West Indies 169 for 6 (Taylor 51 retd hurt, Matthews 40, J Kerr 3-29) beat New Zealand 168 (Down 53, A Kerr 30, Matthews 2-23, Ramharack 2-28, Fletcher 2-31) by four wickets
A solid bowling effort, an all-round show from
Hayley Matthews, and a half-century from
Stafanie Taylor were the highlights of West Indies a consolation win over New Zealand in the third women's ODI in North Sound on Sunday.
Taylor retired hurt on 51 from 88, but Matthews got 40 and
Aaliyah Alleyne chipped in with a quick 27 not out to take West Indies home in what turned out to be a tricky chase of 169.
Jess Kerr led the fightback after New Zealand had folded for 168, trapping Natasha McLean and Shabika Gajnabi off back-to-back deliveries to start off the third over. At 10 for 2, Matthews and Taylor got down to steady the ship by patiently adding 81 in just more than 21 overs, before Brooke Halliday broke the stand with Matthews' wicket.
West Indies needed only another 53 at less than three runs an over with seven wickets in hand when Taylor went off, and that allowed New Zealand to hit back once more. Jess Kerr got her third wicket by having Kyshona Knight caught, while
Amelia Kerr ran Rashada Williams out next ball.
But Alleyne's unbeaten 27 in 34 balls led her side to a four-wicket win with more than six overs to spare.
Earlier, New Zealand suffered a collapse of five wickets for just 20 runs to be bowled out for 168. Their entire middle order threw away starts, with
Lauren Down's 53 being the highest contribution.
Openers Sophie Devine and Suzie Bates fell for single-digit scores inside the sixth over, after which Amelia Kerr and Maddy Green briefly stabilised their side. They had added 37 in ten overs before Shakera Selman got Green, while another sedate partnership - between Amelia Kerr and Down for the fourth wicket - was stalled when
Afy Fletcher dismissed Amelia Kerr for 30 in the 23rd over. Fletcher struck again to have Halliday caught and bowled in the 29th, at which stage Georgia Plimmer joined Down.
They added 44, the highest stand of the innings, as Down kept ticking along to reach her half-century off 70 deliveries in the 39th over. However, Karishma Ramharack got rid of Plimmer off the very next ball, and that led to a quick finish for New Zealand.
From 148 for 5, they could only another 20 runs, with Matthews getting Down for 53, before wrapping up the tail with Ramharack. In the end, 168 didn't prove enough for New Zealand to complete a 3-0 sweep.
West Indies lost the series 2-1 despite a win in third ODI, with the tour now moving along to the five T20Is, all of which will also be played in North Sound, starting September 28.
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