West Indies vs New Zealand, 1st ODI, New Zealand tour of West Indies, 2026 - CommentaryWI vs NZ, 1st ODI, New Zealand tour of West Indies, 2026 - Commentary

A dream debut for Vitel Lawes who is one of the rare left-arm wristies to emerge from this part of the world. Alzarri picked up four wickets and ensured New Zealand fell well short of a par score and then Carty and Hope stole the show with the bat. A satisfying to start the series for West Indies. Can New Zealand hit back in the next one? Or will West Indies extend their advantage? We will find out in a couple of days time. Until then, take care!

Shai Hope (2/2): (On his partnership with Carty) Partnerships are very important, especially in conditions like these. Guyana is very difficult to bat in and very difficult to start. So when a batter gets in here, you want to go as deep as you can because it's difficult for a new batter to come in and start scoring freely. When you get set, you've got to capitalize on that start. As I said before, Keacy was firing really well today. He shepherded the innings late, and it was just good support. (What makes you so successful in these conditions) Just trying to do well and look to score runs (smiles). I think playing the ball as late as possible and trying to stay as low as I can helps. It's never easy when you've got to adapt to so many different conditions so quickly, but I just try to find the best way and the best remedy to find success on a particular surface. Today was one of those days where I had to adapt quickly, and it came off. (How much did the pitch change in the second innings?) I don't think the pitch changed too much, to be fair, but it was skidding a bit more in the second innings. If I'm being very critical, it probably got a little bit better to bat on, but it still never easy to just come out and have a free-scoring batting display. If I'm being critical I can say it probably got a little bit better in the second innings to bat.

Shai Hope | West Indies captain (1/2): (Did this win ease some pressure for qualification points?) Still a long way off though. But yeah, you have to start somewhere. I'm happy with the first game. (What pleased you the most about the win?) I would say the way the guys fought pleased me the most. We had a few injuries in the background and the guys put their hands up and did what the team required. I thought the batting was really good, especially in these conditions. It's never easy to score freely In Guyana there, so credit to Keacy (Carty). He came in and controlled the game. He wasn't scoring as many runs as we know he's capable of doing, so it's great to see him put his hand up today and lead the team from the front. Vitel Lawes was extremely commendable. You could see a bit of nerves, but that's normal. You're supposed to have those nerves. It was great to see him come in and express himself, especially after four or five overs. He was really in his groove, and it's great to see. It's a very unique skill (left-arm wrist spin) that we were lacking in the Caribbean, so it's good to see him come in and show his class. He got a wicket early as well, so that will give him some confidence. Hopefully he can continue from here.

Mitchell Santner | New Zealand captain: (On the loss) Yeah, it was a close game. It was a good game. I think it was pretty challenging with the bat in the first innings. Slow wicket. We knew it was going to be slow. But yeah, I think maybe we were probably on track for 280. I thought West Indies bowled extremely well, especially the spinners, and then obviously Alzarri at the end. It was a pretty clinical chase from West Indies. (Not carrying on was a significant part of you falling shot?) Yeah, I guess every time you get a start, you obviously want to take it deep, but it was a challenging wicket. There was a lot of spin and a little bit of up-and-down bounce, so it didn't look easy. Any kind of partnership out there was good. Obviously, you try to extend those partnerships, like we saw with Carty and Shai Hope. They really controlled the innings for them. We felt if we could chip away with a couple of wickets, we were still in it, but they didn't give us much. (Did the conditions change drastically in the second innings?) I think it was definitely slower in the first innings. There was still a little bit there in the second innings, but I think with the dew and the lights it maybe came on a little bit better. But yeah, some pretty good batting from West Indies there.

Keacy Carty | PoTM: (On his innings) Well, I was able to contribute and West Indies got over the line. That's most important. Personally, well, we all know I fell short, but I'm comfortable to be back in the runs. I've had a drought and I went back to the drawing board, and luckily things worked in my favour today. (On what worked for him as he scored his fifty in the last 12 ODIs) Different conditions, I would say. Playing in New Zealand was a very difficult task for the top-order batters. Obviously, I fell short there too, but you just stick with it. You've got highs and lows in the game, and you've just got to keep working and keep coming every day. (Were the conditions difficult here?) It was a slow pitch, it was a low pitch. We asked for a spinning track against a fast-bowling nation team, so it wasn't the easiest. I had a good start, things got a bit slow, but that's how the game goes. Sometimes you're in control and sometimes the momentum shifts, but you've just got to stick with it until things come back to you, and that's what I did. (On his partnership with Shai Hope) Definitely, when he came in he was fluent. I think he was going at over a hundred strike rate, so that was good for me as a partnership. Then it kind of flipped later on in the innings, so we worked well together."

22:23 Local Time, 02:23 GMT, 07:53 IST: Happy faces in the home camp, none more so than Vitel Lawes who enjoys a win on debut. Not just that, he made a great impact with three wickets as well. The West Indies paced their chase smartly. New Zealand managed to get Campell early, but Auguste and Carty shared a 64-run stand to steady the ship. In walked the experienced Shai Hope. Carty was set by then and he combined so well with his captain for a 131-run stand to literally kill the game. The dew didn't help New Zealand. Santner troubled Carty a fair bit but just couldn't get that breakthrough and his frustration was understandable. Captain Hope was so cool, holding one end tight and had the door firmly shut on New Zealand. Coach Sammy is all smiles as the crowd celebrates a convincing win.