Debutant Lawes, Carty-Hope pair star as West Indies go 1-0 up

A disciplined performance with the ball, led by debutant Vitel Lawes (3 for 54) and Alzarri Joseph (4 for 41), followed by fine knocks from Keacy Carty (95 off 112) and Shai Hope (87* off 92) helped West Indies win the opening ODI against New Zealand by 7 wickets at the Providence stadium in Guyana. The New Zealand batters got off to promising starts but only Daryl Mitchell crossed fifty as they ended up with 267. Carty and Hope led the reply with a 131-run third-wicket stand as West Indies got over the line in 48.5 overs.

West Indies began the chase in a positive fashion, helped by boundaries from John Campbell and Ackeem Auguste, and an erratic opening over from Jacob Duffy in which he conceded 8 wides. Duffy eventually ended Campbell's stay when the batter top-edged a pull and Nathan Smith took a good catch in the deep. Carty then joined Auguste and forged a good partnership. West Indies crossed 50 in the first Powerplay and maintained a scoring rate of over five, as the second wicket pair added 64. But their association ended when Auguste, who had a lucky break in the 11th over when New Zealand opted against an lbw review, fell to Jayden Lennox on 38.

Carty and Hope got together and their partnership continued for more than 150 deliveries, during which they scored 131 runs, guiding West Indies towards the target. Hope got going with a four and a six off Lennox and targeted the spinners as he also got boundaries off Mitchell Santner. Carty, meanwhile, was saved by umpire's call when New Zealand reviewed for lbw in Santner's over. He went on to bring up a 67-ball fifty before starting to find the boundaries with regular frequency. This included a six off Duffy in the 35th over when the batter knocked the bails after playing the shot. But the third umpire ruled that he had completed his shot before that. Hope then got past fifty and Carty struck a six off Lennox which raised the 100-run stand.

Shortly after West Indies crossed 200, Hope drove a Lennox delivery to cover where Santner put in the dive but wasn't sure if he had caught the ball cleanly. The replays weren't conclusive enough and the third umpire eventually ruled in favour of the batter. The equation was 57 off the last 10 overs, which became 37 off the last five as New Zealand applied the squeeze and also sent Carty back five short of his century. Hope and Rutherford eased the pressure with a six and a four respectively off Bracewell. They finished it off with a six apiece off Fisher in the 49th over to help West Indies take a 1-0 lead.

Earlier, asked to bat, New Zealand got off to a solid start with their openers Will Young and Henry Nicholls adding 80. The openers were slightly watchful but ensured they capitalised on the boundary opportunities as they built a good base. The partnership, however, came to an end when Lawes, the 19-year-old left-arm wrist spinner, had Nicholls mistiming a pull to mid wicket to bag his first international wicket. Mark Chapman got going with a six off Lawes before Gudakesh Motie sent Young back on 49, holding on to a leading edge. A 29-run stand between Chapman and Daryl Mitchell was cut short as the former was lured out of his crease and stumped in Lawes' fourth over, leaving New Zealand at 126 for 3 at the halfway stage of their innings.

A steady partnership ensued between Mitchell and Tom Latham, with the fourth-wicket pair putting on 44. But, as was the story throughout the innings, promising knocks and partnerships were cut short - this time it was Latham who was out lbw to Khary Pierre. Mitchell went on to cross 50 - his fourth successive fifty-plus score in ODIs - and was involved in a 65-run stand with Michael Bracewell. New Zealand reached 234 for 4 after 43 overs, looking set to finish close to 300. However, regular wickets meant the flourishing finish did not come. Lawes bagged his third when Bracewell mis-hit a reverse sweep, before Joseph got into the act, picking up four of the last five wickets as New Zealand were bowled out for under 270.

Brief scores: New Zealand 267 in 49.5 overs (Daryl Mitchell 65, Will Young 49; Alzarri Joseph 4-41, Vitel Lawes 3-54) lost to West Indies 268/3 in 48.5 overs (Keacy Carty 95, Shai Hope 87*; Jayden Lennox 1-55) by 7 wickets.