KEY POINTS:
New Zealand should use last night's comprehensive seven-wicket win over the West Indies as a launching pad to clean up the rest of the ODI series over the next week.
Having been guilty of squandering solid opportunities on several occasions earlier in the tour, New Zealand squared the
series one-all with two to play. Chasing a manifestly inadequate 128, New Zealand reached 129 for three with a whopping 29.3 overs to spare.
A forthright unbroken stand of 89 between Ross Taylor and Daniel Flynn did the trick, allied to a top-quality bowling display against a West Indian side guilty of witless batting in testing conditions, after being sent in.
The captains disagreed on the Westpac Stadium drop-in pitch. Chris Gayle had no complaints and praised New Zealand's bowling; Dan Vettori felt the pitch helped the bowlers but was delighted with his team's effort.
"A score of 200 would have been a really tough game," he said.
"Most aspects of the game we were on top. We did everything I asked, starting with Kyle Mills. The way he bowled set the game up."
The West Indies only got beyond their previous lowest 123 against New Zealand - at Margao, Goa in 1994 - courtesy of a pair of 27-run stands for the final two wickets.
This was a chance too good to throw away. But New Zealand for a time threatened to find a way to put this match into the royal stuff-up category.
For the hectic first hour of New Zealand's reply, it seemed someone had put a hefty dose of pepper into the players' halftime meal. They could not be accused of having adopted a measured, tidy pursuit against a fired-up new ball attack.
Openers Brendon McCullum and Jesse Ryder self-destructed off consecutive Daren Powell deliveries in the sixth over at 34, then Jamie How hooked Powell to be well caught at fine leg for a duck.
Taylor, on 0, edged Jerome Taylor low to Gayle's left at first slip. On another day it might have been caught.
Then Taylor might or might not have been caught down the leg side off Powell - umpire Mark Benson sided with Taylor. It was a critical moment.
Flynn, on 0, slashed hard at Taylor a couple of minutes later and Kieron Pollard almost pulled off a spectacular catch at point. But all the time, the runs were coming rapidly, to a mix of flamboyant yet sensible strokeplay and ordinary bowling. Taylor banged three sixes on his way to a fine 51, Flynn finishing on 23.
Earlier, the West Indies' heavy reliance on their three senior batsmen was again glaringly apparent.
Two of them - Ramnaresh Sarwan and Gayle - were gone in the first nine overs with the tourists on 35 for three. The signs were ominous.
One of the aims of this tour for the West Indies was finding out what qualities the younger crop of players possess.
Having the stomach for a fight doesn't appear to be high on that list.
At a time when it was paramount that support was provided for Shivnarine Chanderpaul, the West Indies lost five for 19 in 67 balls. A smashed window in the tunnel, which coincided with Pollard's passage back to the dressing room after his dismissal, failed to warrant the attention of match referee Javagal Srinath.
As impressively as New Zealand's bowlers did their job - captain Dan Vettori's four for 20 leading the way - there was a distinct shortage of care and concentration at the batting crease.
The key to New Zealand's bowling was working to good lines and mixing their pace. Smart thinking by the West Indies would have meant a reassessment of what might have been a challenging target. That was conspicuously absent.
The fourth ODI is at Eden Park on Saturday.
Allrounder Jacob Oram is out of the rest of the series with his on-going Achilles tendon problem. The squad for the last two games is named today.
