BENONI, South Africa, CMC – West Indies dropped four catches, missed a vital run out while conceding 38 runs from the last three full overs, as they squandered a winning position to crash to a shock two-wicket defeat to New Zealand, and miss out on a spot in the final four of the ICC Under-19 World Cup here yesterday.
Defending 238 at Willowmoore Park, the Caribbean side reduced the young Kiwis to 153 for eight in the 35th over after left-arm spinner Ashmead Nedd had ripped through the innings with an excellent spell of three for 33 from his 10 overs.
But eventual Man-of-the-Match Kristian Clarke, with an unbeaten 46 and Joey Field, 38 not out, displayed composure and maturity beyond their years in a record, unbroken ninth wicket stand of 86, to turn the game on its head and propel New Zealand to victory with two balls to spare.
Clarke belted three fours and a six off 42 deliveries while Field faced 58 balls and counted three fours.
With the pressure growing, West Indies’ fielding fell apart and discipline left their bowling, and New Zealand capitalised to whittle down a required asking rate from nearly 11, by taking 14 runs from both the 47th and 48th overs and another 10 from the 49th over.
West Indies missed a big moment off the last ball of the 49th when Field raced back to the striker’s end for a second run but wicketkeeper Leonardo Julien failed to gather the return which would have found the batsman short of his ground.
With a manageable seven runs needed off the last over bowled by seamer Nyeem Young, Clarke scrambled a single off the first ball before Field struck a sweetly-timed straight boundary off the next ball.
Another sharp single left the scores tied and Clarke carved the fourth ball – a full length delivery – to the cover boundary to break the Windies’ hearts.
New Zealand had earlier gotten 33 from Simon Keene, 32 from wicketkeeper Quinn Sunde while Fergus Lellman struck 29 and opener Rhys Mariu, 26, in a stuttering start to their run chase.
Fast bowlers Joshua James (2-45) and Matthew Forde (2-64) claimed two wickets apiece to help give West Indies the early advantage.
Left-hander Kirk McKenzie had earlier perished agonisingly short of triple figures for 99 as the previously unbeaten West Indies, opting to bat first, were dismissed in the 48th over.
Kevlon Anderson chipped in with 33 and Antonio Morris, 31, but the Windies declined from a promising 183 for three in the 36th over to lose their last seven wickets for 55 runs in a swift collapse.
Clarke was again at the forefront of New Zealand’s success, snaring four for 25 from 7.5 overs of pace while left-arm spinner Jesse Tashkoff (2-35) and seamer Field (2-52) picked up two wickets apiece.
The Windies’ start was less than enterprising, losing captain Kimani Melius (17) and Julien (4) cheaply to be 32 for two in the 10th over before McKenzie anchored two half-century stands to restore the innings.
First, he added 78 for the third wicket with Anderson who struck four fours off 46 balls, and then posted 73 for the third wicket with Morris who blasted four fours and a six in a 32-ball cameo.
All told, McKenzie blasted 11 fours and three sixes in a 104-ball knock before he was forced to retire hurt with cramp at the end of the 42nd over.
However, the slide had started when Morris fell lbw to Clarke in the 36th over and in the following over with a single run added, Young holed out to mid off trying to attack Tashkoff.
Wickets continued to tumble and not even the return of McKenzie at the fall of the ninth wicket could rally the innings, as he played on to the first ball he faced.
West Indies struck early when Ollie White (0) tugged a short one from Forde to mid-wicket in the third over but Lellman and Mariu added 48 for the second wicket to stabilise the innings.
New Zealand stumbled, however, losing three wickets for 15 runs as James accounted for both Lellman and Mariu before captain Tashkoff (6) gloved a pull off Young and was caught down the leg-side by Julien at 67 for four in the 16th over.
Keene revived the innings, putting on 51 for the fifth wicket with Sunde before adding a further 30 for the sixth with Beckham Wheeler-Greenall (16).
And New Zealand were finding their groove when Nedd ripped through the innings with three wickets in the space of 28 balls, as the run chase spiraled and the Windies took command.
West Indies then squandered the perfect chance to drive home the advantage when they put down Field on 11 at mid off in the 43rd over off James.
