Santner spins NZ to tight win

Left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner snared three wickets from four overs as the Black Caps sneaked past the West Indies by 13 runs in their rain-affected T20 series opener in Kingston.

Having lost the toss and been asked to bat first, New Zealand put on an imposing 185-5 at Sabina Park after a fluid 43 off 29 balls from returning opener Devon Conway and powerful late hitting from Jimmy Neesham (33no off 15), who plundered 19 runs off the final over.

Southee removed Kyle Mayers in the second over of the West Indies’ innings, and the result never looked in serious doubt as a steady stream of wickets fell.

Santner claimed the key scalps of home skipper Nicholas Pooran, Shimron Hetmyer and dangerman Shamarh Brooks, while fellow tweaker Ish Sodhi accounted for Rovman Powell as the spinners came to the fore on a pitch that offered plenty of turn.

A day after the shock announcement that he had asked to be released from his New Zealand Cricket central contract, Trent Boult returned to the side but proved expensive, conceding two boundaries on his first over in he finished with figures of 1-36.

A spirited partnership from tailenders Romario Shepherd (31 off 16) and Odean Smith (27 from 12) brought some excitement and the West Indies closer on the scoreboard, but it was too little, too late for the hosts.

After being inserted under grey skies, the Black Caps got off to a flier when Conway sent the final ball of Kyle Mayers’ opening over for six with an elegant lofted drive over cover.

The left-hander added five more boundaries in a classy 62-run opening stand with Martin Guptill that seemingly put the visitors in the driving seat after seven overs.

But just when it appeared Conway

and Guptill were poised to lead the Black Caps to a huge total, the pair both fell in the space of two balls.

Guptill went first, when Hetmyer took a spectacular onehanded grab right on the boundary rope to bring his innings of 16 off 17 balls to an end.

Conway followed on the very next delivery when he gloved an Odean Smith bouncer behind, wicketkeeper Devon Thomas taking a smart catch.

That brought Williamson and Glenn Phillips to the crease, who after seeing off Smith’s hattrick ball, proceeded to rebuild the innings with 31 runs off 22 balls until heavy rain halted the match in the 11th over with New Zealand well set at 95-2.

Following a near-two hour delay, play eventually resumed under late afternoon sun. The West Indies made a breakthrough just four balls after the break, Phillips top-edging a Jason Holder delivery to short fine leg to leave New Zealand 98-3.

Daryl Mitchell was the next batter in the middle and alongside Williamson helped steer the Black Caps past the 100-mark as some crafty bowling from the home side put the brakes on and restricted them to singles.

However, when a rusty Williamson was dropped on 23 by Mayers and shortly after survived an lbw appeal, the skipper suddenly sprang into life, hitting four boundaries off his next five balls, including two sixes.

Mitchell got in on the act with another maximum over long on, only to nick one behind next ball, an on-field decision upheld following a review.

Williamson’s luck ran out shortly after as he fell for 47 when Hayden Walsh Jr took a superb diving catch on the boundary.

The momentum seemed to have swung back in the West Indies favour, until Neesham’s belligerent cameo got the Black Caps up to an imposing 185-5 that proved too much for the hosts to chase down.

Those watching the Warriors’ dreadful display in the 48-10 loss to the Rabbitohs last weekend could have been forgiven for thinking the sky had fallen in at the club.

It was a hideous performance and one the players will be looking to make amends for when they take on the Bulldogs at Mt Smart Stadium tonight.

Warriors chief executive Cameron George doesn’t pull any punches about what happened at Sunshine Coast Stadium, but remains optimistic about what lies ahead and that there is light at the end of the tunnel.

‘‘The reality is the performance last weekend was not acceptable with our standards and expectations,’’ George said.

‘‘We had a lot of personnel out and inexperienced players on the field at the same time.

‘‘When you’re playing any team in the NRL, let alone the top teams, you’ve got to have everything right.

‘‘But last week we let the game get away from us after a very poor start and the players acknowledge that.

‘‘Defensively we were challenged, we weren’t slowing the ruck down and Souths were running through at will.

‘‘So it’s not acceptable, Stacey [Jones, Warriors coach] spoke at length about that after the game and was extremely disappointed, as I was.

‘‘But if you look back since Stacey took over, we have become a better footy team,’’ he added.

‘‘We are heading in the right direction, but last weekend was a big step back. They’ll have the attitude of finishing off the year as best we can, particularly at home.’’

It has been suggested that Jones was thrown a hospital pass when in June he was asked to replace Nathan Brown as head coach for the rest of the season.

With Jones’ loyalty to the Warriors, he was never going to say no, but having won just one game since taking over, there is the worry that it could tarnish his coaching reputation. That’s something George feels would be unfair.