Windies end New Zealand tour empty-handed

The West Indies ended their tour of New Zealand winless after suffering a massive 119 run defeat in the third and final T-20 International at Bay Oval on Wednesday to slide to their 7th defeat of the tour. Batting first, the hosts piled up 243-5, with Colin Munro scoring a record third T20 International hundred, making 104, while Martin Guptill made 63. Captain Carlos Brathwaite was the most successful Windies bowler with 2-50 from his four overs.

In reply the Caribbean side struggled from over number one, losing both Chris Gayle and Chadwick Walton without a run on the board. Walton went first ball. They eventually got dismissed for 124 in 16-and-a-half overs, with a topscore of 46 from Andre Fletcher. Tim Southee claimed 3-21 for the Kiwis who won the series 3-match series 2-0. The West Indies will return home having previously lost the test series 2-0 and the One Day Internationals 3-0.

Meanwhile, the West Indies slide in world cricket has hit the shorter format as the two time world Twenty20 champions are now fifth after their 2-0 series defeat to New Zealand. The defeat sees the Caribbean side slipping from 120 rating points to 115.

The series however pushed New Zealand to the top of the team rankings. New Zealand had entered the series against the Windies in third place behind Pakistan (124 points) and India (121 points) on 120 points.

New Zealand moved ahead of India after winning the first T20 International by 47 runs and then leapfrogged Pakistan into the number one position after clinching the third T20 International  by 119 runs.