MANCHESTER, England, September 23, 2026: Carlos Brathwaite stood on 101 with West Indies six runs from 292 and seven balls still available. Nine teammates were already gone, Oshane Thomas had yet to score, and New Zealand had one task left: keep the next clean swing inside Old Trafford.
Brathwaite attacked Jimmy Neesham’s short ball and sent it toward long-on. For a moment, the improbable looked possible. West Indies had been 164/7, apparently finished, yet one more six could now win the match.
Trent Boult tracked the ball, held the catch just inside the boundary and ended one of the most extraordinary unsuccessful run chases in World Cup history. New Zealand won by five runs. Brathwaite dropped to his knees after making 101 from 82 balls, an innings that had taken his team from near-defeat to within one stroke of 292.
That final ball is enough to make the match unforgettable, but it does not fully explain why it belongs at No. 32 in The Sports Encounter’s A Celebration of 5000 ODIs.
Story at a glance
New Zealand vs West Indies 2019 World Cup: Match at a Glance
The result and match details are recorded in the official ICC match report and New Zealand Cricket’s archived scorecard.
Why Match 32 Belongs in A Celebration of 5000 ODIs
There are close ODIs that stay close. This one repeatedly looked finished.
Sheldon Cottrell Destroys New Zealand’s Opening Plan
Cottrell needed one delivery to remove Martin Guptill.
Kane Williamson Turns 7/2 Into a Winning Total
Williamson arrived before New Zealand had established an innings and left after giving them one.
New Zealand Find 40 Late Runs After Williamson Falls
Williamson’s dismissal at 251/5 still left 21 balls in the innings.
Hours before Brathwaite’s assault, New Zealand had been 7/2 after Sheldon Cottrell removed both openers in the first over. Kane Williamson responded with a career-best 148. West Indies then recovered from 20/2 to 142/2, collapsed to 164/7 and somehow rebuilt again.
The match kept changing shape until there was nowhere left for it to turn.
TL;DR
- New Zealand recovered from 7/2 to make 291/8.
- Kane Williamson scored 148 from 154 balls after both New Zealand openers fell for golden ducks.
- Sheldon Cottrell took 4/56 and was directly involved in seven New Zealand dismissals through wickets, catches and a run-out.
- Chris Gayle made 87 and Shimron Hetmyer 54 as West Indies recovered from 20/2 to 142/2.
- West Indies then lost five wickets for 22 runs to collapse to 164/7.
- Carlos Brathwaite rebuilt the chase with the lower order and blasted 101 from 82 balls.
- He took 25 runs from Matt Henry’s 48th over, including three consecutive sixes.
- West Indies needed six from seven balls when Brathwaite attacked Neesham and Boult caught him at long-on.
- New Zealand won by five runs.
- Kane Williamson was named Player of the Match.
New Zealand vs West Indies 2019 World Cup: Match at a Glance
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Match | New Zealand vs West Indies, 29th match |
| Tournament | ICC Cricket World Cup 2019 |
| Date | June 22, 2019 |
| Venue | Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester |
| Toss | West Indies won the toss and fielded |
| New Zealand | 291/8 in 50 overs |
| West Indies | 286 all out in 49 overs |
| Result | New Zealand won by five runs |
| Player of the Match | Kane Williamson |
| New Zealand top scorer | Kane Williamson, 148 from 154 |
| West Indies top scorer | Carlos Brathwaite, 101 from 82 |
| Best New Zealand bowling | Trent Boult, 4/30 |
| Best West Indies bowling | Sheldon Cottrell, 4/56 |
| Central turning point | West Indies fell from 142/2 to 164/7 |
| Final twist | Brathwaite was caught attempting the winning six |
| Tournament impact | New Zealand remained unbeaten and moved to the top of the standings; West Indies suffered a fourth consecutive defeat |
The result and match details are recorded in the official ICC match report and New Zealand Cricket’s archived scorecard.
Why Match 32 Belongs in A Celebration of 5000 ODIs
There are close ODIs that stay close. This one repeatedly looked finished.
New Zealand should have been under severe pressure at 7/2. Williamson and Ross Taylor transformed the innings.
