Justin Greaves called it a "special, special day" for him and the team as he and Kemar Roach helped West Indies pull off an epic draw against New Zealand in the first Test at the Hagley Oval.
After New Zealand set a never-chased-before target of 531, Greaves and Roach added 180 in 68.1 overs in an unbroken stand for the seventh wicket. Greaves scored 202 not out off 388 balls and Roach 58 not out off 233 as West Indies batted out 163.3 overs. Their 457 for 6 was the second-highest fourth-innings total in Test cricket, behind only England's 654 for 5 in the timeless Test against South Africa in Durban in 1939.
"[It was] just pretty much being resilient - the word we've thrown around in the dressing room a lot," said Greaves, who also battled cramps towards the end of his innings. "So for me, to be there at the end was really important. So anything for the team at the end of the day.
"I had a really long chat with coach Floyd Reifer. And he was saying, once you get in, stay in; it's a good pitch. Rachin [Ravindra] and [Tom] Latham showed us in the second innings. So it was just for us to go out there and play ourselves."
It was not only Greaves' highest Test score but also his best in first-class cricket. He became only the seventh batter to make a double-hundred in the fourth innings of a Test. Roach, who went 72 balls without scoring a run at one point, also registered his first-class best.
"Special, special day for me; special day for the team," Greaves said. "We were pretty much up against it. So, to come out here, batting the whole day after losing Shai [Hope]... We thought we would have probably pushed for a win. But then Kemar, the senior pro, guided me all the way. So pretty much happy for him being there at the end as well.
"To be a part of history is ecstatic. But for me, one day at a time, continue to enjoy it. Probably it hasn't sunk in just yet. Hopefully, over the next couple of days, it can."
West Indies were 72 for 4 at one point, before Shai Hope, who scored 140, and Greaves revived the innings. Hope and Tevin Imlach's wickets in quick succession left them on 277 for 6, but when they entered the final session, needing 132 from a minimum of 33 overs, a win was not out of the realm of possibility. Eventually, they did not go for it.
The West Indies captain talks about Roach's character, his class with bat and ball, and how he's a "father figure" in the team
"For us, it was just about getting to the last session," Greaves said. "We always spoke about 100 runs in the last session, probably with a few more wickets in hand. Obviously, losing Shai and then losing Imlach shortly after was a big thing. But I think we did really well in the end to come up with a draw."
West Indies captain Roston Chase later revealed that they took the final call when the last hour commenced, when West Indies needed 96 from 15 overs.
"Going back at tea, the guys wanted to see if they could push for the runs," Chase said. "But it didn't quite work out the way they wanted. When the last hour came, when they came off for the water break, we had a discussion. They said they would just play out. And we didn't think that was a bad idea at that time. So we were happy for them to just straight up play out and that's what they did."
While West Indies put in an admirable effort, they were helped by the fact that New Zealand had lost Matt Henry and Nathan Smith to injuries. Henry bowled just 11 overs in the second innings and Smith none at all.
"It was a Test match that sort of had it all, really," New Zealand captain Tom Latham said. "I think the way we were able to put ourselves in a position to win a Test match was what we were after and for it to head down to the final hour with kind of all three [four] results on the cards.
"When you have two of your seamers go down during a Test match, it's never ideal. I think the way the work that especially Zak [Foulkes] and Jacob [Duffy] put in throughout that innings, the amount of overs that they bowled, the way they kept coming, certainly never complained and just got on with it and threw everything that they could at West Indies. And also Michael Bracewell bowling 50-odd [55] overs.
"We managed to create some opportunities, which is obviously what you want to do, but we couldn't take them, unfortunately. Sometimes you have to give a little bit of credit where credit's due, and the way that West Indies played in this fourth innings was pretty outstanding."
New Zealand dropped Roach twice off Bracewell. Still, Bracewell should have dismissed twice more - first lbw and then caught behind. On both occasions, the on-field umpire ruled it not out. Had New Zealand not burnt their reviews, they could have got those decisions overturned.
"I guess [it was] one of those things that you have to deal with," Latham said. "You look at many times before you've finished a game, and you've had lots of reviews left. You see your way out, what you think the best option is, and I guess at the time that's what we thought was the best option."