Pierre believes Windies should have ‘batted a little more responsibly’

New Zealand 141 for 5 (Latham 37, Young 28; Pierre 2-33) beat West Indies 138 all out (Campbell 43, Jangoo 24; Lennox 5-19) by 5 wickets 

The West Indies were bowled out for 138 in 36 overs, batting first in the second One-Day International against New Zealand in Providence, Guyana, on Monday. It was their lowest total against the Black Caps on home soil. 

After a cautious start, openers John Campbell and Ackeem Auguste picked up the tempo towards the end of the powerplay, sharing in a 63-run partnership for the first wicket. 

From there, however, the West Indies added just 75 runs for all 10 wickets as the Kiwi spinners took charge. According to Windies' own spinner Khary Pierre, it was incumbent on the Caribbean batsmen to weather the storm and bat through the allotted overs. 

“I think we left some runs out there,” Pierre began. “[We] got bowled out in 36 overs, with 14 overs to go. I think we could have batted a little more responsibly, rotated the strike a little more, and probably got to 230.”

Yet, Auguste was the only one of the Windies' top six who was dismissed attempting an ultra-aggressive shot. Getting down on one knee to slap Michael Bracewell through mid-on, he was met with sharp turn and bounce and taken at point. 

Still, Pierre, who led the Windies bowlers with figures of 2 for 33, insists “a little more responsibility from the batsmen” is what was required. 

“I think with three, four runs per over, a little more batsmanship, and it would have been a better game,” he said.

Campbell was bowled by one that kept low. Shai Hope, undone through the gate, pushing down the wrong line. While Sherfane Rutherford and Keacy Carty were dismissed playing defensive shots.   

The pitch provided a great deal more turn than it did in the first encounter, with 11 of the 14 wickets to fall on the day going to spinners. Alzarri Joseph was the lone seamer to taste success. This, Pierre, acknowledged.

“Yeah, it was a little more difficult than the previous ODI. I think the wicket was a bit more on the slower side, you know, some balls spinning, the odd balls staying straight.” 

The most recent ODI series hosted at Providence Stadium was Windies’ three-match contest against Bangladesh in 2022, in which the average first-innings score was 145. 

Pierre was, however, full of praise for the Windies bowlers, who kept the game interesting, reducing New Zealand to 96 for five before an unbroken 45-run sixth-wicket stand between Bracewell and Tom Latham saw them to victory. 

“I think it was a really good job by the bowlers. At no point did we think we couldn't have won the game. I think the bowlers tried their utmost best to win.”