(Catch live cricket score and live updates of the first Test match played between the West Indies and New Zealand at Kingston, Jamaica)
Quite fittingly, Mark Craig is the Man of the match for New Zealandwith eight wickets in the match, and a pretty impressive first-ball six to boot! We hope you’ve enjoyed CricketCountry’s coverage of this match as much as we’ve enjoyed bringing it to you. Good bye, and see you again very soon. Lots of cricket coming up this week.
What an end to the day’s play! From nowhere, Shane Shillingford unleashes an arsenal of sixes to race away to the fastest Test match fifty for West Indies. He missed Jacques Kallis’ record of fastest Test fifty of all time by just one ball. New Zealand finally manage to pull off the win in the final over of the day’s play, with two balls remaining. Kane Williamson, bowling the final over of the day, managed to induce an outside edge from Suleiman Benn that brought up only the second victory for New Zealand on Caribbean soil.
OUT! S Benn 25(27) c Watling b Williamson
It’s Ish Sodhi to continue now. Oh loud appeal for a caught behind, given not out. NZ go for a review, but Taylor survives. OH HE’S GONE THIS TIME! Taylor steps out, looks to go over his favourite long on, but gets an outside edge to Watling, who takes a great catch.Just one wicket remaining now. Shane Shillingford is the new man. He thwacks this one away for a gargantuan six!What a hit. Mark Craig to continue now. Can he finish things off with a fifer? Not in this over. We are now into extra time.
OUT! J Taylor 18(13) c Watling b Sodhi
Ish Sodhi continues. AND HE HAS HIS MAN! That’s the captain Ramdin cleaned up going across the line to the leg spinner.Thiswas never going to be easy, and he loses his stumps for his efforts. Here comes Mark Craig. Taylor smacks this first one over the ropes. And that’s another six! Even bigger.
OUT! D Ramdin 34(62) b Sodhi
Sodhi and Boult continue now. Not much happening in this period of play. This has been a good partnership between these two, but they need to carry on. Ramdin playing a good knock here. And now Mark Craig comes back on. Can he provide a breakthrough with just a few overs left in the day? YES HE CAN! Kemar Roach edges behind and Craig picks up his fourth wicket.What a debut he’s having! Jerome Taylor is the new man in.
OUT! K Roach 19(33) c Watling b Craig
The two spinners Craig and Sodhi bowling in tandem now. Denesh Ramdin waging a lone battle here as the rest of the batsman fail to cross 25. Kemar Roach looking to play a few big hits, but he survives. Trend Boult comes on now for the 30th over. Another maiden over from him. Ish comes back on. Oh there’s a bit of excitement, did Roach lift his back leg? No, he’s safe. There was a stumping chance, but Roach survives.
Craig to continue. That’s just one off the over. Here comes Sodhi again. OH HUGE WICKET! Shiv Chanderpaul is out and with his dismissal, the West Indian hopes are all but over. Chanders shoulders arms to one that spins sharply.He reviews it, but Hawkeye reckons that was hitting the stumps. He’s out LBW. This could be the end. Kemar Roach walks in and smashes a boundary down the ground.
OUT! S Chanderpaul 23(32) LBW b Sodhi
Southee and Craig go for a couple of boundaries each in the next two overs as the batsmen capitalise on the close-in field. The next few overs pass without incident as Ish Sodhi is introduced into the attack. This pair is batting well, but could it be too little too late?
Matt Craig it is. And his dream debut continues! Darren Bravo edges this one to the ‘keeper! Big wicket for the Kiwis. In walks Marlon Samuels. AND OUT WALKS SAMUELS. Craig gets two wickets in three balls, as Samuels gets caught at short leg! In walks the skipper, Denesh Ramdin.
OUT! D Bravo 12(42) c Watling b Craig, M Samuels 0(2) c Latham b Craig
Trent Boult, Mark Craig and James Neesham continued for New Zealand, while Shivnarine Chanderpaul continued to look solid. Chanderpaul helped the Windies get to fifty, as he struck three boundariesen route to his 20-ball 16.
Mark Craig comes back on AND HE STRIKES RIGHT AWAY!What a match the debutant is having here! Kirk Edwards, who was batting quite well, bat-pads this one to Jimmy Neesham at leg slip. That brings out Shiv Chanderpaul. One feels that this is the last pair that is capable of saving the match for West Indies. Chanders starts off with a boundary first ball, but they will need plenty more of those.
OUT! K Edwards 14(26) c Neesham b Craig
Final session of the day’s play now. Can West Indies survive without losing too many more wickets? Bravo scored a terrific double hundred against this same opposition recently to save a match. And with the unshakable Chanderpaul waiting in the wings, anything is possible. Here comes Southee. Just one off the over. Boult to continue. Three off the over. Kirk Edwards get a boundary off Southee in the next over as West Indies end the 10th over at at 25 for two.
