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NZ beat West Indies by five wickets
NZ - 179/5 (Neesham 48*, Conway 41 Santner 31*, Thomas 2/23)
West Indies - 180/7 (Pollard 75*, Fletcher 34, Allen 30, Ferguson 5/21)
16th over - Four needed from the final over to be bowled by Pollard.
Neesham chops the first ball into the offside for a single.
Santner swings away for six to take a match that New Zealand seemed dead and buried in. Unbelievable finish!
Man of the Match is Lockie Ferguson for his five-wicket bag that kept his side in the game.
15th over - Cottrell to bowl his last and the penultimate of the match.
Santner swings into the third ball and it goes all the way for six. Eight needed from nine balls.
Santner fends outside off-stump and then goes looking for new bat - his old one is cracked (NZ 172/5).
14th over - Paul to bowl his third over. Santner can't get his first two balls away, but the second is called a no ball.
The free ball is called wide, so another free hit is coming. Santner clips it for a single.
Neesham hits a full toss, caught in the field, but called another no ball.
Santner swings towards the boundary for two, then nudges for two more, well run.
Paul bowls another high full toss, called a no ball, and Santner skies it to a fielder, who drops it.
Santner hits the free ball to the fielder for a catch and runs two more. What an over - couldn't quite keep up with that one (NZ 161/5).
13th over - Four overs to go, 38 runs needed. Pollard to bowl his first over.
Conway picks up the first ball and it's over the boundary on the full, but Fletcher acrobatically catches it and flicks it back into play to save a cuple of runs.
OUT - Pollard has chipped out Conway, who tries to slide the ball past third man, but finds Thomas on the full.
Conway 41 c Thomas, b Pollard (29)
Santner is not a bad finisher for NZ and hits his third ball for six (NZ 147/5).
12th over - Paul back for his second over.
Neesham finds a gap for two, then the boundary to keep runs ticking over.
Paul bowls a full toss on leg side and Neesham guides it over the rope for six (NZ 138/4).
11th over - Required run rate is now under 10. Cottrell comes back to stem the flow.
Neesham swings and top-edges over the keeper for four.
Better over for the Windies though, Cottrell keeps the scoring down. Neesham hits the last ball straight back to Cottrell, who can't hold the catch (NZ 125/4).
10th over - Williams to bowl his second over and Neesham hits him back for six. This partnership is bringing the run rate down.
TV officials look at that last delivery and call a no ball - too many men inside the circle. Neeshm strikes the free hit to the boundary for four.
Next ball goes down the park for six, then Neesham hits along the ground for four. Big innings from the allrounder.
Fifty partnership comes in 20 balls. Twenty-three off the over (NZ 118/4).
Ninth over - Paul will bowl his first over.
Conway plays straight down the ground past the bowler for four. He nudges the last ball and the batsmen scamper for two.
TV review calls a wide and Conway faces a free ball, which he edges for four (NZ 95/4).
Eighth over - Thomas to bowl his third over.
Conway hits a much-needed six over mid-off, then works the ball for a couple of twos. He's keeping his adopted country in the match here (NZ 83/4).
Seventh over - Williams comes into the attack for West Indies. Required run rate is now more than two a ball.
OUT - Taylor is hit on the pad and advance down the pitch for a single that wasn't there. Allen throws the stumps down from side-on and Taylor is short of his ground.
Taylor run out (Allen) 0 (3)
Match officials review that runout - he was out by a mile.
Neesham hits fours off his first two balls faced and then inside-edges for a single to retain strike (NZ 72/4).
Sixth over - Thomas for his second over, Conway swings him away for four.
Diagnosis on Phillips is his knee cap popped out and then popped back in again. Youch!
OUT - Phillips chops a delivery onto his stumps with an inside edge and that's the end of his assault.
Phillips b Thomas 22 (7)
Taylor is at the crease and NZ need a big innings from him to save the day. The last delivery goes straight through him (NZ 62/3).
