West Indies v New Zealand, 2012
Tony Cozier
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Tour and tournament reports : West Indies v New Zealand, 2012
Series/Tournaments:
New Zealand tour of United States of America and West Indies
Teams:
New Zealand
| West Indies
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At North Sound, Antigua, July 25-29, 2012. West Indies won by nine wickets. Toss: New Zealand. Test debut: N. Wagner.
West Indies' first Test victory over New Zealand since April 1996 was built upon Gayle's resounding return 16 months after his contentious exclusion, his crushing opening stand of 254 with Powell, and the contrasting abilities of Narine and Roach to overcome a sluggish pitch.
Twice New Zealand batted themselves into a promising position; twice they gave ground with the loss of two late wickets. On the first evening, 223 for two became 232 for four; on the fourth, they went from 170 for one - a single from clearing the first-innings deficit - to 199 for three. On neither occasion could they recover. For their part, West Indies capitalised on the foundation laid by Gayle and Powell to amass their fifth-highest total against New Zealand, before their bowlers seized on indiscipline in the second innings.
New Zealand had made a fine start: Guptill put on 97 with Flynn, then 90 for the third wicket with Taylor. But with six overs left in the day, Taylor - not for the first time - got himself into a tangle against Narine, and was bowled off the glove. In Narine's next over, Guptill - who had spent 11 overs moving from 90 to 97 - became unsettled by the approach of both the close and what would have been his third Test hundred: in trying to raise it with a six, he top-edged a slog-sweep. He had batted just short of six hours without blemish, and now trudged off like a man who had thrown away a winning lottery ticket. New Zealand failed to reclaim the momentum the following day, and it took Bracewell's robust 39 off 31 balls at No. 10 to carry them past 350.
Gayle immediately delivered an uncompromising riposte, despatching the last four balls of Martin's opening over to the boundary. He should have gone no further than 36, when Flynn misjudged a head-high catch at point off Bracewell; Powell had edged the previous ball from Neil Wagner, the debutant left-arm quick, a foot wide of second slip. Aside from the rarity of a first-ball dismissal for Chanderpaul - only his sixth in 244 Test innings - to a gloved catch off Martin's sharp lifter, there was little subsequent encouragement for New Zealand.
The longer Gayle batted, the more subdued he became, taking 39 balls for his first fifty, 90 for his second, and eventually spending 206 deliveries in making 150, his 14th Test century. Following the trail blazed by his senior partner, the tall, relaxed Powell completed his first, before three successive fours in an over from Wagner enticed him to go for another: instead, he nicked it behind, providing the bowler with his first Test wicket.
Fudadin and Deonarine, two of five left-handers in West Indies' top six, comfortably compiled half-centuries, although Fudadin - in his second Test - wasted the chance of going further: like Gayle he was caught at long-off by McCullum off Williamson. Sammy's forthright fifty, with three sixes, sent the total past 500 as New Zealand's bowlers struggled in unfamiliar conditions.
Vettori had taken six for 48 in the practice match against the Board President's XI on the same ground. But now, restricted by the groin strain that would rule him out of the Second Test and, later, the tour of India, he wheeled away for 51 overs for just Sammy's wicket. Martin, meanwhile, travelled at almost four and a half an over. In the circumstances, the younger bowlers took up the slack admirably.
As Guptill and McCullum carried New Zealand to within one run of parity over the last two sessions of the fourth day, there was the prospect of a tricky last innings for West Indies - only for the sundowner effect to take its toll once more. Guptill, who had already escaped being caught off a Roach no-ball on 42, was taken sharply at bat-pad off Narine's bouncing off-break with 15 overs remaining; McCullum, in control for more than three hours, then played on to a delivery from Roach that was too close to cut.
New Zealand's excessive caution on the last day, along with Roach's fast, direct assault, snuffed out any resistance. The 26 overs before lunch yielded 26 runs and two wickets, and it was little wonder that only a few hundred spectators were dotted around a stadium designed to accommodate 20,000. In that session Wagner - nightwatchman for the second time in his first Test - occupied 83 balls for nine, Taylor 30 for ten and Brownlie 47 for five, though no one had an answer to Roach, who dismissed Williamson with an unplayable leg-cutter, and had figures of 10.2-3-16-4 on the day. Requiring 102 off 46 overs, Gayle and Powell were in no mood to delay the inevitable. Although Powell fell to Bracewell at 77, Gayle remained unbeaten on 64 off 49 balls as Fudadin nudged the winning run.
Man of the Match: S.P. Narine
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