By Alex Powell at Hagley Oval
Jacob Duffy shone in the gloom and ensured the Black Caps claimed honours on day two of the first test against the West Indies in Christchurch.
New Zealand will take a 96-run lead into the third day at Hagley Oval, after bowling the West Indies out for 167, having had their first innings wrapped up for 231.
Playing his first test on home soil, Duffy claimed his maiden five-wicket haul in test cricket (5-34), including four in 16 balls, as the standout of a seam attack that also saw Matt Henry (3-43) and Zak Foulkes (2-32) strike on their Christchurch home ground.
And with a 64-run lead already in the bank, openers Tom Latham (14 not out) and Devon Conway (15 not out) added a further 32-0 to leave no doubts over who was in the box seat.
A pair of half-centuries to Shai Hope (56) and Tagenarine Chanderpaul (52) were the backbone of the West Indies’ innings, as the pair added 90 for the third wicket, to stop the Black Caps taking control of the test.
Batting in sunglasses because of an allergic reaction in his eye on day one, Hope stood tallest of the batters on either side across the first two days. The 32-year-old was fluent in his innings and played with a quality that belied his modest record.
Meanwhile, Chanderpaul – the son of West Indies great Shivnarine – played the more traditional innings, and ground New Zealand’s quicks down to reach 50 from 165 balls, with just three boundaries.
The opener made the most of the opportunities that came his way and benefited from two of the four catching chances dropped by the Black Caps across the day. Those extra deliveries he faced took energy out of the Kiwi attack, and protected the West Indies’ middle order from Henry and co.
New Zealand were hampered by the loss of wicketkeeper Tom Blundell, who suffered a hamstring injury on day one, with the team still waiting on scan results. Latham admirably stood in with the gloves, while Daryl Mitchell fielded, despite being ruled out with a groin injury.
As was the case on day one, it took just three balls for New Zealand to lose a wicket, as Foulkes (4) was strangled down leg by Jayden Seales (2-44), without adding a run to the total of 231.
That, though, only allowed the Black Caps’ attack to make use of the bowler-friendly conditions on offer.
Fresh from taking the best figures by a New Zealander on test debut earlier this year, Foulkes’ first delivery on Kiwi soil found the edge of John Campbell’s bat, as Will Young went horizontal at third slip to complete the catch at 1-1.
Young was in the thick of it again not long after, when he dropped Alick Athanaze on four at 10-1. Fortunately, that drop cost New Zealand nothing, as Henry rearranged Athanaze’s stumps without adding to his score, inside the first hour.
From there, though, the Black Caps missed their chance to twist the knife. From 10-2, Chanderpaul and Hope combined to guide the tourists to lunch, before reaching their 50-stand in 90 deliveries in the afternoon session.
As the West Indies reached 100, Duffy delivered the breakthrough when Hope gloved down the leg-side to Latham for 56, ending the partnership after a successful umpire review.
And while Duffy opened the door, Henry kicked it down altogether. In his first over back, the leader of the attack had West Indies captain Roston Chase and allrounder Justin Greaves – both caught behind by Latham for ducks, as 100-2 became 106-5.
But after bringing the deficit under 100, Chanderpaul gave Conway one chance too many – with the third finally bringing his downfall courtesy of a catch diving to his left at square leg off Foulkes, easily the hardest of the three attempts that came his way.
Michael Bracewell put down the fourth catch, when he dived across Daryl Mitchell to deny Henry a fourth wicket – Kemar Roach on 1 – before rain and bad light stopped play.
Once play resumed, Duffy wrapped up the tail with minimal fuss. With just one wicket before the interruption, Duffy then claimed the last four to raise the ball for the first time.
The 31-year-old had Tevin Imlach (14) caught behind by Latham, and then held Johann Layne (0) off his own bowling five balls later to leave the tourists 157-8.
Bowling to the tail, Duffy then rearranged the stumps of both Seales (2) and Ojay Shields (0) to complete his maiden five-wicket haul in just his second test.
New Zealand 231 & 32-0 (Latham 14 not out, Conway 15 not out)
West Indies 167 (Hope 56, Chanderpaul 52; Duffy 5/34)
New Zealand lead by 96 runs
Alex Powell is a sports journalist for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016.