Fifth over - New Zealand already languishing behind the required run rate, but West Indies lost five wickets in quick succession at this point.
Allen to bowl his second over. Phillips pulls the second ball for six.
Off the fourth ball, Phillips smacks a huge six, but cries out in pain. He hits the deck holding his knee.
The knee is taped up and Phillips swings the next ball for six as well.
The last ball goes for four (NZ 56/2).
Fourth over - Thomas will bowl his first over.
Seifert cuts past the third-man fielder for four runs - bad miss.
OUT - Seifert tries to hit back over the bowler, but Powell is under it. He juggles the ball, but regathers.
Seifert c Powell, b Thomas 17 (10)
Third over - Cottrell to bowl his second.
Conway swings wildly and gets his first international run in ugly fashion. He plays off his pads for four.
Off the final ball, he gets an inside edge that misses the stumps and runs for four (NZ 27/1).
Second over - Allen bowls the second over and Seirfert lofts straight over his head for six.
Seifert then cuts for four (NZ 17/1).
First over - Guptill and Seifert will open for New Zealand, Cottrell has the ball.
Guptill fends the third ball off and runs for a quick single, but the throw misses stumps and runs for four overthrows.
OUT - Guptill tries to guide the ball over third man, but nicks the ball to the keeper. Cottrell salutes.
Guptill c Pooran, b Cottrell 5 (3)
Conway plays and misses at his first ball in international cricket (NZ 7/1).
West Indies
16th over - Bennett to bowl for the last over of the innings. He's already gone for 36 off two overs.
Pollard edges over the keeper for six, then swats another behind square.
Bennett bowls a full toss at Pollard and hits him in the ribs - no ball. That's his second, so he's out of the attack.
Neesham will complete the over. His first ball is a wide and then Pollard digs out a yorker, refusing the single.
Another wide. Pretty disappointing bowling performance from the Blackcaps - apart from Ferguson.
Pollard digs the penultimate ball for a six. They'll need a new ball.
Pollard swipes the last ball and Phillips can't hold a difficult catch in the outfield (WI 180/7).
How can New Zealand respond to that?
15th over - Santner to bowl his second.
Pollard turns down singles on the first four balls, hoping to cash in with boundaries. Four dot balls.
TV replay calls the fourth delivery a no-ball, but Santner's re-bowl is also a dot.
Pollard brings up his 50 with a four and then smacks a massive six onto the roof. (WI 157/7).
14th over - Ferguson to bowl his last over.
First ball is a bouncer, Allen top edges it over the keeper for six, then clubs the second past the bowler for four.
OUT - Allen nicks a bouncer through to Seifert, who has to jump high for the catch. No review, Allen walks.
Allen c Seifert, b Ferguson 30 (26)
Paul at the wicket and he ducks under a bouncer for two wides. Jamieson barely stops the ball at the boundary.
OUT - Paul hangs out his bat and the ball hits his gloves, ballooning to Seifert for an easy catch.
Fiver-fer for Ferguson! Second Blackcap (behind Southee to have a T20 five wickets)
Paul c Seifert, b Ferguson 0 (2)
Cottrell barely keeps the last ball out.
13th over - Jamieson to bowl his third over.
After a single off the first ball, he delivers four dot balls and then a single on the last - great over in the context of the match (WI 133/5).
12th over - Neesham for his first over, Pollard swings him into the stand for six.
Pollard top-edges the next delivery high over the keeper and onto the roof for another six.
Third ball - Pollard flicks behind square for four. Match is getting away from NZ again.
Fourth ball - BANG! Another six down the park.
Twenty-three off the over (WI 131/5).
11th over - The covers are off again and play should resume at 9pm.
What effect will this delay have on the teams? Has it broken the batters' concentration?
News that the contest is now 16 overs for each team, so expect the Windies to blast away here.
