Sports · West Indies Cricket

Carty and Hope Steer West Indies to Seven-Wicket Win Over New Zealand at Providence

By Vincypowa News Staff  ·  Saturday, July 11, 2026

West Indies opened their five-match home series against New Zealand with a composed seven-wicket win at Providence Stadium in Guyana on Saturday, chasing down 268 with seven balls to spare to take a 1-0 lead and bank valuable points in their push for the 2027 World Cup.

Batting first after losing the toss, New Zealand were bowled out for 267 in 49.5 overs. West Indies answered with 268 for three in 48.5 overs, guided by a match-shaping third-wicket stand of 131 between Keacy Carty and captain Shai Hope that took the game away from the tourists.

Carty fell agonisingly short of a century, caught for 95 off 112 balls with 10 fours and two sixes, but by then the platform was built. Hope finished unbeaten on 87 from 92 deliveries, striking four sixes, and Sherfane Rutherford closed the chase in a hurry with 22 not out off 16 balls to seal the result inside 49 overs.

A 131-run stand between Carty and Hope turned a tricky chase into a controlled one.

A debutant makes his mark

The West Indies bowling effort was led by Alzarri Joseph, who returned four for 41 and wrapped up the New Zealand innings with a burst of four wickets in his final spell. He was well supported by teenage debutant Vitel Lawes, the 19-year-old left-arm wristspinner who claimed three for 54 in a striking first appearance.

Lawes had never played a professional match at any level before Saturday, so the game marked both his One-Day International and his List A debut. The Jamaican earned his call-up on the strength of a standout Under-19 World Cup campaign earlier this year, and repaid the selectors’ faith by removing top-order batters in helpful conditions. Gudakesh Motie added two for 51, while Khary Pierre was the most economical of the attack with one for 39 from his 10 overs.

New Zealand, missing a number of first-choice players after their Test tour of England, were anchored by Daryl Mitchell’s 65 from 73 balls. Opener Will Young made 49 and captain Mitchell Santner chipped in with a brisk 21, but once Mitchell fell in the 46th over the innings folded quickly, losing its last five wickets for modest returns as Joseph and Motie closed things out.

Why this one matters across the Caribbean

For a Vincentian audience, the West Indies remain the region’s shared team, and this result carries weight well beyond Guyana. Head coach Daren Sammy has framed every remaining ODI series as a must-win assignment on the road to the 2027 World Cup, with the side entering the contest low in the qualification standings and chasing an automatic berth. A win over a top-tier opponent at home is exactly the kind of statement the Caribbean side needed to make.

Sammy has spoken of winning matches “for the people of the Caribbean,” and the atmosphere at Providence, a CARICOM ground that has hosted World Cup cricket, underlined how much a strong West Indies still means from St Vincent to Georgetown. The blooding of a talent like Lawes also points to a longer project: building depth now so the region arrives at the next global tournament with more than just its established names.

What comes next

The series stays in Guyana for the second ODI at the same venue on Monday, July 13, followed by the third match at Providence on July 16 before both teams move to Kensington Oval in Barbados for the final two games on July 19 and July 21. West Indies will look to press their advantage while the momentum, and a settled batting order built around Hope and Carty, is with them.

For now, the Caribbean side has the start it wanted: a chase completed with composure, a captain unbeaten at the finish, and a 19-year-old with three wickets in his first international spell to show for it.

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