Read the article of West Indies vs New Zealand 1st ODI 1985 - New Zealand tour of West Indies 5-match one-day international series of the 1st ODI match played between New Zealand and West Indies at Antigua Recreation Ground, St John's, Antigua in 20th March 1985.
Captain Viv Richards' half-century, Desmond Haynes' fifty, Roger Harper's all-round display before Pace bowling attack from Michael Holding and Joel Garner's combined 5-wickets helped to New Zealand comfortable 23-run victory over New Zealand and take a 1-0 lead in the first ODI.
West Indies scored 231-8 in 46 overs with top scorer by Viv Richards struck 70 off 85-balls including 7-fours & a six.
Desmond Haynes hit 54 off 100-balls including five boundaries, Roger Harper hammered a unbeaten 45 off 29-balls.
New Zealand best bowler by Jeremy Coney picked up 3-wickets, Richard Hadlee, Gary Troup both took 2-wickets and one for Lance Cairns.
New Zealand scored 208-8 in 46 overs with top scorer by Jeff Crowe cracked a 52 off 85-balls including 5-fours & 2-sixes.
Martin Crowe struck 41 off 56-balls including 3-fours, Lance Cairns 20, Jeremy Coney 18 and Gary Troup 16 not out.
West Indies best bowler by Michael Holding picked up 3-wickets for 33-runs in 10-overs including two maidens, Joel Garner and Roger Harper both took 2-wickets.
Roger Harper named Player of the match for his all-round performance to took 2-wickets for 34-runs in 8-overs after smashing a whirlwind unbeaten 45 off 29-balls including 3-sixes & 3-fours with strike rate of 155.17.
This match reported by The Daily Telegraph Staff (Third Party Reference from The Daily Telegraph)
WEST INDIES overcame the shock of two early wickets and were seldom hard-pressed in beating New Zealand by 23 runs in the first one-day international of the five-match series in St John's, Antigua.
Vivian Richards, before a crowd of 11,000, who were taking advantage of a national holiday marking his appointment to the captaincy in succession to Clive Lloyd, top-scored with 70.
He steadied the West Indies innings with Haynes (54) in a third-wicket partnership of 127. Harper then provided the perfect momentum at the end of the innings with thee sixes and three fours in an unbeaten 45 from 29 balls.
That left the West Indies with a more than adequate 231 for eight from their 46 overs, and the New Zealanders, despite a third-wicket partnership of 91, spanning 17 overs, between the Crowe brothers, never offered a serious challenge to finsh 208 for eight.
Jeff Crowe lifted two sixes and had five other boundaries in 53 and Martin scored an unbothered 41 before Harper, later chosen Man of the Match, dismissed both in successive overs.
The choice of Harper was a brove piece of objectivity by the judges, for Richards, Antigua's favourite son, had strong claims.
His 70, deceptively scored from only 85 balls, was a captain's innings in the truest sense In the field Richards plucked
a superb one-handed catch out of thin air, at extracover to dismiss the dangerous Cairns and then threw out Coney with his direct hit of the bowler's stumps.
But Harper's batting was the mot influential factor of the match. Without it. the West Indies would not have made many more than 200.
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