Santner will get his first over with spin. The batsmen treate him with respect, but Allen edges him down legside for a boundary.
Off the last ball, Allen edges through vacant slips for another boundary (WI 108/5).
10th over - Jamieson takes the ball for his second over. Two legside wides in his first three balls.
Windies only scoring in ones though - just six from that over, as rain returns and players scamper off the field (WI 96/5).
Ninth over - Bennett to resume, he hits Pollard on the pad and the batsman asks for a review.
Replay shows a deviation onto the back pad and snicko confirms. Not out.
Pollard takes his anger out on the bowler, smacking the next ball for six.
Pollard shoulders the ball towardsd the boundary and the throw back to the batter's end is good - Ferguson breaks the stumps and appeals for the runout, but Pollard is home (WI 90/5).
Eighth over - Ferguson's next ball is edged by Allen, but it lands short of Taylor.
Allen guides the ball past Bennett on the boundary for four.
Next ball, Ferguson bounces Allen, hitting him on the shoulder, but the ball bounces down to the boundary for another four byes. That ball went 153kph (WI 81/5).
Seventh over - Southee's next ball appears to hit Allen on the pad and the bowler appeals furiously. Replays show the ball hits the middle of the bat.
Pollard edges past Taylor at slip for a boundary. He chips Southee's last ball for another four to steady the Windies innings (73/5).
Sixth over - Ferguson to bowl his second over.
OUT - His first ball raps Pooran on the pad and he's give out leg before wicket. The batsmen want a review.
Replays show that's pretty plumb and he's gone.
Pooran lbw Ferguson 1 (2)
Allen is now facing a hat-trick delivery, which hits him on the pad, but there's an inside edge. Ferguson is bowling 150s.
Windies have lost 5 wickets for one run!
Allen can't see the ball at this speed.
Pollard's first ball hits him on the shoulder. He ducks under the next one and Seifert barely stops the ball bouncing over his head to the boundary (WI 60/5).
Fifth over - Southee returns for his second over.
OUT - King tries to cut Southee to the boundary, but Neesham is there to take the catch a couple of metres inside the rope.
King c Neesham, b Southee 13 (10)
New Zealand have taken a few overs to find the mark, but now they're fizzing.
OUT - Powell swishes at Southee and gets a top edge that skies to Ferguson on the boundary at fine leg. He juggles, but holds.
Powell c Ferguson, b Southee 0 (3)
Pollard now at the crease.
Fourth over - Ferguson to take the ball, can he find success?
Nice shot from King and they run three, as Southee runs the ball down.
OUT - Ferguson finds his mark with the second ball, going through Fletcher to take out middle and off stumps.
Fletcher b Ferguson 34 (14b)
Hetmyer comes to the crease.
OUT - Hetmyer tries to hois Ferguson's last ball and gets an edge through to Seifert.
Hetmyer c Siefert, b Ferguson 0 (4)
Two wickets in the over and that's changed the momentum of this match!
Third over - Players emerge from their cover to resume with the third over to be bowled by Hamish Bennett.
Bennett's second ball goes down leg side, and beats King and Seifert, bouncing off the keeper's glove to the boundary for four wides.
King smashes back past the bowler for four.
The ball slips from Bennett's hand and he tumbles to the ground, ruled a no ball. Fletcher connects with the next delivery for six.
Bennett called for a high no-ball and Windies get a free hit - going from bad to worse. Fletcher hits over cover for four - another big over.
Ooops, Bennet is called back for a foot-fault no-ball and Fletcher hits another four. (WI 54/0).
7:40pm - Play due to restart in five minutes.
Second over - Jamieson to bowl the second over for NZ.
Fletcher dispatches his third ball over the rope for the first six of the night, then edges the next for the second.
King clubs the last ball for four - Windies on top early, but covers are coming out again for another rain delay (WI 26/0).
7:24pm - Players are back in the middle and Southee will try to complete his over. It's still drizzling.