West Indies should have been in control at 142/2. Five wickets disappeared for 22 runs.
The chase should have been dead at 164/7. Brathwaite refused to accept that conclusion.
Even after the ninth wicket fell at 245, West Indies still needed 47 with only Oshane Thomas left. Brathwaite scored every run in their 41-run final-wicket stand and forced New Zealand to defend six runs from seven balls.
The original A Celebration of 5000 ODIs roadmap selected this match because a West Indies side apparently broken at 164/7 came within one huge strike of an extraordinary victory. That remains the defining reason for its inclusion, but the deeper story is how often both teams recovered after appearing to have lost control.
Readers following the full project can also browse the A Celebration of 5000 ODIs series archive.
Sheldon Cottrell Destroys New Zealand’s Opening Plan
Cottrell needed one delivery to remove Martin Guptill.
Four balls later, Colin Munro was gone too.
Both New Zealand openers were dismissed by the first ball they faced, leaving the Black Caps 7/2 before the opening over had finished. The ICC noted that it was only the third time in ODI history that both openers from the same team had fallen for golden ducks.
Cottrell did not disappear after the opening burst. He later dismissed Tom Latham and eventually removed Williamson for 148. His final figures were 10 overs, one maiden, 56 runs and four wickets.
His contribution went even further. Cottrell also caught Jimmy Neesham and Mitchell Santner and ran out Colin de Grandhomme. Few bowling performances with figures of 4/56 have contained that much additional fielding influence.
West Indies had created almost the perfect opening.
They could not make it last.
Kane Williamson Turns 7/2 Into a Winning Total
Williamson arrived before New Zealand had established an innings and left after giving them one.
His 148 came from 154 balls, with 14 fours and one six. It became his highest ODI score at the time and followed the century he had made against South Africa three days earlier.
What mattered most was not simply the volume of runs. Williamson understood that New Zealand could not respond to Cottrell’s opening over by trying to erase it immediately.
He and Ross Taylor rebuilt slowly enough to restore control, but never so slowly that New Zealand lost access to a competitive total. Their third-wicket partnership eventually reached 160.
Taylor departed at 167/3. Williamson was still there.
By the time Cottrell finally removed him at 251/5 in the 47th over, New Zealand were no longer recovering. They were building toward a target capable of winning the match.
Williamson had already appeared in another extraordinary New Zealand escape in this series, when his six finished the one-wicket thriller against Australia featured in Match 28 of A Celebration of 5000 ODIs. In Manchester four years later, his role was different. There was no spectacular finishing blow. Instead, he absorbed the damage at the start and spent almost an entire innings repairing it.
Ross Taylor’s 69 Makes the Recovery Possible
Williamson needed somebody capable of sharing the burden after 7/2, and Taylor supplied exactly that.
His 69 from 95 balls included seven fours. The strike rate of 72.63 looks conservative in isolation, but isolation is the wrong way to read the innings.
New Zealand had lost both openers before Taylor reached the crease. Another early wicket could have exposed the middle order while the ball was still new and Cottrell was still threatening.
Taylor helped remove that possibility.
The 160-run partnership did more than rebuild the scoreboard. It forced West Indies to search for wickets rather than continue attacking a damaged batting lineup.
New Zealand Find 40 Late Runs After Williamson Falls
Williamson’s dismissal at 251/5 still left 21 balls in the innings.
Neesham made 28 from 23, de Grandhomme 16 from six and Santner 10 from five. New Zealand reached 291/8 despite losing Santner and Neesham from the final two deliveries.
Those late runs became more important with every Brathwaite boundary.
A total of 275 might have disappeared. A score around 280 could also have been vulnerable. New Zealand needed nearly all of the 291 they collected.
Five runs eventually separated the teams.
Trent Boult Strikes Before Gayle and Hetmyer Change the Chase
West Indies lost Shai Hope for one and Nicholas Pooran for one as Boult reduced them to 20/2.
Then the match changed again.
Chris Gayle and Shimron Hetmyer attacked instead of allowing the early wickets to dictate the chase. Their third-wicket partnership added 122, taking West Indies from 20/2 to 142/2. Hetmyer supplied 54 from 45 balls, while Gayle made New Zealand pay repeatedly for chances they failed to take.
