Jayden Lennox scripts history for New Zealand (ODIs): Details here
What's the story
New Zealand's left-arm spinner Jayden Lennox has made a mark in the cricketing world with his stellar performance against the West Indies. The 31-year-old was instrumental in helping the Black Caps clinch a hard-fought 3-2 ODI series victory. He bagged a whopping 14 wickets across five matches and walked away with the Player-of-the-Series honor. Having claimed a three-fer in the series finale in Barbados, Lennox became the NZ bowler with the joint-most wickets in a bilateral ODI series.
Record-breaking performance
Lennox's brilliant show in the fifth ODI
Albeit in a losing cause, Lennox was New Zealand's standout bowler in the fifth and final match, taking 3/35 across nine overs.
Despite his efforts, the home team accomplished the 269-run target to earn the consolation win.
The left-arm spinner ended the series with an impressive 14 wickets at an average of 13.64 and an economy rate of 4.34.
This was just Lennox's third bilateral ODI series after making his international debut against India earlier this year.
Elite list
Lennox joins these names
Besides Lennox, no other Kiwi spinner has taken even 11 wickets in a two-team ODI series, as per Cricinfo.
Meanwhile, the spinner has gone par with former pacers Geoff Allott (14 vs South Africa, 1998-99) and Andre Adams (14 vs India, 2002-03) in terms of NZ bowlers with the most scalps in a bilateral ODI series.
Lennox also surpassed Tim Southee (13 wickets vs England, 2008) to become NZ's most successful bowler in a bilateral ODI series away from home.
Spells
Successive four-plus wicket-hauls
The second game of the WI-NZ series saw Lennox take his maiden five-wicket haul in ODIs (5/19 in eight overs).
These are now the third-best figures by a New Zealand spinner in ODI history.
Lennox backed this spell with another four-fer in the third match (4/52 from 10 overs).
Meanwhile, the youngster has now raced to 22 wickets from 10 ODIs at 17.86 (ER: 4.22).
Statement
Spin-friendly Caribbean pitches aided my performance: Lennox
Lennox acknowledged that the spin-friendly conditions in the Caribbean worked to his advantage.
He said, "It's been a lot of fun. Playing on pitches that are pretty spin-conducive has been a great learning experience for me."
The spinner also emphasized on the importance of these bilateral series as opportunities to learn and gain experience in foreign conditions.