WELLINGTON - The Black Caps boosted their hopes of reaching the ICC World Test Championship final after securing back-to-back innings victories against West Indies.
Despite a debut fifty for West Indies’ Joshua Da Silva, Tim Southee and Neil Wagner took two wickets apiece to ensure victory on day four of the second Test, as the hosts won by an innings and 12 runs. In Southee’s first over of the day, he bowled a beauty to sneak through Jason Holder’s defence as the Windies captain went for 61, before Alzarri Joseph came to the crease. The youngster blasted three fours and two sixes on his way to a quickfire 24 from 12 balls but he tickled one down the leg-side off Southee to BJ Watling.
Da Silva stuck around to register his maiden Test fifty but in Wagner’s first over of the day, he had the 22-year-old trapped in front and he had to go for 57. Fellow debutant Chemar Holder hit three boundaries to finish on an unbeaten 13 but Shannon Gabriel was cleaned up by Wagner (3/54) to wrap up another emphatic victory for the hosts as the West Indies were bowled out for 317.
Earlier in the match, highest ever international scores for Henry Nicholls (174) and Wagner (66*) helped the Black Caps post 460 in their first innings before five-fors for Tim Southee and Kyle Jamieson forced the visitors to follow-on, with Jermaine Blackwood (69) leading the way for the tourists with their only impactful score. The series win for New Zealand sees them rise to third in the World Test Championship standings, ahead of England, boosting their hopes of reaching the final in 2021.
New Zealand captain Tom Latham said: “It was great for our squad that we do have depth where guys can come in and perform straight away.” But it was a disappointing tour for the West Indies, with both Tests ending on the fourth morning. They have now lost four in a row since beating England in Southampton in July.
West Indies captain Jason Holder said they only had themselves to blame. “It’s just tough when we didn’t take our opportunities when they came. We were good in patches but still not good enough,” he said. “I don’t think conditions were that tough in order to get runs. The wicket was a really good wicket. “We’ve just not been consistent over a period of time. We haven’t been able to string it together, more often than not.”
SCORES IN BRIEF
NEW ZEALAND 1ST INNINGS: 460in 114 overs (Nicholls 174, Wagner 66*; Gabriel 3/93 beat WEST INDIES 1ST INNINGS: 131 in 56.4 overs (Blackwood 69; SOuthee 5-32, Jamieson 5-34) AND WEST INDIES 2ND INNINGS (F/O): 317 in 79.1 overs (Campbell 68, Holder 61; Wagner 3-54, Boult 3-96) by an innings and 12 runs.