Boult dropped Gayle when he had 15. The West Indies opener was later put down twice more, on 58 and 59.
By then, the chase looked dangerous rather than damaged.
Chris Gayle’s 87 Turns New Zealand’s Misses Into a Problem
Gayle made 87 from 84 balls with eight fours and six sixes.
The innings combined periods of restraint with the kind of acceleration that could change the required rate in a single over. He hit Matt Henry for two sixes and a four in one over after surviving the earlier dropped chance.
At 142/2, New Zealand were confronting a very different match from the one Boult had created at 20/2.
Gayle was established. Hetmyer was attacking. The required rate remained manageable.
Then one wicket became five.
Shimron Hetmyer’s 54 Ends at Exactly the Wrong Moment
Hetmyer made 54 from 45 balls at a strike rate of 120.00, striking eight fours and a six.
His dismissal to Lockie Ferguson at 142/3 did not look terminal by itself. West Indies still had Gayle, Jason Holder and Brathwaite in the lineup.
The problem was what happened immediately afterward.
Holder faced Ferguson’s next delivery and was caught behind for a golden duck.
Two wickets had disappeared without another run.
The collapse had started.
The First Great Turning Point: West Indies Collapse From 142/2 to 164/7
The scorecard captures the suddenness of the collapse:
142/2: Hetmyer out.
142/3: Holder out next ball.
152/4: Gayle out for 87.
163/5: Ashley Nurse out for one.
164/6: Evin Lewis out for a duck.
Because the score before Hetmyer’s dismissal was 142/2 and Lewis became the seventh wicket at 164, West Indies had lost five wickets while adding only 22 runs.
Boult removed Nurse and Lewis. Ferguson had already taken Hetmyer and Holder. De Grandhomme finally ended Gayle’s 87.
At 164/7 after 26.5 overs, the conventional version of this match was ready to be written.
New Zealand had survived the Gayle-Hetmyer partnership, broken the middle order and exposed the tail with 128 runs still required.
Carlos Brathwaite rewrote it.
Lockie Ferguson’s 3/59 Breaks the Middle Order
Ferguson’s wickets did not come cheaply, but they came at moments that changed the structure of the chase.
Removing Hetmyer ended the 122-run partnership. Dismissing Holder with the very next ball prevented West Indies from replacing one established partnership with another.
Ferguson later bowled Cottrell for 15, ending the ninth-wicket stand at 245 and leaving Brathwaite with only Thomas.
His final figures of 3/59 gave New Zealand another attacking threat alongside Boult rather than allowing West Indies to simply see off one strike bowler.
Trent Boult’s 4/30 Does Not Tell the Whole Story
Boult finished with the best bowling figures of the match: 4/30 from ten overs, including a maiden.
He removed Hope and Pooran with the new ball before dismissing Nurse and Lewis during the middle-order collapse.
Yet his defining contribution came without the ball in his hand.
New Zealand had dropped Gayle three times, including Boult’s own miss when Gayle was on 15. Brathwaite then attacked the death overs so violently that a match New Zealand appeared to have secured at 164/7 returned to the edge.
Boult eventually had one more fielding chance.
This one had to stick.
Carlos Brathwaite Turns 164/7 Into a Match Again
Brathwaite’s score was 101.
The circumstances made it feel larger.
He first added 47 with Kemar Roach, moving West Indies from 164/7 to 211/8. He then put on 34 with Cottrell.
At 245/9, only Thomas remained.
Brathwaite did not merely protect the No. 11. He took ownership of every available run. Thomas faced four balls and scored none. Brathwaite scored all 41 runs in the tenth-wicket partnership.
His eventual 101 used 82 balls and contained nine fours and five sixes.
The West Indies Cricket retrospective on Brathwaite’s innings records the over that changed the final equation most dramatically: Matt Henry’s 48th cost 25 runs, including three consecutive sixes from Brathwaite.
West Indies suddenly needed eight from the final 12 deliveries.
The impossible had become a routine death-over equation.