Boult continues, and Kirk Edwards gets one on his pads and puts it away for four. Southee and Boult follow up with a couple of maiden overs leading to the tea break. West Indies are struggling at 15 for two at Tea, chasing 403.
Boult continues, and the swing and carry he generates will be worrying for the West Indies. Gayle continues to look good, as he drives one but McCullum fields it brilliantly to keep it down to just two. Tim Southee comes back, and HE’S GRABBED THE BIG MAN!Chris Gayle departs, caught behind off Southee once again. Massive wicket for the Kiwis, this. Darren Bravo walks in.
OUT! C Gayle 10(13) c Watling b Southee
So West Indies need 403 runs to win in a little over four sessions. Certainly not an impossibility, but it will require a special effort from the 100-test man Chris Gayle and the West Indian rock Shiv Chanderpaul. Trend Boult starts proceedings, and Chris Gayle gets two boundaries in the first over itself. Good start for West Indies. Here comes Tim Southee. AND HE’S GOT HIS MAN!Powell clips one off his pads but hits it straight to the fielder. Southee draws first blood.
OUT! K Powell 0(4) c Latham b Southee
Suleiman Benn continues, and Southee takes him on immediately. HE’S HOLED OUT TO THE DEEP first ball.Big wicket, as Southee can hit some big sixes. Mark Craig comes in and HITS HIS FIRST BALL IN INTERNATIONAL CRICKET FOR A SIX! Wow. What a start to his Test career. Four wickets with the ball, and a six off his first delivery. Very interesting over, this. And this will be the declaration as well. New Zealand have a lead of 402 runs! Will this be too much for the Windies? Chris Gayle and Shiv Chanderpaul might not think so.We’ll just have to wait and watch!
OUT! T Southee 3(3) c Bravo b Benn
Benn continues, and induces a couple of false shots from Watling to start the over. Kemar Roach comes in to the attack and STRIKES RIGHT AWAY!Tom Latham goes for a hard cut, but gets an outside edge to Chris Gayle, who manages to hold on to it despite a diving Denesh Ramdin obstructing his view. Big wicket for the Windies. Tim Southee comes in next.
OUT! T Latham 73(181) c Gayle b Roach
Marlon Samuels replaces Taylor. Watling gets four to fine leg off the fifth ball of the over. Shillingford goes for four runs in his next over. Samuels continues to leak runs as Watling gets another boundary, this time through point as nine runs come from the over. Suleiman Benn continues, and goes for two runs in his first over. Samuels goes for four in the 58th over.
Taylor and Shillingford continue to bowl in tandem. Neesham and Latham continue to look resolute. That is, till Neesham decides to go for a big hit, and only gets it on the bottom edge of the bat down to substitute fielder Kraigg Brathwaite at long on. BJ Watling is the new man in for New Zealand.
OU! J Neesham 20(45) c (sub) Brathwaite b Shillingford
Jerome Taylor and Shane Shillingford open the bowling after lunch. Neesham and Latham negotiate the first couple of overs without incident. Taylor keeps it tight, while Shillingford tries to induce the false shots. Both batsmen resolute in defense, and look for only the occasional single. The 50th over of the innings yields consecutive boundaries for Tom Latham, as Taylor finds the outside-edge twice in two balls, only to see it go away to the third man boundary. Shillingford follows it up with a one-run over.
So we are back for the post-lunch session. Jerome Taylor rocked New Zealand with a double-strike off successive balls, but Tom Latham steadied the ship thereafter. After Brendon McCullum’s dismissal, Jimmy Neesham and Latham took them to tea safely.
A gritty innings from Tom Latham has helped Kiwis dominate the proceedings despite losing early wickets. At Lunch, New Zealand have a lead of 342.
Benn and Shillingford continue to bowl in tandem. Neesham and Latham have done well to rotate the strike. A nice partnership building. Windies once again missed a crucial chance. After Gayle dropped a catch from McCullum, Darren Bravo failed to collect a sharp catch at legslip in the 41st over. The lead is now 336.
New Zealand batsmen are somehow holding on to their wickets as West Indies spinners continue to keep a tight leash on the batsmen. Suleiman Benn created an opportunity in the 33rd over when Latham failed to connect his pull shot and the ball hit him high on the pads. The umpire turned it down but replays showed it was hitting the stumps. The Windies didn’t opt for a review. Neesham though has looked positive from the onset. In the 36th over, he charged down the wicket to hit a six. The lead is now 319.
