McCullums mesmerise Windies

The McCullum brothers combined to give New Zealand a comfortable victory over West Indies at Auckland in the first of two Twenty20 internationals between the sides.

An unbeaten 60 from number three and captain Brendon McCullum, who shared an unbroken stand of 85 with Luke Ronchi, lifted the Black Caps to 189 for five after their innings had faltered.

Off-spinner Nathan McCullum, at 33 a year older than his sibling, then returned 4-24 to decimate the touring top-order and set up an 81-run win.

With opening batsmen Lendl Simmons and Johnson Charles gone during the powerplay, Kieran Powell, Andre Fletcher, who top-scored for the Windies on 23, Andre Russell and Dwayne Bravo holed out off McCullum senior while seeking to clear Eden Park’s short boundary.

Bravo’s demise left the tourists, who shared the one-day series 2-2, 75 for six in the 13th over and they could muster just 108 for eight as James Neesham took a T20I-best 3-16.

Martin Guptill and Jesse Ryder had offered a smooth start with 25 and 22 respectively once McCullum junior won the toss. But after Ross Taylor became Nikita Miller’s second victim, Tino Best broke through twice, including to have Colin Munro caught behind for 22.

However, the skipper and Ronchi, who ended two short of a fifty, ensured a healthy total in part by sharing eight sixes.