Different format but result - the same

The Kiwis had a forgettable 2-T20I series in Florida but a change of format proved no better as they were thrashed once again by an in-form Caribbean side in the first ODI at Kinston, Jamaica.

After two thumping wins in the T20Is, a confident looking West Indian side were ready to take on a more than an inexperienced Kiwi unit. With rain forecast lurking, West Indian skipper Darren Sammy chose to bowl and also cited the moisture under the wicket as the primary reason.

Andre Russell proved to be his main weapon as not once, not twice but three times in his first 5 overs, reducing the Kiwis to 36/3 at the end of the Quick Start Overs. Dean Brownlie fell in the 15th over and with the score reading 48/4, we looked set for an early finish. Skipper Kane Williamson then stuck it out with Bradley Watling and the duo started to form a partnership.

Powerplay 2 yielded just 9 runs without the loss of a wicket and the Kiwis were stuttering at 57/4 in the 20th over. Sammy got rid of his counterpart in the 24th over and half the side was back in the pavilion now. The came Jacob Oram to the crease and immediately some urgency was shown out in the middle.

The next 10 overs went for just 21 runs but at least the visitors were getting a bit of a partnership. Just when Powerplay 3 was about to end, Oram fell and the Kiwis were back in trouble. The Batting Powerplay was much better than the other two, resulting in 26 runs.

Watling held one end up and made sure that New Zealand batted out for at least the 50 overs and took them to 190/9. 57/3 came in the Extreme Performance Overs. Bradley Watling top scored with 60 and finished with a Batting Momentum of 61. For West Indies, Andre Russell was the pick of the bowlers with 4/45 in 10 overs while Sunil Narine finished with the best Bowling Efficiency of 228 for his miserly spell of 10-2-26-2.

Have a look at the scorecard.

New Zealand began well, with Kyle Mills nipping out Lendl Simmons in the third over. But after that, Chris Gayle and Dwayne Smith tore into the attack. They raced to 42/1 by the end of the Powerplay.

And then, with the skies getting darker, Gayle started to open up. At the end of the 18th over, the umpires decided to take the players off, with heavy thunder and lightning eventually leading to rain. West Indies needed just 2 overs for the game to be constituted as then, 20 overs would have been bowled.

After a delay of about an hour, play finally resumed with the revised target set to 136 from 33 overs. Gayle and Smith had no problems in overcoming the same and the Windies cruised to win in the 25th over. Chris Gayle made 63 from 57 balls while Smith ended with 65 from 77 balls. Gayle had a better Batting Momentum of 95. A forgetful day for the Kiwis. Hardly anything on the bowling sheets. Kyle Mills was outstanding, with figures of 5-1-7-1 and a Bowling Efficiency of 87.

West Indies finished with a better Castrol Index of 46 to 25 of New Zealand. Surprisingly, the Kiwis finished with a better Batting Momentum than their counterparts.

Andre Russell was named the Man Of The Match and finished with a Castrol Index of 51. But the best performer of the game was Kyle Mills with a value of 72. For West Indies, Sunil Narine topped the sheets with 52 points.

The second ODI will be played at this same venue on Saturday, 7th July, 2012 at 1430 GMT.