Vettori salutes 'outstanding' openers

Denesh Ramdin looks on as Brendon McCullum reverse-sweeps on his way to 59 off just 34 balls

New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori hailed the performance of opening batsmen Jesse Ryder and Brendon McCullum after seeing his side end their eight-game losing streak in Twenty20 cricket.

The pair put on 130 for the first wicket - a New Zealand record for any wicket in a Twenty20 match - as the Black Caps made 191 for nine in Hamilton. West Indies fell 36 short in reply.

Both Ryder and McCullum peppered the boundary regularly on their way to half-centuries and in the eighth over combined to take 24 runs off Fidel Edwards.

McCullum was the first New Zealand wicket to fall, his 59 having occupied just 34 balls and contained six fours and four sixes. Ryder made 62 off 41 deliveries, with seven fours and three sixes.

“It was outstanding stuff from Jesse and Brendon and they played the way I think everyone expects them to play every time they go out there”, Vettori said.

“They looked good from the start. I think they both settled themselves a bit easier than in Auckland and they gave themselves that base.

“Once Brendon and Jesse do that I think they give themselves an opportunity, and you don’t need that many balls to pile up a big score and they showed that today. They were outstanding.”

Jesse Ryder prospers off his legs as he and McCullum make hay with the bat in Hamilton

It was also a big day for debutant Ewen Thompson, who took the prized wicket of Chris Gayle in his first over in international cricket, which was also a maiden.

Vettori, who claimed 2-19 himself, also restricted the West Indies batsmen as they struggled to get anywhere near the required run-rate.

“Ewen Thompson came in in his first game and did the job that was prescribed to him. We were pretty thankful for that,” Vettori said.

“We were pretty ruthless the whole way through and I think the way we fielded, the way we caught and the energy in the field led us to that victory.”

Windies skipper Gayle admitted sloppy fielding in the first 10 overs cost his side dear.

Ryder was dropped on 16 and 49 and the performance of New Zealand’s opening pair left West Indies chasing the game, despite a New Zealand batting collapse which saw them slump from 130 without loss to 164 for six.

“It was a disappointing start. We put down a few chances and paid the penalty for that,” said Gayle.

“But having said that, Brendon and Jesse batted really well and took the game away from us early by setting it up for the rest of the batters to come.

“When we batted we lost early wickets and that set us on the back foot and it was difficult for us to get 191."