Daryl Mitchell stars with century as Black Caps beat West Indies in first ODI
Sunday, 16 November 2025
At Hagley Oval, Christchurch: Black Caps 269-7 off 50 (Daryl Mitchell 119, Devon Conway 49, Michael Bracewell 35; Jayden Seales 3-41) beat West Indies 262-6 off 50 (Sherfane Rutherford 55; Kyle Jamieson 3-52, Zak Foulkes 1-30) by 7 runs. Click here for the full scorecard.
Daryl Mitchell’s happy knack of scoring big runs when the Black Caps need him most was to the fore yet again at Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Sunday.
Walking to the crease facing a hat-trick ball at 24-2 in the seventh over, after Matthew Forde removed Rachin Ravindra and Will Young in successive deliveries, the heat was on Mitchell again in front of his home crowd.
What followed was an innings best described as paced to perfection; he seemed to find the right tempo at every stage en route to scoring his seventh ODI century.
When Mitchell finally departed in the last over, for 119 off 118 balls, he had dragged his team to 269-7 against a West Indies side that was disciplined with the ball - albeit with a painfully abysmal over rate - but sloppy in the field when it came to taking their chances.
A sub-par total at Hagley, yes, but the Black Caps’ attack made it work, just.
The West Indies eventually fell just seven runs short of victory, ending on 262-7, but the Black Caps were always just ahead of the game.
Jacob Duffy took the ball for the final over with 20 required and did the job, though with 9 required off 2 balls it was still not technically over till the penultimate ball was a dot.
The Black Caps bowlers were generally on point across the board and gave the West Indies so little that the scoring rate just kept creeping up, even if the wickets were not tumbling.
At 104-3 after 30 the tourists were still right in the game but New Zealand were so accurate that they never looked truly comfortable in the chase.
The quicks were difficult to get away and they used the bouncer well, particularly Kyle Jamieson (3-52), Matt Henry (1-46) and Zak Foulkes (1-30), all with plenty of experience bowling at Hagley, though Jacob Duffy was also excellent in his spell.
Eight an over became nine, 10, 11 and then 12 off the last five overs. New Zealand know how to defend and their bowlers showed why it is so difficult to beat them at home - that’s 26 wins and just two losses in their past 30 home ODIs.
Earlier, the batters were slow and steady at the top of the innings after being sent in on a Hagley pitch that had its usual bounce but not as much sideways movement.
The visitors bowled well and when Forde struck in the seventh over, including the wicket of Young for a first-ball duck in his 50th ODI, the Black Caps were in trouble.
Devon Conway looked in great touch with an innings punctuated by a series of lovely cover drives. He put on 67 with Mitchell but fell for 49 when, like the first two wickets before him, he tried to drive one that wasn’t quite full enough on the bouncy deck and was caught behind.
New Zealand just couldn’t get going. Partnerships started to form but every time they did, the West Indies broke through.
Mitchell, though, was a constant. Yes, he rode his luck; he was dropped on 19 in the gully and on 67 at long one, both difficult chances but both you’d want to take at this level.
But he punished the short balls and hit straight well, as he always does, to bring up his half century off 61 balls and his century off 107 balls, pacing the innings superbly.
Not even an injury - to his adductor when on 79 - could halt him. Though he struggled to run between the wickets, the score kept ticking with boundaries. He hit 14 in all, 12 fours and two sixes.
A 69-run partnership for the fifth wicket with Michael Bracewell (35) was crucial, the pair coming together with the innings in the balance at 123-4 after 27.
Though again the West Indies will be full of ‘what ifs’ having missed two simple chances off Bracewell, a stumping and a dolly at cover. Incidentally, they also had two leg before decisions against him, only for them to be overturned on review - one where he got an inside edge, the other when he was struck marginally outside off stump.
New Zealand scored 84 off the final 10 overs thanks to Mitchell, who did not take the field in the second innings, and late boundaries from Foulkes. Shockingly, the tourists completed their 50th over 38 minutes after they should have.
The second match is a day-nighter in Napier on Wednesday.