KEY POINTS:
Jerome Taylor crafted his maiden test century and Daniel Vettori claimed his 18th five-wicket haul as personal milestones took precedence on the fourth day of the first cricket test between New Zealand and the West Indies here today.
Taylor's 21st test represented a coming of age for the
24-year-old Jamaican whose 106 dominated a face-saving and record seventh-wicket stand for the West Indies against New Zealand.
The 153 runs he added with Shivnarine Chanderpual jeopardised any hope of the home side pushing for an unlikely victory on the final day.
At stumps on day four - the first to run its course since the test started - New Zealand were 44 for two, an overall lead of 69.
Daren Powell's removal of Jamie How for 10 and nightwatchman Kyle Mills with consecutive balls as the light faded has given the tourists a glimmer of hope.
Debut opener Tim McIntosh was not out 24 at stumps while Daniel Flynn was on four.
Powell was unlucky not to have a third scalp when McIntosh was dropped at short leg by Sewnarine Chattergoon two balls before the close of play.
To possibly complicate matters for the home side, Ross Taylor has a dislocated finger and will bat in discomfort.
Primarily a pace bowler, Taylor opened his breakthrough innings today with a boundary and reached his century when stroking James Franklin to the cover rope before flourishing his bat to delighted teammates.
Taylor, whose previous best was the 31, maintained a remarkable scoring rate throughout an entertaining 107-ball knock.
Batting at eight, he was particularly severe on Mark Gillespie, the new ball bowler who suffered the indignity of also registering three figures, recording 102 for no wicket from 21 overs.
Gillespie had debutant Brendan Nash dropped on one by Taylor, to add an element of misfortune to an otherwise erratic day.
Inevitably it was skipper Vettori who ensured New Zealand carried a 25-run advantage into their second innings.
The wily spinner took the last five West Indian wickets to close with six for 56 from 25 overs.
It was the standout performance of an attack made to look decidedly ordinary by Chris Gayle, Taylor and the limpet-like Chanderpaul.
Denesh Ramdin's failure to successfully challenge his leg before wicket dismissal by Vettori gave New Zealand an opportunity to roll through the lower order with the score at 173 for six
With Taylor and Chanderpaul settled on 53 and 49 respectively at tea, New Zealand needed a breakthrough with the new ball.
But Gillespie and Mills were picked off mercilessly until Vettori brought himself on to stem the run flow.
While Taylor was punishing from the outset in an innings that contained 17 boundaries and three sixes, Chanderpaul ticked off his 50th test half century off 139 balls.
He marshalled the strike superbly though Taylor's demise before he inside edged to Brendon McCullum when the score was 326 to trigger a mini-collapse.
Powell was trapped leg before wicket off his first ball but Fidel Edwards prevented the hattrick before he was caught in the deep by substitute fielder Sean Easthorne without scoring in Vettori's next over.
Chanderpaul, who was only dismissed once while amassing 313 runs in the West Indies' last series against Australia in June, was last out when beaten by Vettori for a defiant 76 off a 200 deliveries.
Captain Gayle started the West Indies' pursuit with intent when advancing from 29 to his 30th test fifty with contemptuous ease.
He posted his fifty off 68 balls with his eighth boundary and seemed on course to break a 23-innings sequence without a test century when a mistimed one-handed swipe at Iain O'Brien. It flew to James Franklin at fine leg to end his contribution at 74.
Xavier Marshall added 20 before he became the first West Indies batsmen to be given out under the International Cricket Council's referral system - caught bat pad by Jesse Ryder after Amish Saheba turned down the initial appeal.
Third umpire Rudi Koertzen was again in action when taking five minutes to uphold Saheba's leg before wicket decision against wicketkeeper Ramdin.
Vettori, again, was the beneficiary.
- NZPA
