By Alex Powell at Hagley Oval
Test cricket was the real victor, but the Black Caps will lament one that got away after the West Indies held on for a famous draw in Christchurch.
Chasing a world record 531 to claim the first test, the West Indies reached stumps on day five at 457-6 after surviving 163.3 overs as New Zealand’s exhausted attack ran out of steam.
Down two bowlers, with Matt Henry (calf) and Nathan Smith (side) unavailable because of injury, Jacob Duffy (3-121) and Zak Foulkes (1-80) got through 43 and 33 overs respectively as they attempted to bowl New Zealand to victory in their second test matches.
Michael Bracewell (1-138) sent down a further 55 overs, while part-timer Rachin Ravindra delivered 21 overs for no wickets.
Justin Greaves was the hero of the West Indies’ rearguard, scoring a match-saving 202 not out off 388 balls and spending the better part of two days at the crease.
Greaves added stands of 196 with Shai Hope (140) and an unbeaten 180 with Kemar Roach (58 not out) as the Black Caps were made to work for everything on a pitch that had flattened out to be unrecognisable from the green seamer that greeted the sides on day one.
Tom Latham, who was deputising for the injured Tom Blundell, gave an admirable display with bat and the gloves but will feel the sting of this missed opportunity more than most. The Kiwi skipper twice had chances to remove Roach, both LBW and caught behind off Michael Bracewell.
However, Latham had earlier burned through the final two of his three umpire reviews after shouts for a catch against wicketkeeper Tevin Imlach that came off the batter’s body and an lbw shout against Roach that pitched outside leg.
Had the Black Caps been able to review either of Bracewell’s unsuccessful appeals, Roach would have been out and New Zealand would have been able to bowl at an uninspiring West Indian tail.
Both sides bank four points towards their World Test Championship standings, the first for either in the new cycle. While this test was the Black Caps’ first in the 2025-27 edition, the West Indies had lost all five of their previous completed tests.
The Black Caps will now regroup and head to Wellington for the second test, starting next Wednesday. Wicketkeeper Mitch Hay will likely debut in place of Blundell, while the team awaits medical assessments on Henry and Smith.
As the West Indies resumed at 212-4, New Zealand’s hopes were pinned on the new ball. With 116 to his name overnight, Hope showed his intent by slog-sweeping Bracewell for six in the day’s second over as he and Greaves raised the partnership’s 150 in the process.
At the other end, Greaves lived dangerously and had outside edges off Bracewell and Ravindra evade the slips. The arrival of the new ball did little to halt the West Indies’ resistance and the pair pressed on to 266-4 at drinks – and past the halfway point in their chase.
But in his seventh over of the morning, Duffy broke through. As he did in the first innings, a bouncer from around the wicket saw Hope unable to resist a pull shot and Latham took a one-handed screamer over his head, breaking the partnership after 384 balls.
Imlach survived the review for a catch after the ball hit his body but departed three overs later when Foulkes trapped him lbw for four at 277-6. However, while New Zealand claimed the morning session, the West Indies took the afternoon.
In the first over after lunch, Greaves moved to his second test century, taking 229 deliveries, before accelerating against a tiring attack to reach 150 off 293 and finding a valuable ally in Roach at the other end.
The 37-year-old was dropped by Foulkes on 30 and 47 by Tickner, who also missed the chance to run him out on 35. And with those lives, Roach pressed on to a maiden half-century in 110 balls as he and Greaves added a century stand to reach tea at 399-6, 132 runs away from victory as the final session began.
As the target fell under 100, the West Indies effectively decided not to risk pushing for victory with no batters left to come after the seventh wicket pair. And despite entering the final hour at 435-6, 96 runs away from victory, the West Indies claimed the moral victory as well as the draw.
All that was left was for Greaves to raise his double-century, which came in the day’s penultimate over with an edge to the third man boundary from his 384th delivery.
The second test begins at the Basin Reserve on Wednesday.
New Zealand 231 & 466-8d
West Indies 167 & 457-6 (Greaves 202 not out, Hope 140; Duffy 3/122)
Match drawn
Alex Powell is a sports journalist for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016.