West Indies have their slight noses in front on an absorbing rain affected day at Hagley Oval in Christchurch. West Indies kept chipping away at the wickets after losing the toss from the latter half of the second session and the third session itself as New Zealand were never allowed to get away at all through the course of the innings. Kane Williamson has top scored so far with 52 and Michael Bracewell has scored 47 while others got starts here and there as New Zealand got to 231/9 in 70 overs.
Wickets were shared amongst the West Indies bowlers with Kemar Roach, debutant Ojay Shields and Justin Greaves picking two wickets apiece while the rest of the bowlers used picked up one wicket apiece. 6 bowlers were used by West Indies including captain Roston Chase and all of them got one wicket apiece. The game is nicely poised at this stage.
Devon Conway falls early while rain plays spoilsport to curtail the morning session
Put into bat first, captain Tom Latham walked out to bat alongside Devon Conway while Kemar Roach had ball in hand for West Indies. West Indies got off the best possible start as Roach dismissed Conway for a silver duck as the batter played away from the body and the catch being taken at second slip by Justin Greaves. Kane Williamson had to come out early and face the music.
Jayden Seales shared the new ball from the other end as Williamson and Latham tried to rebuild the innings. Williamson played some lovely drives and got runs and the duo played 3.3 overs before the heavens opened up for the first time on the day and there was a lengthy delay of around 90 minutes before play resumed. Williamson looked to score runs while Latham went into a bit of shell. The West Indies new ball bowlers bowled probing lines and lengths as both Roach and Seales kept things tight.
West Indies lost a review against Williamson for LBW with Roach being the bowler. Williamson looked in his groove but Latham was circumspect and played too many dot balls. New Zealand reached 17/1 in 10.3 overs when the heavens opened up as the rain returned yet again. The umpires decided to take lunch with only 10.3 overs possible with Williamson batting on 13* and Latham on 1*. We hoped for a better weather post lunch at this stage.
Kane Williamson & Tom Latham stabilise the innings before Justin Greaves’ 2-wicket burst inspires West Indies to down New Zealand in afternoon session.Â
Kane Williamson and Tom Latham resumed proceedings for New Zealand while Kemar Roach completed his over. Johan Layne came into the attack for the first time in this Test match and the floodgates opened as Williamson hit him for two consecutive boundaries and the bowler gifted 5 wides as well. Roach should have gotten rid of Latham but Shai Hope put down a sitter at gully. Williamson hit him for a boundary to add salt to the wounds.
Layne bowled a better over as the two batters grew in confidence. Roach and Layne once again bowled tightly and then the debutant Ojay Shields came into the attack. Latham broke his shackles by cutting a boundary through covers even as the bowler overstepped. Runs kept flowing now as Williamson played the cover drive off Layne for a boundary. Shields felt he had his debut Test wicket in the form of Kane Williamson but alas! he overstepped even after castling the stumps as the batter got a lifeline.
Justin Greaves came into the attack next as Williamson was on a roll with the cut past point as runs were flowing easily now. Latham joined in by guiding Shields through gully for a boundary. Williamson played with soft hands and got it past the slip fielders for a boundary off Greaves. Shields and Greaves pulled their lengths back a tad and bowled tightly. Jayden Seales returned to the attack as well.
Seales and Greaves bowled in tandem as Williamson reached his 38th Test fifty off 88 balls to hold the innings together. New Zealand went to 93/1 in 28 overs when drinks came on the field in the afternoon session and at this stage, it was New Zealand who had their noses in front despite losing the toss. Seales continued after the break and bowled a good over. Greaves broke the partnership and got rid of well-set Williamson for 52 off 102 balls with 6 fours to his name as he got squared up while defending and got the outside edge to Athanaze at second slip.
Rachin Ravindra came out to bat next and this is where the floodgates opened for West Indies with the ball. Seales kept up the pressure before Greaves got his second in as many overs as he got rid of Latham for 24 off 85 balls with 2 fours to his name as Latham without moving his feet drove to get the outside edge through to the keeper. Will Young came out to bat next. Both batters got off the mark as well as the 100 came up for New Zealand in 32.3 overs.
Seales then got into the act as he removed Ravindra for 3 off 6 balls as a toe crusher knocked off the off-stump as the batter was late to get his bat down in time. Tom Blundell came out to bat next. Greaves kept up the pressure and so did Seales as they kept things tight out there. Roach came back and bowled another tight over. Layne came back into the attack as well. Roach continued to bowl maidens after maidens. Blundell managed to get a streaky boundary by the edge to the third man fence.
Young pulled Layne for a boundary to the midwicket fence but the bowler hit back next ball dismissing Young for 14 off 38 balls with one boundary to his name as the batter poked at it and got the outside edge to the second slip fielder. Michael Bracewell came out to bat next. Blundell was looking fluent while Bracewell blocked from one end. Layne bowled the final over before Tea where Blundell drove him through the covers for a boundary. New Zealand reached 128/5 in 43 overs with Blundell on 16* off 21 balls and Bracewell on 0* off 8 balls as the players and umpires walked off for Tea on Day 1.
