Taylor praises ‘outstanding’ Brathwaite after stunning century sets up Manchester thriller

• Brathwaite struck 101 from just 82 balls in a breath-taking innings for West Indies
• Jimmy Neesham had the all-rounder caught at long-on as New Zealand prevailed in a classic

New Zealand batsman Ross Taylor was full of praise for Carlos Brathwaite after the West Indies all-rounder came agonisingly close to completing a stunning chase at Old Trafford.

Chasing 292 to win, West Indies seemed to be heading for defeat at 164/7 before Brathwaite then gave the Kiwis a mighty scare, thumping 101 in just 82 balls.

But his dismissal in the 49th over saw his side fall agonisingly short in a Manchester thriller, losing by five runs to dent their hopes of reaching the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup semi-finals.

“He batted outstandingly well and took his team out of a very tough situation and you’ve got to feel for him,” said Taylor. “We were elated... but at the end of the day you’re human as well and you’ve got to feel sorry for them.

“He did a fantastic job and we all just said to him at the end, ‘Congratulations on a great knock, keep your head held high because you did your country proud’.”

Taylor said it was important that the New Zealand bowlers held their nerve when Brathwaite was in the middle of his onslaught.

“It’s about being clear on your plans and sticking to them,” he explained. “Your margin for error against Carlos and a lot of their batters is very small. I wouldn’t say it was a small boundary but he was clearing them by a significant margin at the end there.

“We had to bowl short at him and hope one went high. In the end it was a very well executed ball by Jimmy Neesham but also a very good catch at long-on by Trent Boult.

“There were just a few centimetres in it there and it could have been a different result.”

Earlier in the day, New Zealand were rescued by Taylor (69) and skipper Kane Williamson (148) after slipping to 7/2, with the pair sharing a stand of 160 for the third wicket.

“I thought West Indies bowled well up front in getting two wickets,” said Taylor. “Kane and I knew we had to take it deep and give ourselves a chance. We had to get through those first ten overs and set little goals along the way because 50 overs is a long time and sometimes if you look too far ahead you can get into trouble.

“We rotated the strike, we hit balls in different areas and made them have to change their game. I thought there was a period when we were on top and that doesn’t happen too often when you lose two wickets in the first over.

“I thought it was hard to know what a good score was. We know West Indies are a very dangerous side. We were happy to get 290-odd but we also knew they only needed a couple of good scores from their side.

“I don’t think we’ve played the perfect game in this tournament so there’s still room for improvement. We still haven’t lost a game but we definitely haven’t played to our potential.”