ICC Women's World Cup 2017: Rachel Priest's breakneck 90 hands New Zealand 8-wicket win over West Indies

London: Rachel Priest’s rapid 90 set the seal on yet another defeat for the West Indies at the Women’s World Cup as New Zealand cruised to an eight-wicket win at Taunton on Thursday. A fourth loss in as many tournament matches all but ended World T20 champions West Indies’ hopes of reaching the semi-finals, with their pride all they have realistically left to play for in this event. [caption id=“attachment_3786025” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] New Zealand’s Rachel Priest struck a total of 17 fours and two sixes in her innings. AP[/caption] By contrast, this victory took New Zealand into fourth place in a group stage where all eight teams involved play each other once, with the top four qualifying for the semi-finals. West Indies were dismissed for 150 — a huge improvement on their woeful 48 all out against South Africa but still nowhere near enough at this level. Leigh Kasperek was the pick of the bowlers, finishing with figures of three for 17 off her 10 overs. Priest and Suzie Bates then put on 120 for the opening wicket in a chase that took just 18.2 overs to complete. The only disappointment for New Zealand was that Priest fell 10 shy of a hundred, having struck 17 fours and two sixes in her 55-ball innings. But this was a minor concern, with White Ferns skipper Bates saying: “We didn’t plan the fast-paced chase. Priest was hitting it out of the park and that’s how she plays so we let her do that. “Having a small total let us do that.” “Leigh Kasperek showed us she deserves to be in there. It’s exciting to see her and Amelia Kerr bowling well.” Only Kyshona Knight (41) provided much in the way of West Indies’ resistance with the bat. West Indies captain Stafanie Taylor said a lack of one-day international experience had proved costly to her side. “If you look at 50-over games, it’s been a while since we last played,” she explained. Taylor added: “It’s all about (our) mindset (for their next game against Sri Lanka). “We just have to look to play some positive cricket. We just have to play for some pride.”