Keacy Carty and Shai Hope guided West Indies to a seven-wicket victory over New Zealand in the opening ODI in Guyana.
Chasing 268, West Indies reached the target with seven balls to spare as Carty made 95 and Hope remained unbeaten on 87. Their 131-run third-wicket partnership in 25.4 overs gave the home side control of the chase after 19-year-old debutant spinner Vitel Lawes had earlier made a memorable impact with three wickets in his first professional match.
New Zealand were well placed at 234 for 4 in the 44th over, but collapsed badly and lost their last six wickets for just 33 runs.
Alzarri Joseph finished with 4 for 41, while Lawes claimed 3 for 54 on a dream debut.
Lawes Makes Immediate Impact
Lawes entered the match without having played senior cricket in any format, but he quickly became one of the biggest stories of the game. The left-arm wristspinner struck with his sixth delivery, removing Henry Nicholls with a long hop that was caught at midwicket. He later produced a superb delivery to dismiss Mark Chapman, pitching the ball on leg stump and spinning it sharply past the batter as he came down the pitch.
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Hope completed the stumping, while Lawes celebrated emotionally and coach Daren Sammy showed his delight from the dressing room. Lawes then added the wicket of Michael Bracewell in his final over, helping trigger New Zealand’s late collapse.
New Zealand Collapse After Strong Start
New Zealand had made a steady start after being asked to bat first. Nicholls and Will Young added 80 for the opening wicket, showing caution on a slow surface where timing was not easy. Young fell one run short of his half-century when he sent a leading edge back to Gudakesh Motie.
Khary Pierre, who had been called up as injury cover for Roston Chase, also played an important role. After taking the new ball earlier, the left-arm spinner trapped Tom Latham lbw and finished with tidy figures of 1 for 39 from 10 overs.
Daryl Mitchell then held New Zealand’s innings together with 65, reaching his fifty from 55 balls. He and Bracewell added 65 at a run-a-ball, leaving the visitors strongly placed heading into the final 10 overs. However, Bracewell top-edged a reverse sweep off Lawes and was well caught by Amir Jangoo at short third.
Mitchell then picked out deep midwicket off Alzarri Joseph as West Indies took control at the death.
New Zealand managed only one four and one six in the final 10 overs as Alzarri bowled superbly to restrict them to 267.
Carty And Auguste Build Chase
West Indies lost John Campbell in the fifth over when he top-edged to fine leg. However, Carty and Ackeem Auguste gave the chase a solid base with a 64-run stand.
Dew appeared to make batting slightly easier than it had been earlier in the day, although Auguste had a moment of luck on 18 when New Zealand chose not to review an lbw appeal off Jayden Lennox.
Carty played with control and confidence, keeping the chase moving while waiting for scoring opportunities. He survived a controversial moment on 64 after pulling Jacob Duffy for six over deep square leg.
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As he completed the stroke, his bat clipped the stumps on the backswing. The decision went to the third umpire, and although New Zealand began to celebrate after seeing the replay, TV official Ahsan Raza ruled him not out because the shot had already been completed before the wicket was disturbed.
Hope Finishes The Job
Hope brought momentum to the chase after arriving at the crease. He started quickly with two sixes over the leg side against left-arm spinner Lennox, giving West Indies control at an important stage. Although his scoring rate slowed later, Hope reached his half-century from 52 balls and continued to guide the chase calmly alongside Carty.
Carty added another six with a clean strike down the ground but fell five runs short of a fifth ODI hundred when he picked out deep midwicket while attempting a slog sweep.
New Zealand briefly applied pressure as the required rate began to climb, with West Indies needing 37 from 30 balls.
However, Hope ensured there was no panic.
He eased the pressure with sixes against Bracewell and Matthew Fisher before Sherfane Rutherford sealed the match by clearing the rope straight down the ground.
West Indies Take Series Lead
West Indies completed the chase at 268 for 3 to secure a seven-wicket win and take a 1-0 lead in the series. It was the second-highest successful chase at the venue.
Carty and Hope provided the batting class, but the victory had been set up by the bowlers, especially Lawes and Alzarri.
For Lawes, it was an unforgettable debut. For West Indies, it was a composed and impressive performance against a New Zealand side that failed to capitalise on a strong position.
