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Stephen Fleming knows precisely why New Zealand won Wednesday's fourth Cable & Wireless One-Day International in which contentious calculations raised eyebrows around the region.

Duckworth/Lewis! the New Zealand captain responded when asked what was the difference between this match and the preceding eight on the trot the Black Caps had lost.

The Duckworth/Lewis method, which has attracted its fair share of criticism since it was introduced a few years ago to set revised targets in rain-affected One-Dayers, was brought into the play after the elements intervened at the Queen's Park Oval.

It appeared to give New Zealand a distinct advantage and they went on to win the match by nine runs to keep alive their hopes of clinching a series tie.

While West Indies captain Carl Hooper went as far as to say the system needs to be fine-tuned, Fleming was much more conservative and it's not because the rule favoured New Zealand on the day.

I'm not bright enough to work that out and answer that question, Fleming said when asked if the method used to arrive at adjusted targets should be changed.

I don't know how to beat the system. If you say it is not good enough, you've got to come up with another one that is better.

I'm not a person who is going to thrash something without giving it another alternative and I haven't got one.

When the rain which had been forecast interrupted the match just after 12:30 p.m., New Zealand were going well on 212 for five in 44.3 overs with Nathan Astle and Scott Styris moving merrily along in a sixth wicket century stand.

Play was not possible again until 3 p.m. and by then only 33 overs were available to the West Indies.

When the tabulations were made on the high-tech computers, the West Indies' target was set at 212 in 33 overs.

In short, the Black Caps scored at a rate of 4.78, while the West Indies were asked to score at 6.42. Such are the advantages or disadvantages of a system that was devised by two highly-qualified British mathematicians.

We know what it is, Fleming said about the system.

It provides a balance. It's the only system we have. We've been on the other end of it a lot as well.

He is perfectly correct when he says the system tries to provide a balance. Under the old rules when run-rate was used, West Indies' target would have been 158 in 33 overs.

Run rate has its issues as well. It's not fair on the team batting first, Fleming said.

Fleming's opposite number, Hooper, called for some amendment to the Duckworth/Lewis rule after his side came up on the wrong at the same venue where they lost the decisive match against India in the preceding series.

There is nothing you can do about it. It definitely needs fine-tuning, Hooper said. I think it has cost us two games this summer. We are probably not the first team to be hard done by it, but it needs to be looked at.

Once the team batting first bats well and put up a decent score, and the minute rain intervenes, the team batting second is always going to be up against it.

Bearing in mind New Zealand did not have the chance to take advantage of their final 5.4 overs when they had wickets intact, one can see to some extent the thinking behind the Duckworth/Lewis system.

At times, however, when the calculations are done, they appear to give the side batting first the distinct advantage.

And it was exactly the case on Wednesday when New Zealand's decision to bat first on winning the toss was influenced to some extent by the anticipated afternoon rain.

At the start of the day, you know there might be an option of that and you just have to work accordingly, Fleming said.

The pitch, which appeared to be slightly under-prepared, had a bigger say in New Zealand's choice to take first knock for the fourth successive time in the series.

I really wanted to get the side performing well by getting a score on the board and putting pressure on the opposition because things like rain and Duckworth/Lewis are going to work in your favour, Fleming said. They had wickets in hand so they could go at a good rate. Even though people say they had to go over six, they had wickets in hand.

© The Barbados Nation