The Final Over: Six Runs, Seven Balls, One Catch
Neesham began the 49th over with three dot balls.
Brathwaite then pulled two runs to reach his first ODI century from 80 deliveries.
Another dot followed.
West Indies now needed six runs from seven balls.
Neesham went short again. Brathwaite pulled toward long-on. Another few feet of height might have ended the contest immediately.
Instead, Boult completed the catch near the rope.
Brathwaite was out for 101 from 82 balls. West Indies were 286 all out after 49 overs, five runs short of New Zealand’s 291.
It was an unusually cruel finish because Brathwaite had solved nearly every problem the collapse created. He had kept the tail alive, manipulated the strike, attacked the right overs and brought a target of 128 from the final 139 balls down to one six.
The last strike simply traveled to the wrong place.
Player of the Match: Kane Williamson
Brathwaite produced the match’s most dramatic innings.
The official Player of the Match award went to Williamson.
There was a strong cricketing logic behind the decision.
New Zealand had been 7/2. Williamson then batted for 154 deliveries, made 148 of his team’s 291 runs and shared a 160-run partnership with Taylor. Without that reconstruction, New Zealand never reached a total capable of surviving Brathwaite’s assault.
His innings also demanded two distinct approaches. He first had to stop Cottrell’s opening damage from spreading. Later, he had to convert recovery into acceleration.
Brathwaite almost produced the greater comeback.
Williamson created the target he could not quite reach.
What New Zealand Did Well
New Zealand’s greatest strength was their ability to recover without panicking.
The batting lineup did it at 7/2. Williamson and Taylor recognized that the first problem was survival, not immediate acceleration.
The bowling attack did it after Gayle and Hetmyer had rebuilt the chase. Ferguson and Boult took wickets in clusters rather than allowing West Indies to replace one partnership with another.
And Boult finally did it at the boundary when one mistake would have cost the match.
There were flaws. Gayle received three lives, Henry conceded 76 from nine overs, and New Zealand allowed 164/7 to become 286.
Yet great ODI teams often survive matches in which their best cricket appears only in stretches. New Zealand found enough of it at precisely the right moments.
Their capacity to remain alive in chaotic games had already surfaced in the one-wicket win over Australia in Match 28 and in earlier World Cup classics such as the 2015 semifinal against South Africa in Match 29.
Where West Indies Lost the Match
It would be easy to say West Indies lost because Brathwaite’s final shot did not clear Boult.
That would ignore everything that made the final shot necessary.
Cottrell had given West Indies a dream start with the ball, but the attack could not break the Williamson-Taylor partnership before it reached 160.
During the chase, West Indies had reached 142/2 with Gayle and Hetmyer established. That was the position from which the match should have been managed.
Instead, five wickets fell for 22 runs.
Holder’s first-ball dismissal was especially damaging because it denied West Indies a stabilizing presence immediately after Hetmyer went. Gayle then followed ten runs later.
Brathwaite’s century almost covered those mistakes, but asking one lower-order batter to recover from 164/7 against Boult, Ferguson and the remaining New Zealand attack left almost no margin for error.
His innings made the ending heartbreaking.
The collapse made it necessary.
What the Result Meant for the 2019 World Cup
New Zealand remained unbeaten and moved to the top of the World Cup standings after five victories from six matches, with their other fixture having been abandoned.
West Indies moved in the opposite direction.
The defeat was their fourth in succession and left them on three points after six matches, severely damaging an already difficult route to the semifinals.
That wider consequence gives Brathwaite’s final shot even greater weight.
He was not trying merely to steal a memorable group-stage victory.
He was trying to keep a World Cup campaign alive.
Complete Match Scorecard
The complete figures below have been checked against the New Zealand Cricket archived scorecard.