Southee finishes the over, bowling a third no-ball (WI 8/0).
7:15pm - Covers are coming off and hopefully play will resume soon. Still looks dark out there though.
First over - King and Fletcher at the crease for West Indies, Southee has the ball in hand.
Players take a knee for the Black Lives Matter movement - nice touch. Umpires too!
First two balls are no balls down the leg side.
Fletcher cuts the third fair ball for four and plays off his legs for a single, before umpires halt play for the rain and the covers come on.
6:58pm - Drops of rain on the TV cameras during the anthems and there is some drizzle across the ground.
6:34pm - NZ captain Tim Southee has won the toss and elected to bowl first. South African-born Devon Conway will make his NZ debut, while Kyle Jamieson will make his T20 debut, and Ish Sodhi and Daryl Mitchell have been left out of the NZ line-up.
NZ: Martin Guptill, Tim Seifert (wk), Devon Conway, Glenn Phillips, Ross Taylor, Jimmy Neesham, Mitch Santner, Tim Southee, Kyle Jamieson, Lockie Ferguson, Hamish Bennett
West Indies: Brandon King, Andre Fletcher, Shimron Hetmyer, Nicholas Pooran (wk), Rovman Powell, Kieron Pollard, Fabian Allen, Keemo Paul, Sheldon Cottrell, Kesrik Williams, Oshane Thomas
6:27pm - We're looking out the Newshub windows towards Eden Park... we can't see the Waitakere Ranges for rain in the background. Don't be surprised if there are weather delays :-/
*****
Kia ora, good evening and welcome to Newshub's live coverage of the opening T20 international between the Blackcaps and West Indies from Auckland's Eden Park.
New Zealand's cricketing summer begins tonight against reigning world champions in the games' shortest form.
The 'Calypso Kings' are like the French in rugby. At their best, they are tremendously gifted and play cricket with sublime skill - at their worst, they seem to show little interest in the contest.
Which version will turn up tonight?
Both sides have players emerging from COVID-19 quarantine, after returning from the Indian Premier League only two weeks ago.
While West Indies have dropped to ninth in T20 world Rankings - New Zealand are sixth - but the home side are on a seven-game losing streak over the format, after being swept by India last summer.
For both, this is the start of their build-ups towards next year's T20 World Cup in India.
TAB: NZ $1.60, West Indies $2.23
Blackcaps, Windies to take knee for Black Lives Matter
The Blackcaps and West Indies will both take a knee in support of the 'Black Lives Matter' movement before their upcoming Twenty20 internationals.
Blackcaps captain Tim Southee has confirmed the decision hours before the opening match of their series at Auckland's Eden Park on Friday night.
Southee says the New Zealand side had discussed the action with West Indies coach Phil Simmons and manager Rawl Lewis.
Both teams have also pledged their support to the NZ Human Rights Commission's 'Give Nothing to Racism' campaign.
"We caught up with Phil and the manager, but it's something that's close to the West Indies cricket side and something we're happy to support, along with the 'Give Nothing to Racism' campaign for NZ Human Rights [Commission], so the two go well together," says Southee.
In July, the West Indies and England cricketers took a knee during their series.
"Earlier this year, on the test tour of England, the team took the decision to take the knee and wear the Black Lives Matter logo on the shirt," says West Indies captain Kieron Pollard.
"This was a powerful demonstration in the fight for equality and against injustice, and we want to continue to show our commitment and raise awareness during this series as well."
The West Indies will also wear a specially designed Black Lives Matter emblem on the shirt sleeve for the T20s and on the collar during the two test matches.
Sports teams began kneeling to support the movement after the death of American George Floyd in May.
Floyd, a black man, died after Derek Chauvin, a white police officer, knelt on his neck for several minutes, sparking protests in cities around the world - particularly Minneapolis, where the incident occurred.
Meanwhile, Southee is unsure of the starting XI for Friday's and will wait to access the pitch, before naming his side.
