Even as Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra ducked, dived and swatted at the West Indies new ball bowlers in tough batting conditions, there was always the feeling the Black Caps would find a way.

Sure enough, just when it looked as if West Indies would send the ODI series to a Hamilton decider, captain Mitchell Santner and Tom Latham capitalised on some loose offerings and a waning touring side to close out a five-wicket win in Napier.

It extended a remarkable Black Caps record in ODI cricket at home: 11 successive series wins and 27 victories from 29 completed ODIs in that period, since their most recent series defeat 4-1 against India in February 2019.

That equates to a 93% win rate on home turf, easily the best of any international side in that period. India, the world ODI No 1, who beat the second-ranked Black Caps in the Champions Trophy final in Dubai in March, are next best on that score, with a 76% win rate at home since February 2019: 35 wins from 46 matches.

India’s record should receive a higher weighting, though, given they hosted Australia 16 times and England seven times among those 46 ODIs.

New Zealand haven’t hosted Australia in any ODIs in that period, and England just three times - for that impressive 3-0 sweep in the past month en route to the Ashes tests. They also beat India four times from as many attempts, including a ‘series’ win in 2022 for a seven-wicket victory in Auckland when the Hamilton and Christchurch matches were washed out.

Still, it’s hard to quibble with the Black Caps’ results and their own confidence they can get the job done in 50-over cricket, a format marginalised of late in bilateral series but still a big target in terms of Champions Trophy and World Cups.

Kane Williamson said in a rare interview last month that the 50-over Cricket World Cup in South Africa in October-November 2027 remained on his list to tick off before retirement.

The same successful formula played out at McLean Park on Wednesday, even without the injured Daryl Mitche, who was elevated to the lofty status of world No. 1 ODI batsman for a match-winning century in Christchurch.

In helpful conditions, the home pace attack of Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson and Nathan Smith - potentially the three test frontliners too - did the early damage with swing and seam before a rapid, world-class hundred from Shai Hope.

Then the opening pair saw off some probing spells from the West Indies, including test gun Jayden Seales, to post the Black Caps’ first century opening stand in 73 ODIs (106 between Conway and Ravindra).

That set the platform for the closers, of which Latham and Santner are two of the best.

Conway felt West Indies got “too many” in the rain-shortened 34-over contest - 247-,  which left the hosts needing a run rate of 7.3.

“We kept reminding ourselves just to stick to playing good cricket shots, get into good positions and look straight. There was quite a lot of lateral movement and a fair bit of swinging, so we had to keep looking straight and reacting,” Conway said.

“It certainly made it challenging up front, and we kept reminding ourselves that if we get through that period, it will get easier as the innings go on, as the way they (West Indies) played showed.”

Conway’s innings of 90 off 84 balls continued his form spike of recent weeks and boosted his ODI average to 45.82. It was just his eighth ODI innings at home, from which he has a solitary century against Bangladesh at the Basin Reserve in 2021.

Ravindra, too, has played very few ODIs at home. Wednesday’s rollicking 56 off 46 balls was his 12th innings in New Zealand and just his third half-century. For someone with five ODI centuries - Ravindra’s best ODI innings in New Zealand is 79 against Sri Lanka in Hamilton in January.

A first home ODI ton will be one to tick off on Saturday with a clear forecast and 24 °C maximum, at Seddon Park, where the Black Caps have won 11 straight ODIs stretching back to 2017.

Second ODI at McLean Park, Napier: West Indies 247-9 off 34 overs (Shai Hope 109no off 69; Nathan Smith 4-42 off 7, Kyle Jamieson 3-44 off 7) lost to New Zealand 248-5 off 33.3 overs (Devon Conway 90 off 84, Rachin Ravindra 56 off 46, Tom Latham 39no off 29, Mitchell Santner 34no off 15; Matthew Forde 1-42 off 7) by 5 wickets.