West Indies vs New Zealand, 2nd ODI, New Zealand tour of West Indies, 2026 - CommentaryWI vs NZ, 2nd ODI, New Zealand tour of West Indies, 2026 - Commentary

That's all we have for you from here. Do join us for the 3rd ODI on 16th July. Hope you have enjoyed our coverage, until then goodbye from all of us here...

Mitchell Santner | NZ captain: (How pleased were you to win that toss?) Really nice toss to win in the end, yeah. (Spin came in to play early. What determined that quick entry?) I think with the new ball, the pitch probably plays its best. There was a little bit of swing, obviously, with the cross breeze here. But then, yeah, I think once the ball gets older, it starts to spin a bit more, as we probably saw throughout that kind of first innings. I thought, John Campbell played outstanding at the start to put some pressure back on us. And then I guess kind of through the middle, it was just chopping and changing the spinners, and then letting the pitch do its thing. (What did you make of his Jayden's five-wicket haul?) Yeah, I mean, seen Jayden for a long time now. He's done it day in, day out back home. And I guess on these wickets, when one kind of spins and one skids, it makes it very challenging for the batter. And his accuracy is obviously pretty good for a left-arm spinner. So I think that's been the plan with the ball, for all spinners, let the pitch do its thing. If you just fire it on a good length, one will skid, one will spin, it makes it pretty challenging. (How important was the rotation of strike instead of boundaries tonight?) Yeah, I think it was a little challenging to score boundaries, and I think the field and outfields obviously makes it a challenge as well. I thought their spinners brought them massively back into the game. It was pretty nervy there for a while. But I think looking straight down the ground with up and down bounce, obviously the square shots can be challenging. And then I thought we got off to a pretty good start. And then whenever you lose a bang-bang, it obviously hurts your momentum a bit. So I think, yeah, if the third pitch is going to play like that, might be more kind of straight-bat shots, maybe. (On losing the toss) Well, I usually call the same thing every time. So maybe Shai might flip it the other way, I might turn it around. But yeah, I think obviously, again, the toss was pretty important. But I think in game one, we got ourselves to a decent score. And then it's just trying to, like West Indies did here, if you can chip wickets away, it's obviously tough to start on these wickets. So build pressure that way and see what happens. But yeah, I think another toss win might be nice in game three.

Shai Hope | WI captain: (138 - reflective of the surface or not?) Definitely. Definitely reflective of the surface. But having said that, still can't look for excuses. I still feel as though we could have got 60, maybe 70 more runs, near the 200-run mark, it would've been maybe a different game as it was not an easy wicket to bat on. So maybe if we get a few early wickets like we did today, could have put them under pressure with that 200 score. (What do you think, pitch apart, this team has to be able to do better to win more if they have to bat first?) One thing we can say, like, the conditions in the Caribbean usually tend to favor the team batting second. Always a dew factor, or usually a dew factor to come into play. So I'm not one who tends to win the toss too often. But yeah, it's something that we need to get a little bit better at because toss is very 50-50, it's something that we can't control. So we still have to find ways to put better scores on the board. Just a bit more understanding of our game, understanding the situation and the conditions that we're playing in, and I'm sure it's going to turn around. (Would you be hoping for something a little bit different for the third game?) That would be a fairy tale to be fair. We got to look at what we've got here. We've got to play the conditions. You never know what's going to happen. We have two days to put a little bit more preparation surface. Who knows what can happen? But still, we've got to adapt on game day and find ways to score if you've got to bat first again and set a target. Got to find ways. (You might be happy with the way the guys made NZ fight?) Yeah, for sure. That's what we talk about. Anytime we cross that line, we want to make sure we put in all the effort in. You never know, a couple more wickets, then the game could even turn around. So, good effort from the guys, and pleased.

Jayden Lennox | Player of the Match: Pretty special, I suppose the role of a spinner in New Zealand's a little bit different to what it is here, so contributing to a win for New Zealand's, yeah, certainly a special feeling. (What did you have to do to achieve success?) I think in order to have success here, it's just trying to, I suppose, drive the ball into the wicket and try and squeeze as many dots as you can in the ring. Fortunately, not foreign conditions we were here for the TSL last year as a domestic side, so it was quite nice to come here and sort of know what to expect. (Any idea why so many West Indian batsmen were either LBW or bowled?) I think it's one of those wickets that you hit the wicket hard, there's enough variation. I think it's the variation of bounce. Obviously, it's a reaction game, so if you can drive the wicket in sort of towards your top speed and try and challenge that reaction time, you can get some wickets, which is quite nice. (When you get a pitch like this as a spinner, do you feel any extra pressure?) Oh, I suppose there is a little bit. Yeah, the bowling attack kind of looks at you to take some wickets, which I suppose if we compare that to what it's like at home, sort of as more of a containment role at home, and here it feels like a little bit more of a wicket-taking role. So it's nice to be challenged on that front, and to have some success is nice.

19:40 Local Time, 23:40 GMT, 05:10 IST: New Zealand cruise to a comfortable five-wicket victory! While they lost five wickets during the chase, Tom Latham and Michael Bracewell ensured there were no further hiccups, combining in a crucial partnership under pressure to see the Kiwis home. Earlier in the day, it was a sensational five-wicket haul from Lennox that dismantled the West Indies for a modest 138, a total that was never likely to trouble New Zealand. Daryl Mitchell and Will Young chipped in with valuable contributions before Latham and Bracewell finished the job in style. Stay tuned for the presentation ceremony.