Roger Twose rode his luck in scoring an unbeaten 54 against Scotland in Edinburgh yesterday to secure New Zealand's place in the second round of the World Cup.
New Zealand, needing to score 122 in 21 overs to qualify ahead of the West Indies, reached 123 for four in 17.5 overs. Pakistan and Australia had already qualified from group B for the Super Six phase of the tournament.
New Zealand's swift victory scuppered Australia's controversial go-slow tactics on Sunday intended to ensure West Indies qualified ahead of New Zealand, which would have enabled the Australians to take two points through to the second round.
Now it is New Zealand who will take two points through to the second round. Group B winners Pakistan take four points and Australia none. "Obviously we're delighted to have reached the next stage, and we'll see what happens from here. We feel though that we can go all the way," New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming said.
The bowling of Geoff Allott and Chris Harris provided the platform for victory as Scotland made their customary woeful start by slumping to 12 for three. The only significant stand came for the fourth wicket between Gavin Hamilton and Ian Stanger. They put on 54, Stanger top scoring with 27 and Hamilton making 20 out of a total of 121 from 42.1 overs. Man of the match Allott, who took two early wickets, finished with three for 15 and Harris mopped up the tail for a four for seven return.
"The skipper gave me the job of going for their openers, and we made an important early breakthrough," Allott said. "Our batsmen picked up the job and saw it through. It was a good all-round performance."
New Zealand began shakily, losing Matthew Hart and Nathan Astle for 19, but Twose, dropped three times, and Craig McMillan redressed the balance with a 62-run third wicket stand.
Twose's 54 came off 49 balls with five fours and a six, but Chris Cairns had the honour of taking the New Zealanders into the Super Six with a huge six over square leg.
Scotland ended their first World Cup campaign without a win, but were far from downhearted. "Our lads can be very proud of the way they performed, and although we didn't win a game, we can still take a lot of positive aspects from the competition," said captain George Salmond.
"We came up against the best players in the world and gave our best, and that is all anyone could have asked of us. We also put Scottish cricket on the map and have gained a lot of respect as a result. Our main aim was to try and secure full one-day status, and I hope the powers that be recognise that," he added.
Bangladesh beat tournament second favourites Pakistan by 62 runs in their final qualifying group B match at Northampton. Pakistan had already qualified for the Super Six second phase and still finish top of group B. Bangladesh, despite their second win of the tournament, are eliminated.
