New Zealand eye innings victory despite Jermaine Blackwood, Alzarri Joseph counter-attack
The home side's seamers broke the Test wide open by picking up 15 wickets on day three
The home side's seamers broke the Test wide open by picking up 15 wickets on day three
Scorer: Ranjith P | Commentator: @AlMuthu
Thanks for your company. We're wrapping up here. See ya.
Jason Holder We just weren't good enough. We passed the bat quite a few times but credit to Kane, he made us toil. We still had some positive stuff with our bowling unit. Our batting wasn't good enough. I have to congratulate Blackwood and Joseph for their innings. But quite frankly our top order needs to do better. We're still scratching our heads. Our preparations has been good. We had two solid warm up games and although the surface was different, I think we need to show better application up top. This New Zealand team bowls in partnerships and we need to do that with the batting too. We need to hold them at bay and get some scoring shots and do those good things. We need answers and we need em quickly. Kemar pushed through this Test match but he'll be going home to be with his family now. Shane, we're not quite sure about the extent of his hand injury. Looking pretty doubtful for the second Test. As I said t other guys, it's time to deliver and stopped talking. We've talked a lot and we've promised a lot. Now it's time to look ourselves in the mirror and fight. We've thrown in the towel too easily. We need to change that.
Kane Williamson is Man of the Match: Obviously it was nice to spend time in the middle and build some partnerships. A surface if the ball was on the right area was passing the bat consistently. It was really challenging technically and mentally. So it was nice to spend time out there and get through those tough times but that's Test cricket. Tom Latham was outstanding. When you get put into bat and you see a wicket as green as that, you can have a few pre-empted ideas. Throughout the batting order, we had a number of valuable contributions. It was a really important collective effort to get to our first innings total.
We knew that West Indies coming here were going to be a tough challenge. We were fortunate to get off to a good start and hold that position. Coming into today, we knew it'd be tough. They bat deep and their middle order hit back really well. Jermaine scored a very nice hundred. So we had to be patient with the ball in hand and know that if we are in the areas for long enough, we'd get our opportunities. The wicket started to flatten out so it was important we put in a collective effort.
There's so many different bits and pieces you can look at but nothing gives you an answer as such. For us it was sticking to our plans. I think we saw some strong application from the batting and bowling groups to stay on task for long periods. I guess when the ball is moving around and missing the bat, you can try too hard. I guess our guys started like that but then settled in well. Our schedule is quite busy now and we know there's another game in Wellington now so we need to shift focus to that.
In this game we adapted quite quickly. That's always a challenge in Test cricket. We'll go to Wellington and we'll look to do that again. All in all, a really pleasing effort from out side. And a very good cricket wicket as well that offered to bat and ball
12.20 pm This game belongs to the New Zealand captain. Kane Williamson made his highest Test score (251) in difficult conditions. He was batting in long-form cricket for the first time in nine months. And the number of mistakes he made could be counted on one hand.
After his tour de force, New Zealand's bowlers, led by Tim Southee, fed off their captain's discipline. Their ability to put six balls in the same area and keep asking the same tough questions of the West Indies batsman was crucial to how this Test turned out.
Jermaine Blackwood and Alzarri Joseph are positive signs for the future of West Indies cricket, but unless they can find a working top order, their efforts in fast-bowler friendly conditions really won't be fun.
Rose: "Wagner took 6 wickets in the match and only 1 was a bumper! Who'd have thought it?"
ST Gabriel b Wagner 0 (3m 4b 0x4 0x6) SR: 0.00
With it all coming to an end, Williamson takes a little time to talk to Roach, who lost his father a few days before the start of the game.
J Blackwood c Southee b Wagner 104 (239m 141b 11x4 2x6) SR: 73.75
Kyle Jamieson's runs have helped New Zealand deal with Colin de Grandhomme's absence, the coach says
"We need to look into the mirror and understand that we've got to fight a little harder"
"He's been a great asset to the side and adds another variation as well," Southee says of Kyle Jamieson
The home side's seamers broke the Test wide open by picking up 15 wickets on day three
West Indies lost by an innings and 134 runs despite a rearguard by Jermaine Blackwood and Alzarri Joseph