Bowled. McCullum over-reached for the delivery. Shillingford did well to pitch it in the footmarks. The ball turned and beat the edge of McCullum to clip the off-stump. Big wicket for Windies. Jimmy Neesham, the centurion from the first innings has come in to bat.
Shillingford wasn’t looking in great rhythm earlier. Benn created the pressure and Shillingford had given away easy deliveires to the batsmen. Nevertheless, 50 up for New Zealand with a boundary from Latham. Drinks Break taken after 28 overs. Suleiman Benn started the proceedings after drinks. McCullum cut the second ball for a couple. The last ball of the over was swept by McCullum but the ball brushed past his pads and went behind the wicket. Three leg-byes and the Kiwis have taken the lead past 300. Task achieved. They’ll be eyeing at least 100 more to feel safe in the match. But the wickets are running out. 400 First-Class wickets for Shane Shillingford
OUT! B McCUllum 17(47)
Spin twins Suleiman Benn and Shane Shillingford introduced by Ramdin.
First ball from Benn in the 23rd over, McCullum was determined work it away but the leading edge almost carried back to the bowler. But he didn’t keep his ‘sweeping’ instincts down. Two balls later he swept fine towards the sweeper cover. Dry wicket, little bounce. The cracks are opening a bit, Ramdin is looking to exploit the conditions by bringing in the spinners early. The odd ball is bouncing to the frustration of the Kiwis. Shillingford came in to bowl in the next over and had McCullum in trouble first ball. But he gave away easy runs with short deliveries, Latham made full use of it dispatching them for boundaries.
The next two overs from the spinners don’t pose much problems for the Kiwi duo. McCullum hammered a boundary in the 26th over thanks to another short one from Shillingford. McCullum averages 52.96 in the second innings. Surely a Wall for New Zealand in a crucial part of Test.
Roach and Taylor continue to maintain an accurate line but the pressure has eased a bit. Brendon McCullum has learnt from the dismissals of his fellow teammates. He is consciously coming on the front-foot to play his shots. Latham meanwhile is looking settled. In the 18th over, he played an neat straight drive which went past the bowler for four.
McCullum survived a close call when he edged towards Chris Gayle at second slip. But the ball dipping and Gayle couldn’t get his fingers underneath in time.It was an usual Roach delivery bowled wide of thye crease but the bounce did him in. The Kiwis are 29 for four but the lead is 275, not an easy pitch to chase.
Jerome Taylor is on fire. Sodhi and Ross Taylor out in consecutive deliveries. To Sodhi: Superb delivery. There’s not much bounce on offer but the wear and tear in the pitch ensured that the seam movement was still going to test the batsmen. It was pitched at good length in the line of middle stump, Sodhi brought down his bat straight but the ball moved away from him enough to hit on the pads. Easy decision for the umpire. Ross Taylor walks in to bat.
First ball to Taylor is fuller on outside off-stump and swung back in. Taylor is caught in the crease and the ball breaches his defence to hit the pads. Umpire raises his finger. Taylor on a hat-trick. The fifth delivery was right on line but McCullum does well to defend. Two wickets in the maiden over. Taylor seems eager to come closer to his 5/11 performance at the same venue.
OUT! I Sodhi 4(23), R Taylor 0(1)
Good start from Kemar Roach. Maintains an accurate line bowling to ling to left-hander Tom Latham who is content in leaving most of the balls to the keeper to collect. Maiden over
Hello and welcome to CricketCountry’s Live Blog of the fourth day’s play in the first Test between West Indies and New Zealand at Kingston. New Zealand have taken control after a clinical bowling performance, led by Tim Southee and debutant spinner Mark Craig dismissed the hosts for 262. The Kiwis now have a gargantuan lead of 246 at the end of the day’s play but the Windies clawed their way back though disciplined bowling by their frontline pacers Jerome Taylor and Kemar Roach, who got a couple of early wickets in the last quarter of the day’s play.
West Indies will still fancy their chances if they can restrict the Kiwis who will look to quickly pile up a big target with two days to go. West Indies managed to pick the key wicket of Kane Williamson but Ross Taylor and Brendon McCullum are still to bat.
Squads:
New Zealand: Hamish Rutherford, Peter Fulton, Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, Brendon McCullum(c), Corey Anderson, James Neesham, Luke Ronchi(wk), Trent Boult, Mark Craig, Tom Latham, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Neil Wagner, BJ Watling.
West Indies: Denesh Ramdin(wk & c), Sulieman Benn, Kraigg Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Kirk Edwards, Shannon Gabriel, Chris Gayle, Kieran Powell, Kemar Roach, Marlon Samuels, Shane Shillingford, Jerome Taylor.
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