New Zealand fail to fire in wet one-dayer

Tight bowling and fielding by the West Indies restricted New Zealand to 152 for eight batting first in a rain shortened second one-day cricket international here Saturday.

Under the Duckworth-Lewis system, the West Indies require 158 to win in the redesigned 28 overs-per-side match.

New Zealand went into the game with their tails up after dominating the 36 overs available in the rain abandoned first ODI at Queenstown on New Year's eve.

But they were rocked in the third over here when Fidel Edwards had the big-hitting Brendon McCullum caught behind by Denesh Ramdin for one and they never recovered.

Edwards came back late in the match, when New Zealand were trying to up the batting rate, to remove Jacob Oram and Daniel Vettori in the space of two balls and return the best bowling figures for the West Indies of three for 26.

Jesse Ryder, who was on 20 when hail and thunderstorms forced the players from the field in the seventh over, top scored for New Zealand with 32 before falling to a rash shot.

With astute field placing restricting the boundaries, Ryder stretched for a Nikita Miller delivery wide of the off-stump and tried to hook it over the boundary only to be caught by Sewnarine Chattergoon in the deep.

New Zealand at one stage went 12 overs without a boundary before Jacob Oram opened up during a power play taking a six and two fours off Chris Gayle before being caught in the next over by Chattergoon off Edwards for 25.

Jamie How contributed 27, but off a pedestrian 36 deliveries, while Grant Elliot at the end finished unbeaten on 30.