hero.
The giant all-rounder took three top-order wickets from four overs with his deceptive bounce and late movement off the seam after Shane Bond had made the early breakthrough.
The introduction of Oram on a pitch giving some assistance to the pace bowlers after a morning shower, which had persuaded captain Stephen Fleming to field first, proved the turning point.
He had Ramnaresh Sarwan (19) brilliantly caught by the diving Brendon McCullum who took an inside edge in his left glove.
Marlon Samuels (9) gloved a catch to the wicket-keeper before the dangerous Chris Gayle, who had scored 44 from 56 balls with eight fours, dragged a ball on to his stumps.
Lara, charged yet again with resurrecting his team's fortunes, elected to run a number of quick singles and could have been run out for eight if McCullum had hit the stumps at the bowler's end.
His dismissal, a smart catch by McCullum standing up to Styris, spelled the end of West Indies' prospects of posting a competitive total.
Daren Powell briefly raised West Indies's hopes when he bowled Peter Fulton second ball for a duck and induced Hamish Marshall (15) to hit straight to Lara at mid-off.
Fleming, who alternated patient defence with some flashing drives and cuts through the off-side, scored 45 before he was needlessly run out by a direct throw from Lara at mid-wicket.
The arrival of Craig McMillan accelerated the scoring rate and the New Zealanders began to play their shots freely against an increasingly dispirited West Indies' attack.
Styris reached his third half-century of the tournament from 72 balls with three fours then decided to conclude matters swiftly by clubbing Corey Collymore for three boundaries in an over.
He lofted Gayle's off-spin over mid-on for four to secure victory and bring up the 100 partnership with McMillan (33 not out).
West Indies, playing for a third straight day after their match against Australia spanned Tuesday and Wednesday because of rain, face Sri Lanka in Guyana on Sunday and 24 hours later New Zealand take on Bangladesh in Antigua.
Scoreboard
WEST INDIES:
C.H. Gayle b Oram 44
S. Chanderpaul c Styris b Bond 4
R.R. Sarwan c McCullum b Oram 19
M.N. Samuels c McCullum b Oram 9
B.C. Lara c McCullum b Styris 37
D.J. Bravo c McCullum b Bond 18
D. Ramdin c Oram b Vettori 15
L.M.P. Simmons not out 14
D.R. Smith b Vettori 8
D.B. Powell lbw b Vettori 0
C.D. Collymore b Bond 0
EXTRAS (B-1, LB-5, W-3) 9
TOTAL (all out 44.4 overs) 177
FALL OF WKTS: 1-14 (Chanderpaul, 7.5 ov), 2-66 (Sarwan, 16.2 ov), 3-78 (Samuels, 20.3 ov), 4-81 (Gayle, 22.2 ov), 5-128 (Bravo, 33.1 ov), 6-150 (Lara, 36.3 ov), 7-158 (Ramdin, 41.3 ov), 8-176 (Smith, 43.3 ov), 9-176 (Powell, 43.4 ov).
BOWLING: Mason 6-2-14-0 (1w); Bond 8.4-0-31-3 (2w); Franklin 3-0-29-0; Oram 8-2-23-3; Styris 10-1-35-1; Vettori 9-1-39-3.
NEW ZEALAND:
P.G. Fulton b Powell 0
S.P. Fleming run out 45
H.J.H. Marshall c Lara b Powell 15
S.B. Styris not out 80
C.D. McMillan not out 33
ECTRAS (LB-1, W-3, NB-2) 6
TOTAL (for three wkts, 39.2 overs) 179
FALL OF WKTS: 0-1 (Fulton, 0.2 ov), 2-36 (Marshall, 8.3 ov), 3-77 (Fleming, 20.6 ov).
DID NOT BAT: J.D.P. Oram, B.B. McCullum, D.L. Vettori, J.E.C. Franklin, S.E. Bond, M.J. Mason.
BOWLING: Powell 10-2-39-2 (2nb, 1w); Smith 5-0-24-0 (1w); Collymore 9-0-43-0; Bravo 8-0-32-0; Gayle 6.2-0-35-0 (1w); Sarwan 1-0-5-0.
RESULT: New Zealand won by seven wickets.
UMPIRES: Asad Rauf (Pakistan) and R.E. Koertzen (South Africa).
TV UMPIRE: Aleem Dar (Pakistan).
MATCH REFEREE: M.J. Procter (South Africa).
MAN-OF-THE-MATCH: Jacob Oram.—Agencies
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