New Zealand v West Indies
at Brabourne Stadium
Scorecard
Ball By Ball
A solid knock of 104 from the captain Stephen Fleming and a woeful fielding performance from West Indies saw New Zealand secure their second Champions Trophy title, after a rather drab finish to the tournament. It was as though the win over Australia had taken all the effort out of an in-form West Indies side, and New Zealand easily reversed the group stage result.
Though Shane Bond played a part in getting the target down, it was James Franklin's bowling spell which really set the West Indies back. Swinging the ball both ways, he induced a catch behind and an lbw in his first seven-over spell, and the West Indies hobbled to 36 for two. They never really recovered, despite a fine rearguard from, of all people, Ramnaresh Sarwan. He put in a key stand of 64 with Dwayne Bravo, which for a time looked to take West Indies past 250. However, after the customary mid-innings outside off bowling from Vettori and Oram, it was Shane Bond's time to take a key wicket. Bravo was trapped lbw with a full yorker, and Franklin was brought back in. Sarwan promptly hoiked him, twice, with the first flying over Vettori for six - the second was beautifully held while running back, and West Indies were without hitters as they collapsed to Franklin and Bond.
What followed was a lacklustre effort from the fielders and bowlers. West Indies seemed to rely on an early wicket to get themselves going - with Powell and Taylor conceding 54 in the first ten overs, the fizz went off. Fulton and Fleming played each ball on its merits, and to all intents and purposes acted as though they were chasing 230 in a Test match - without time pressure. By the end of the 26th over, they had collated 130, and the game was effectively over as a contest despite the efforts of Gayle and Mohammed to tug it back. Fleming settled the matter 24 balls before the stipulated end, straight driving Taylor back for a four, to end with an excellent innings of 104 not out - while West Indies' bowlers took one wickets and conceded 17 extras in a shoddy performance.
West Indies 229 all out (48.4 overs)
RR Sarwan 76; JEC Franklin 4/40 (9), SE Bond 3/41 (9.4)
New Zealand 230 for 1 (46.1 overs)
SP Fleming 104*, PG Fulton 70; CH Gayle 1/36 (10)
New Zealand won by nine wickets
Man of the Match: S. P. Fleming (New Zealand)
Statistics to be up on the website soon.