The White Ferns have kicked off their tour of the West Indies with a bizarre five-run win in the one-day international series opener at Antigua.
After a delayed start due to a wet pitch, New Zealand won the toss and elected to bowl in a reduced 35-over game.
The slow pitch made the visiting bowlers difficult to get away, but the West Indies openers put on a strong first wicket with the bat.
Risaha Williams and Natasha McLean put on 29 runs in the opening stand, before Hayley Jensen and Hannah Rowe claimed their wickets.
Williams (19) found Maddy Green in the field, before McLean (20) edged through to wicketkeeper Isabella Gaze to leave the hosts 48/2 after 10 overs.
Wickets continued to tumble at regular intervals for the hosts, before a strong lower-order partnership.
Spin bowler Fran Jonas led the charge with two quick wickets, picking up Stefanie Taylor (8), with Sophie Devine taking the catch, and trapping opposition captain Hayley Matthews (2) in front leg-before-wicket.
Jensen and Amelia Kerr combined in the field to run Shabika Gajnabi (13) out short of her crease, as the West Indies slumped to 74/5 after 20 overs, but a superb partnership between Kyshona Knight and Chinelle Henry led their revival, with a combined 83 runs off 77 balls.
Knight (36) played the role of anchor, while Henry (44) attacked New Zealand's bowlers, finishing with a 129 strikerate and five boundaries.
Jess Kerr finally ended their resistance, picking up both wickets, with Jonas and Brooke Halliday taking smart catches, and the West Indies innings came to a close at 168/7 after their 35 overs.
Like the hosts, the White Ferns made a strong start with the bat, but at a much faster run rate.
Openers Suzie Bates and Sophie Devine began New Zealand's run chase, before the latter departed for 25 runs, with her team 55/1 after 10 overs.
Devine's dismissal only brought a rock-steady Amelia Kerr to the crease, and she combined with Bates to put on a 47-run partnership.
Bates (51) was finally dismissed, but only after a well-made half-century to put the White Ferns firmly in the driving seat.
The West Indies bowlers clawed their way back with three more wickets and economical bowling. Matthews proved tough for the New Zealand batters to get away, picking up three wickets for her seven-over spell.
She claimed the wickets of Green (18) and Lauren Down (4) to go with her earlier scalp of Devine.
Jansen (5) was next to go, finding Knight in the field for one of her three catches for the game, as Kerr continued to run out of batting partners.
Halliday (3 not out) joined Kerr (47 not out) at the crease, adding three runs to leave the White Ferns needing 10 runs off the final 12 balls.
But confusion set in, after the umpires called both teams off for bad light, finally awarding New Zealand the win by five runs under the Duckworth Lewis Stern formula.
West Indies 168/7 (Henry 44, Knight 36; Jonas 2/22, Jess Kerr 2/29) White Ferns 159/5 (Bates 51, Amelia Kerr 47no; Matthews 3/28)
New Zealand won by five runs
