Chasing 294 for victory, New Zealand had reached 211 for five when the rain - which has plagued the tour throughout - arrived at McLean Park and it was enough to hand the hosts the win and the series 2-1.

Ross Taylor was unbeaten on 48 and Grant Elliott was 14 not out when the match was called off with 15 overs remaining.

It was a disappointing but predictable end to a series that has been ruined by the weather. Two of the five matches were wash-outs, while all five failed to go the distance, although the conditions were not to blame in Wellington.

Before the rain arrived in Napier, though, there was time to enjoy a superb century by West Indies skipper Chris Gayle, who equalled Brian Lara's total of 19 one-day hundreds when he took a single off Grant Elliott in the 37th over of the West Indies reply.

The tall left-hander, who was eventually dismissed for 135 in his team's total of 293 for nine, also became the fourth West Indies player to score 7,000 one-day runs.

He brought up that milestone in a Mark Gillespie over that also saw him hit a huge six out of McLean Park and into someone's backyard.

Gayle's 170-run partnership with Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who fell six runs short of his 10th century, looked to have given the West Indies a fine chance of posting a 300-plus score.

But a late batting slump which saw them slip from 243 for three, when Gayle was caught by Ross Taylor off Kyle Mills, to 293 for nine gave New Zealand a more achievable target.