- New Zealand declare on 575
(ESPNCRICINFO) – DEVON Conway brought up a double-century and pushed New Zealand into such a strong position in Mount Maunganui that they actually got carried away with it.
With their fifth-highest Test total at home – 575 for 8 declared – on their back, Jacob Duffy, Zak Foulkes and Michael Rae ran in expecting wickets to tumble. They bowled far too full and were taken for far too many and, as a result, both teams have now wasted the new ball on a green pitch.
West Indies were flying – 88 in 15 overs – with 13 fours coming in that time. That’s not including ten wides. Brandon King and John Campbell did not bat like they had been weighed down by 155 overs in the field or the 500-plus deficit. They focused on playing late, playing straight and were still alert enough to punish an overly enthusiastic New Zealand attack.
West Indies go into the third day still trailing by 465 but in games like these you can’t look at the scoreboard too much. You just put your head down and keep going. That’s what King and Campbell did to produce their first century partnership as an opening pair, and only the sixth in the last 11 years for West Indies. King even had time to bring up a fifty, his second in Test cricket.
Such treats were on offer on day one too, only New Zealand were at the other end now. Twenty-four hours has produced a sea change with the visitors also finding their discipline with the ball. Justin Greaves set up Kane Williamson beautifully to dismiss one of the best batters in the world for just 31 and Roston Chase bowled 25 overs unchanged from morning drinks to cover for the loss of Kemar Roach to a hamstring injury. Shai Hope is of more pertinent concern because he spent the entire day at the hotel unwell and might not be allowed to bat at his usual No. 4 spot.
Ojay Shields and Tagenarine Chanderpaul were carrying niggles as well so when Greaves had to step away for a bit in the second session, West Indies had no subs left and had to rope in local Tauranga boy, 19-year-old Sebastian Heath, who is also registered with the Denmark cricket team, to field for them.
Given all these handicaps, the seven wickets West Indies took on Friday, the composure that followed with the bat, and the fact that they have all their run-scoring resources in hand for when the pitch flattens out were unlikely but hard-earned outcomes.
Greaves may just have heralded that with his extraction of Williamson, where he beat the outside edge several times, the batter struggling to come to terms with the pace of his own home ground. With the pressure sufficiently built, Greaves dangled the bait wide outside off stump and Williamson couldn’t resist having a go. He threw his head back – but dared not look back – when he heard the nick go through to the keeper. This was what was missing from West Indies on day one when Conway and Tom Latham cruised to 323 for 0 – the ability to hold a line and length and build up to a wicket.
West Indies allowed only one man to score more than fifty runs on the second day – Rachin Ravindra making 72 not out. It was a much more appropriate outcome given the conditions. Balls on a good length continued to misbehave. Jayden Seales hitting more or less that area against Conway, batting on a double-century, had the batter recoiling as one kicked up alarmingly.
The opening batter’s wicket – for 227 – was the result of another ball nipping in and keeping low to trap him lbw. There is still help for the bowlers out there, just that their margin of error is small. When they focus outside the 6m length, the pitch speeding up has made hitting through the line easy.
Conway was tiring at the end of his 508-minute innings. West Indies’ bowlers were right there with him. Seales had roused himself to go one-on-one against Daryl Mitchell. He was emotional enough to curse so loud it was caught on the stump mic when Greaves put down a straightforward catch off Mitchell at second slip in the 127th over. He has six wickets at an average of 50.33 on this tour. He’s bowled better than that.
Day three will bring different challenges. Chase’s offbreaks were already getting grip and turn and bounce. Ajaz Patel will have a lot to say and this match remains interestingly poised, not to mention one of a kind – the first in New Zealand history to include two century opening stands in the first innings.
