KEY POINTS:
Chris Gayle wore the medal and uncorked the champagne, and Daniel Vettori grinned while holding the trophy as both captains had cause for celebration at the end of a saturated series of cricket where little separated New Zealand and the West Indies.
After two drawn tests and a
shared Twenty20 series a point of difference finally emerged amid the drizzle and gloom at McLean Park in Napier yesterday.
The vagaries of the Duckworth/Lewis method awarded New Zealand the final one-day international by a margin of nine runs as rain yet again spoiled an intriguing runchase.
Thanks to Ross Taylor's boundaries in the penultimate over and canny support from Grant Elliott, New Zealand reached 211 for five, safely ahead of the Duckworth/Lewis par score of 202 when the umpires finally called a halt to a damp squib of a tour.
New Zealand claimed the abbreviated five-match contest 2-1 to extend their unbeaten home record to seven one-day series stretching back to a Chappell-Hadlee Trophy defeat by Australia in 2005.
The contrived result when New Zealand still needed 83 from 90 balls allowed Vettori to claim bragging rights after five weeks of watered down rivalry.
Originally set 294 for victory after man of the match Gayle hit 135 and Shivnarine Chanderpaul 94 to continue their tour-long tendency to toy with the Black Caps attack, the winners were declared after the 35th over of New Zealand's innings.
They had been cruising as the weather closed in but when Daniel Flynn and Neil Broom were dismissed off consecutive balls a 21-run buffer on Duckworth/Lewis became a seven-run deficit.
Taylor proved he was the man for a crisis as he struck Lionel Baker twice through point as the pendulum swung back in New Zealand's favour.
"It sums up the series really," Vettori said.
"It's been close the whole way through. There's been little key moments both teams have won throughout and fortunately we won those (yesterday)."
Taylor finished unbeaten on 48 from 71 balls.
Gayle might dwarf him in terms of experience and weight of runs but from a New Zealand perspective the 24-year-old's growing maturity will be one of the abiding memories of a tour where only a select few individuals performed consistently.
Taylor only averaged 21.66 from three test innings - a tad more than the axed Jamie How - but his form in the final three matches of the one-day format was irrepressible.
He guided New Zealand to a series-levelling victory in Wellington with an unbeaten 51 from 50 balls then figured in a 144-run partnership with debutant Martin Guptill in Auckland when making 75.
Taylor's performance yesterday was arguably his finest given the conditions and the circumstances.
"Ross Taylor was obviously the key the way he was playing," Vettori said.
"He held the responsibility for the win in his hands."
It was a burden that barely weighed Taylor down as his reputation as an impatient strokemaker shows signs of diminishing.
"His maturity and the way he's played, the composed nature of his last three innings have been really exciting and probably the key to his development as a batsman," Vettori said.
"We all know he's a good striker of the ball but he's adding this composure as well now. If he keeps this standard up he's going to be a great one-day player."
Gayle of course already assumes that revered status.
The 29-year-old Jamaican passed the 7000-career run mark as he compiled his 19th one-day century, a sublime hundred that rekindled memories of his matchsaving 197 in the Napier test last month.
Gayle ended the one-day series with 260 runs at an average of 65 while in nine innings on tour he amassed 633 runs at 70.33, an output that ensured the West Indies did not suffer a repeat of the beatings inflicted here in 2000 and 2006.
Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan provided supporting roles but while the experienced trio thrived players designated as the next generation rarely took their opportunities.
Batsmen Xavier Marshall and Sewnarine Chattergoon failed to impress throughout while late arrivals Shawn Findlay and Kieron Pollard made minimal impact in the one-dayers.
Fast bowler Baker came to prominence late due to an injury to Jerome Taylor and although he delivered the game changing over yesterday his two for 29 in Auckland suggested he will be utilised during the upcoming home and away series against England.
"He's definitely one for the future, he's a young player and he's definitely learning a lot," Gayle said.
- NZPA
