Justin Greaves struck twice after the Drinks Break as West Indies bounced back from a wicketless first half before Drinks to have New Zealand struggling at 128/5 in 43 overs at Tea. Kane Williamson looked good for his 52 while Tom Latham made 24 but both fell to Greaves as Seales and Layne also got amongst the wickets to leave the Test in a delicate position at Tea.
Kane Williamson & Tom Latham stabilise the innings amidst missed opportunities for West Indies.Â
Kane Williamson and Tom Latham came out to resume proceedings for New Zealand after Lunch while Kemar Roach had ball in hand for West Indies and completed his over which was a maiden as New Zealand were tested in the stop start curtailed morning session. Johann Layne was introduced into the attack as Williamson hit the first boundary of the Test match by rocking back and opened the bat face to steer it to left of point fielder. Williamson then drove him uppishly through cover point for a boundary. Layne then gifted 5 wides as a bonus to the batting side.
Roach continued and found the outside edge of Latham that went to the gully fielder where Shai Hope put down the catch as Latham got a lifeline while batting on 1. Williamson continued his merry ways as he drove the bowler down the ground past mid-on for a boundary. Layne continued and then delivered a probing over. Roach was miserly as ever and kept things under check. Layne bowled a maiden over as well.
Ojay Shields on debut came into the attack next and was welcomed with a boundary by Latham as he cut him hard through the covers while the bowler overstepped as well. Shields bowled a bouncer that went way over the head of the batter and wide was called. Layne continued as Latham got a triple off the bowler down the ground. Williamson drove the bowler through the covers for a boundary.
Shields continued and knocked over Williamson or so he thought as the off-stump was castled. But alas! The bowler himself overstepped as Williamson survived a scare while batting on 33*. Williamson then uppishly cut it over covers for a triple. Justin Greaves was introduced into the attack next as Williamson crunched him by cutting it past point for a boundary.
Latham hit Shields by opening the face of the bat and guiding it past gully fielder for a boundary. Shields gifted away 4 byes to the batting side as well. Greaves continued as Williamson poked at the ball with soft hands as the ball sneaked past slip fielders for a boundary. Shields continued as Latham pulled him over midwicket region for a triple. Greaves continued and bowled a decent over.
Jayden Seales came back into the attack as Latham managed to flick it away to the deep midwicket region for a triple. Greaves continued and bowled a maiden over. Seales overstepped yet again while Williamson completed his 38th Test fifty with a brace off 88 balls as he held the innings together amidst the luck that he had. Greaves continued and bowled a decent over as well as New Zealand reached 93/1 in 28 overs with Williamson on 52* and Latham on 23* as we all paused for the Drinks Break.
Justin Greaves’ double strikes inspires West Indies to run through New Zealand to have them 5 down at Tea.Â
Jayden Seales continued and bowled a decent over after the Break. Greaves continued and got the breakthrough for West Indies by removing the big fish Kane Williamson for 52 off 102 balls with 6 fours to his name. He bowled a good length around off-stump with extra bounce and moved away a touch off the surface as Williamson looked to block from the crease and got squared up as the ball took the outside edge and went to the right of second slip where Alick Athanaze took the good low catch. Rachin Ravindra came out to bat next.
Seales continued and bowled another decent over. Greaves was into it again as he removed captain Latham for 24 off 85 balls with 2 fours to his name. He bowled a full ball on off-stump angling across the left-hander. Latham drove without moving his feet and got the outside edge and straight into the gloves of Imlach who made no mistake. Will Young came out to bat next. Seales continued as Ravindra got off the mark with a triple. Young got off the mark with a brace. The 100 came up for New Zealand in 32.3 overs. Young got another triple. Seales then got his first wicket as he removed Ravindra for 3 off 6 balls.
Seales bowled full and yorker length around the off-stump. Ravindra was late to get his bat down in time and played across the line and got beaten comprehensively on the outside edge and the ball cannoned on the base of off-stump. Tom Blundell came out to bat next. Greaves continued and bowled a decent over. Seales bowled a maiden over.
Kemar Roach came back into the attack and bowled a good over. Johann Layne came back into the attack as well. He bowled a miserly over. Roach continued and bowled a maiden again. Layne continued as Blundell threw his hands at the ball to get an outside edge between slips and gully for a boundary. Roach continued and bowled a decent over. Layne continued as Young pulled him away over midwicket for a boundary. But Layne came back and removed Young for 14 off 38 balls with one four to his name.
Layne bowled a length ball outside the off-stump that nipped a tad bit away after pitching. Young poked at it and found the outside edge that comfortably carried to the second slip fielder. Greaves took a safe catch. Michael Bracewell came out to bat next. Roach continued as Blundell got it away for a triple.
Layne came to bowl the last over before Tea as Blundell drove him through the covers for a boundary. New Zealand were 128/5 in 43 overs with Blundell on 16* off 21 balls and Michael Bracewell on 0* off 8 balls. 19 extras given by West Indies so far.
Justin Greaves broke open the game and picked up 2/18 in 8 overs. Kemar Roach has bowled 12 overs and has figures of 1/18 in 12 overs. Jayden Seales has figures of 1/26 in 11 overs while Johann Layne has figures of 1/37 in 8 overs. Ojay Shields on debut has figures of 0/20 in 4 overs. An interesting final session comes our way soon.
What Lies Ahead In Evening Session.Â
The session was a tale of two halves. The first half till Drinks New Zealand were solid and took the score to 93/1 but after Drinks, Justin Greaves struck twice and inspired West Indies to roar back in the game as West Indies picked up 4 wickets to keep New Zealand at 128/5 in 43 overs. The match is nicely poised with West Indies slightly happier side but New Zealand have Tom Blundell and Michael Bracewell at the crease. An interesting and important final session comes our way now.
Let’s see how the final session which could be another extended session unfolds for all of us.
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