All-round Taylor sets up series win for West Indies

Stafanie Taylor's splendid all-round display set up a 95-run win for West Indies Women in the third ODI against New Zealand Women, and helped them take the series 2-1. Taylor scored her fifth ODI hundred, finishing unbeaten on 135 off 148 balls and later took 4 for 35 as New Zealand managed only 143 in their chase of 239.

West Indies chose to bat and, with the series locked at 1-1, had a bad start, losing opener Natasha McLean in the second over with the score on 8. Kycia Knight and Taylor then began cautiously re-building the innings, adding 75 in 21.4 overs before Knight was out for 29. Shemaine Campbelle followed soon after but Taylor held the innings together and gradually began accelerating.

She added 44 in 8.4 overs with Dottin and then had another 40-run partnership with captain Merissa Aguilleira. Even as wickets fell regularly, Taylor stayed aggressive, hitting 14 fours to help West Indies reach 238 for 6, their highest total of the series.

New Zealand's captain Suzie Bates was run out off the second ball of the innings without facing a delivery and that dismissal meant the chase started on a shaky footing. Taylor was among the wickets quickly, getting Amy Satterthwaite stumped for 20 and taking the key wicket of Katie Perkins, who was involved in important partnerships with Sophie Devine and Rachel Priest. However, regular wickets and the lack of one substantial partnership hurt New Zealand.

Fittingly, Taylor took the last two wickets, dismissing Morna Nielsen and Rachel Candy in the 43rd over to bring an end to New Zealand's reply. The two sides will now play a tri-series along with England Women, starting on October 14.

"To win the series is an amazing feeling as it is the first time that we are doing so against New Zealand, who are one of the top teams in women's cricket," Aguilleira said. "It was not easy, as after the first game defeat, we had to look into ourselves deeply and see what we were doing wrong. But the girls responded brilliantly in the second game, and today again remained on the ball, which allowed us to pull through."