The players of the New Zealand U-19 cricket team displayed a great show of sportsmanship when they carried an injured West Indies U-19 batsman off the field during an International Cricket Council (ICC) Under-19 World Cup clash at Willowmoore Park in Benoni on Wednesday.


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The incident took place in the 48th over of the West Indies U-19's innings against New Zealand in the second quarter-final of the showpiece event.


Caribbean player Kirk McKenzie, who was earlier retired hurt before he made his way back to the crease, fell just one run short of an ODI century. After being dismissed, McKenzie was founding it difficult to walk off the field due to cramps when New Zealand players Jesse Tashkoff and Joseph Field first gave their shoulders to McKenzie before picking him up and taking the injured batsman off the field.


Lauding the sportsmanship spirit of the New Zealand players, the official Twitter handle of Cricket World Cup posted the video of the incident.


"An outstanding show of sportsmanship earlier today in the game between West Indies and New Zealand #U19CWC | #SpiritOfCricket | #FutureStars," they tweeted.



Meanwhile, Indian opener Rohit Sharma and former Indian cricketer Mohammad Kaif too took to their official social media handles to praise New Zealand's spirit of cricket gesture.


"So good to see Spirit of Cricket at its best," Sharma captioned the post.



Kaif, on the other hand, tweeted, "Mastery begins with humility. The legacy being so beautifully carried forward by the next generation of New Zealand stars. There is a reason why they are the most loved team of our times #SpiritOfCricket"



Opting to bat first, Kirk McKenzie smashed 104-ball 99 runs to help the West Indies U-19 side to a score of 238 in their stipulated 50 overs.


Kristian Clarke was the pick of the bowlers for New Zealand with four wickets while Joey Field and captain Jesse Tashkoff bagged two wickets each.


David Hancock and Simon Keene also chipped in with a wicket each.


In reply, Kristian Clarke (46), Joey Field (38), Simon Keene (33) and Quinn Sunde (32) helped the New Zealand U19 team chased down the target with two balls to spare.


New Zealand will now lock horns with the winner of another quarter-final clash between South Africa and Bangladesh.