West Indies continue to chip away at wickets to keep New Zealand under check.Â
Michael Bracewell and Tom Blundell resumed proceedings for New Zealand while Kemar Roach had ball in hand for West Indies to start proceedings and he overstepped first up. Blundell flicked him away for a boundary through the gap of midwicket and mid-on. Ojay Shields had ball in hand from the other end. He bowled a tight over. Roach bowled a good over. Shields bowled a decent over as New Zealand were looking to build partnerships.
Greaves came back into the attack but it seemed he was having issues with his hamstring. But he carried on and even Blundell had issues with his hamstring and the physio worked on him getting some strapping done. Shields then had his moment in the sun as he removed Blundell for 29 off 39 balls with 3 fours to his name for his maiden Test wicket by cleaning him up and this time luckily for him, the feet were fine and it was a fair delivery. Nathan Smith came out to bat next.
Seales returned to the attack as Bracewell punched it away past point for a boundary as Bracewell was on the lookout for runs. Shields kept things relatively tight. Nathan Smith managed to get a boundary away through a flick through midwicket region. Captain Roston Chase brought himself into the attack and bowled a probing over. Seales bowled a maiden. Chase kept it tight while Smith cut the short and wide ball from Seales past point for a boundary.
Chase bowled a maiden as Greaves came back into the attack. Bracewell drove the ball through covers for a boundary. Bracewell hit another boundary past midwicket region. Chase bowled another decent over as New Zealand were 188/6 in 59 overs when Drinks was called in the evening session of Day 1.
Layne continued after the break and bowled a decent over. Chase managed to keep things tight as well. Layne bowled decently as well. Chase bowled another maiden. Smith hit Layne for a boundary by slapping through covers for a boundary as the 50-run stand came up between the two players. The 200 came up for New Zealand in 64.1 overs. It was the West Indies captain who got the breakthrough for his side as Chase removed Smith for 23 off 61 balls with 3 fours to his name as John Campbell took a sharp catch at short midwicket by plucking it out of thin air.
Zak Foulkes on debut walked out to bat next. Kemar Roach returned as Bracewell got back-to-back boundaries through an outside edge and then through mid-off as well. Bracewell was then given a lifeline off Chase as the keeper Imlach put the catch down while going for the third attempt. Roach continued and bowled another maiden over.
Ojay Shields came back into the attack as Bracewell rocked back and pulled it to deep midwicket for a boundary. But Shields had the last laugh as he removed the set batter Bracewell for 47 off 73 balls with 6 fours to his name. The short ball was pulled away by the batter to deep midwicket where Chanderpaul made no mistake. Matt Henry came out to bat next and got off the mark with a boundary through a drive through extra cover.
Roach continued as Foulkes hit him for a triple while Henry hit a boundary over the slip cordon through an outside edge as the ball went flying and the bowler overstepped as well. Roach then got his reward as he removed Henry for 8 off 5 balls with 2 fours to his name as the short ball did the trick with the batter taking it on and hit it straight to Seales who made no mistake in the deep. Jacob Duffy came out to bat at 11.
Duffy got off the mark with a boundary by staying leg side of the ball and punched it to deep point. Then Duffy got hit on the helmet as he went for the pull a tad early and missed it and a mandatory concussion test was done. But the light deteriorated now post 7 PM Local Time and the umpires deemed it bad light and took the players off the field. Zak Foulkes is unbeaten on 4 off 123 balls while Jacob Duffy is unbeaten on 4 off 2 balls with a boundary to his name. 23 extras given by the fielding team so far as New Zealand end the day at 231/9 in 70 overs.
The West Indies bowlers had a decent day with ball in hand. 6 bowlers used and all of them got a wicket at least. Kemar Roach has figures of 2/47 in 17 overs. Ojay Shields on debut has figures of 2/34 in 9 overs while Justin Greaves had figures of 2/35 in 10 overs. Jayden Seales has figures of 1/44 in 15 overs. Johann Layne has figures of 1/47 in 11 overs. Captain Roston Chase chipped in with 1/13 in 6 overs.
What Lies Ahead On Day 2
For starters, play will start 30 minutes early for time and overs lost on Day 1. So, we are scheduled for a 3 AM IST start tomorrow. There is forecast of rain tomorrow as well, so we will wait and see how things pan out there. As far as match is concerned, it is safe to say West Indies are slightly ahead. New Zealand will want to add as much runs as possible with the last wicket at the crease. West Indies will want to wrap this innings up quickly. The litmus test will be when they come out to bat on a challenging track.
Let’s see how Day 2 unfolds with regards to weather and action as well. An intriguing day awaits us all.
Also Read: NZ vs WI: Justin Greaves’ Double Strike Inspires West Indies To Edge Ahead