Bengaluru, June 6: Two-time champions West Indies will take on 2015 finalists New Zealand in the ongoing ICC World Cup at Old Trafford, Manchester, on June 22.
Going by the ICC rankings, the Black Caps are placed much higher than the Caribbeans but going by the recent forms, the gap might not be too big between them.
NZ and WI have met 64 times overall with the latter having 30-27 lead while seven matches were without a result. In their last five encounters, New Zealand have won four times while the West Indies won one. In fact, the Caribbeans’ last win over the Kiwis in the ODIs came way back in January 2014.
In the World Cup, the two sides have met seven times with NZ having a 4-3 lead. The last time the West Indies had beat them in the WC was in 1999.
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Here we take a look at the results of all the West Indies-New Zealand games that have taken place in the World Cup:
West Indies beat New Zealand by 5 wickets; semi-final; The Oval; June 18, 1975:
The first-ever time the two teams met in a World Cup was in the semi-final of the inaugural edition. Clive Lloyd won the toss and sent the Kiwis to bat and they could not manage enough runs. Bernard Julian took 4 for 27 to dismiss the Kiwis for only 158 in 52.2 overs. Geoff Howarth top scored with 51.
Richard Collinge led a fightback for the Kiwis but it wasn’t enough as Alvin Kallicharran scored 72 to take the West Indies to their first-ever WC final. The Caribbeans won by 5 wickets with almost 20 overs to spare. Kallicharran was the man of the match.
West Indies beat New Zealand by 32 runs; group match; Trent Bridge; June 16, 1979:
Kiwi skipper Mark Burgess won the toss in an academic game (since both teams had qualified for the semi-finals) and asked Lloyd’s West Indies to bat first.
The captain scored 73 not out and opener Gordon Greenidge hit 65 to take the team’s total to 244 for 7 in 60 overs. Lance Cairns and Jeremy Coney took two wickets each. New Zealand’s chase was not up to the mark as Richard Hadlee top scored with 42 at No.8.
Coney and Burgess scored a couple of 30s and New Zealand could manage 212 for 9 in their allotted 60 overs. Andy Roberts took 3 for 43. Lloyd was the man of the match.
New Zealand beat West Indies by 5 wickets; league match; Auckland; March 8, 1992:
Martin Crowe of the in-form New Zealand won the toss and sent West Indies to bat first. Only Brian Lara (52) scored a half-century opening the innings and Keith Arthurton made 40 and the Caribbeans settled for 203 for 7 in 50 overs. Gavin Larsen and Chris Harris took two wickets each for the Kiwis.
Crowe led from the front with the bat with 81 not out in as many balls while explosive opener Mark Greatbatch scored 63 to lead the WI to win in the penultimate over with five wickets in hand. Pacers Anderson Cummins and Winston Benjamin took two wickets each. Richie Richardson was the West Indian captain. Crowe was the man of the match.
West Indies beat New Zealand by 7 wickets; group match; Southampton; May 24, 1999:
It was the West Indies’ only win over a Test-playing nation in the 1999 edition. Brian Lara won the toss and elected to bowl. Pacer Mervyn Dillion’s 4 for 46 floored Stephen Fleming’s Kiwis as they were all out for 156 in 48.1 overs with Craig McMillan top scoring with 32. Wicket-keeper and opening batsman Ridley Jacobs hit an unbeaten 80 and Lara scored 36 to see the West Indies through in the 45th over with seven wickets in hand. Jacobs, who also took catches, was the man of the match.
New Zealand beat West Indies by 20 runs; group match; Port Elizabeth; February 13, 2003:
West Indian captain Carl Hooper won the toss and sent Fleming’s side to bat first. A lot of NZ batsmen had starts but none could go on. Nathan Astle top scored with 46 and the Black Caps finished at 241 for 7 in 50 overs. Medium fast bowler Wavell Hinds took 3 for 35. West Indies had a disastrous chase with 6 down for 80 when Ramnaresh Sarwan (75) and Ridley Jacobs (50) added 98 runs.
But it was inadequate as the Caribbeans were all out for 221 to lose by 20 runs. Andre Adams, who scored 35 not out down the order for the Kiwis, took 4 for 44 and was the man of the match.
New Zealand beat West Indies by 7 wickets; Super Eight stage; North Sound; March 9, 2007:
Fleming won the toss and sent Lara’s side to bat first. Shane Bond, Jacob Oram and Daniel Vettori took three wickets each to finish off the home team for just 177 with opener Chris Gayle top scoring with 44. NZ never had any problem chasing down the runs with Scott Styris remaining unbeaten on 80 and Fleming chipping in with 45.
Daren Powell took two wickets but NZ stormed home with more than 10 overs and seven wickets to spare. Oram was the man of the match.
New Zealand beat West Indies by 143 runs; quarter-final; Wellington; March 21, 2015:
Brendon McCullum won the toss and it was all Martin Guptill from there on. The NZ opener slammed an unbeaten 237 in just 163 balls to power the home side to 393 for 6 in 50 overs. Jerome Taylor was the pick of the West Indian bowlers with 3 for 71.
It was always an impossible task for the West Indies and only Chris Gayle was the man to be seen as he had also hit a double hundred in the same WC a few days before against Zimbabwe.
The Caribbean opener showed a lot of promise but was dismissed for 61 in just 33 balls. Captain Jason Holder scored a 26-ball 42 down the order as the West Indies were all out for 250 but only in 30.3 overs. Trent Boult took 4 for 44. Guptill was the man of the match.