New Zealand Batting: 291/8 in 50 Overs
| Batter | Dismissal | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Martin Guptill | lbw b Cottrell | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Colin Munro | b Cottrell | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Kane Williamson (c) | c Hope b Cottrell | 148 | 154 | 14 | 1 | 96.10 |
| Ross Taylor | c Holder b Gayle | 69 | 95 | 7 | 0 | 72.63 |
| Tom Latham (wk) | c & b Cottrell | 12 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 75.00 |
| Jimmy Neesham | c Cottrell b Brathwaite | 28 | 23 | 1 | 1 | 121.74 |
| Colin de Grandhomme | run out (Cottrell) | 16 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 266.67 |
| Mitchell Santner | c Cottrell b Brathwaite | 10 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 200.00 |
| Matt Henry | Not out | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Lockie Ferguson | Did not bat | |||||
| Trent Boult | Did not bat | |||||
| Extras | 4 lb, 1 nb, 3 w | 8 | ||||
| Total | 8 wickets, 50 overs | 291 |
Fall of wickets: 0/1 (Guptill, 0.1), 7/2 (Munro, 0.5), 167/3 (Taylor, 34.3), 210/4 (Latham, 41.5), 251/5 (Williamson, 46.3), 270/6 (de Grandhomme, 48.1), 291/7 (Santner, 49.5), 291/8 (Neesham, 49.6).
West Indies Bowling
| Bowler | Overs | Maidens | Runs | Wickets | Economy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sheldon Cottrell | 10 | 1 | 56 | 4 | 5.60 |
| Kemar Roach | 10 | 2 | 38 | 0 | 3.80 |
| Jason Holder | 7 | 0 | 42 | 0 | 6.00 |
| Oshane Thomas | 6 | 0 | 30 | 0 | 5.00 |
| Carlos Brathwaite | 6 | 0 | 58 | 2 | 9.67 |
| Ashley Nurse | 9 | 0 | 55 | 0 | 6.11 |
| Chris Gayle | 2 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 4.00 |
West Indies Batting: 286 All Out in 49 Overs
| Batter | Dismissal | R | B | 4s | 6s | SR |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chris Gayle | c Boult b de Grandhomme | 87 | 84 | 8 | 6 | 103.57 |
| Shai Hope (wk) | b Boult | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 33.33 |
| Nicholas Pooran | c Latham b Boult | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14.29 |
| Shimron Hetmyer | b Ferguson | 54 | 45 | 8 | 1 | 120.00 |
| Jason Holder (c) | c Latham b Ferguson | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Carlos Brathwaite | c Boult b Neesham | 101 | 82 | 9 | 5 | 123.17 |
| Ashley Nurse | c Latham b Boult | 1 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 12.50 |
| Evin Lewis | c Neesham b Boult | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Kemar Roach | c Latham b Henry | 14 | 31 | 0 | 1 | 45.16 |
| Sheldon Cottrell | b Ferguson | 15 | 26 | 2 | 0 | 57.69 |
| Oshane Thomas | Not out | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 |
| Extras | 3 lb, 9 w | 12 | ||||
| Total | All out, 49 overs | 286 |
Fall of wickets: 3/1 (Hope, 2.4), 20/2 (Pooran, 6.2), 142/3 (Hetmyer, 22.1), 142/4 (Holder, 22.2), 152/5 (Gayle, 23.6), 163/6 (Nurse, 26.2), 164/7 (Lewis, 26.5), 211/8 (Roach, 38.1), 245/9 (Cottrell, 44.6), 286/10 (Brathwaite, 48.6).
New Zealand Bowling
| Bowler | Overs | Maidens | Runs | Wickets | Economy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Trent Boult | 10 | 1 | 30 | 4 | 3.00 |
| Matt Henry | 9 | 0 | 76 | 1 | 8.44 |
| Lockie Ferguson | 10 | 0 | 59 | 3 | 5.90 |
| Jimmy Neesham | 6 | 0 | 35 | 1 | 5.83 |
| Mitchell Santner | 10 | 1 | 61 | 0 | 6.10 |
| Colin de Grandhomme | 4 | 0 | 22 | 1 | 5.50 |
The Match in Five Turning Points
1. Cottrell Removes Both Openers in the First Over
New Zealand were 7/2 after Guptill and Munro both departed for golden ducks. Williamson and Taylor were rebuilding almost from the moment the match began.
2. Williamson and Taylor Add 160
Their partnership changed West Indies’ position from complete early control to a long search for the third wicket.
3. West Indies Reach 142/2
Gayle and Hetmyer added 122 and put the chase on a stable platform after Boult’s opening burst.
4. Five Wickets Fall for 22 Runs
Hetmyer, Holder, Gayle, Nurse and Lewis disappeared as New Zealand turned 142/2 into 164/7.
5. Brathwaite Takes the Match to the Boundary
His 101, the 25-run assault on Henry and the 41-run last-wicket stand created a finish that had seemed impossible at 164/7. Boult’s catch prevented the winning six.
Why the Five-Run Margin Almost Misses the Point
The final margin says New Zealand won by five.
The match itself says much more.
Williamson had to rescue New Zealand from two first-over wickets. Gayle and Hetmyer had to repair West Indies after Boult struck twice. New Zealand then had to recover from losing control of the chase. Brathwaite had to rebuild after almost everyone else had gone.
Four separate versions of the match seemed capable of becoming the final story.
The fifth version was Boult standing beneath Brathwaite’s last hit.
That is why this game belongs in a collection built around the ODIs in which pressure, recovery and consequence mattered more than the bare numbers.
For more historical cricket, match reports and analysis, visit The Sports Encounter’s Cricket coverage hub.
Continue A Celebration of 5000 ODIs
The road to Manchester can be followed through the preceding entries:
- Match 31: Wahab Riaz Turns Pakistan’s 4/2 Crisis Into a World Cup Lifeline Against Zimbabwe
- Match 30: Sarfaraz’s Six Catches Help Pakistan Survive De Villiers’ Defiance
- Match 29: Elliott’s Six Breaks New Zealand’s Semifinal Barrier and South African Hearts
- Match 28: Williamson’s Six Saves New Zealand From Starc’s Stunning Fightback
- Match 27: New Zealand Turn South Africa’s Comfortable Chase Into World Cup Heartbreak
- Match 26: England Escape Elimination as West Indies Lose Four Wickets for Three Runs
Continue A Celebration of 5000 ODIs
A Celebration of 5000 ODIsA Celebration of 5000 ODIs Match 28: Williamson’s Six Saves New Zealand From Starc’s Stunning Fightback
A Celebration of 5000 ODIsA Celebration of 5000 ODIs Match 29: Elliott’s Six Breaks New Zealand’s Semifinal Barrier and South African Hearts
A Celebration of 5000 ODIsA Celebration of 5000 ODIs Match 27: New Zealand Turn South Africa’s Comfortable Chase Into World Cup HeartbreakFrequently Asked Questions
Who won New Zealand vs West Indies at the 2019 Cricket World Cup?
New Zealand won by five runs at Old Trafford in Manchester. They scored 291/8 before dismissing West Indies for 286 in 49 overs.
Who was Player of the Match?
Kane Williamson was named Player of the Match for his 148 from 154 balls after New Zealand had fallen to 7/2.
How many runs did Carlos Brathwaite score?
Brathwaite made 101 from 82 balls with nine fours and five sixes. It was his first ODI century.
How close did Brathwaite come to winning the match?
West Indies needed six runs from seven balls when Brathwaite attacked Jimmy Neesham. His shot went toward long-on, where Trent Boult caught him near the boundary. A six would have completed the chase.
What were Kane Williamson’s figures?
Williamson scored 148 from 154 balls with 14 fours and one six. It was his highest ODI score at the time.
Who took the most wickets?
Sheldon Cottrell took 4/56 for West Indies, while Trent Boult took 4/30 for New Zealand. Lockie Ferguson added 3/59.
What was the main turning point?
West Indies’ collapse from 142/2 to 164/7 was the largest structural shift in the chase. Five wickets fell for 22 runs after Gayle and Hetmyer had placed the side in a strong position.
Brathwaite nearly overturned that collapse, which is why the final catch rather than the collapse became the enduring image.
Why is this match included in A Celebration of 5000 ODIs?
The match contained multiple major reversals: New Zealand recovered from 7/2, West Indies recovered from 20/2, then collapsed from 142/2 to 164/7 before Brathwaite’s century carried them to within one six of victory. It delivered both exceptional individual performances and a finish decided at the boundary.
