West Indies v India - Tour Match

Jamaica XI v Indians
Sabina Park, Kingston
4 Day Game
Umpires: D Sang Hue & EA Nicholls
Toss: Indians

Jamaica XI: AF Rae, JKC Holt, LG Rowe, EH Mattis, JC Adams, MLC Foster, +*FCM Alexander, NO Perry, FA Rose, R Gilchrist, BP Patterson.
Indians: SM Gavaskar, +FM Engineer, DB Vengsarkar, VL Manjrekar, PR Umrigar, *MAK Pataudi, Kapil Dev, M Prabhakar, J Srinath, KD Ghavri, BS Bedi.

Batsmen prospered on a featherbed at Sabina Park, and the Indians will not mind in the slightest if the surface prepared for the Test here plays in the same fashion. Gavaskar and Engineer opened up with a partnership of 112 after Pataudi won the toss and elected to bat, and whilst Engineer fell short of his century Gavaskar was not to be denied, advancing to 122 and adding 159 for the second wicket with Vengsarkar, who also reached three figures before stumps on the first day.

Will Dilip Vengsarkar be able to
carry his form into the Test arena?

Maurice Foster's off breaks were given an unusually extended run as Gerry Alexander struggled to exert any control in the field, and with contributions right down the card India's total had swelled to 523-9 when Pataudi declared at tea on day two. India's bowlers had plenty of runs to play with, but the Jamaican innings followed the same script as that of the tourists, with Rae's wonderfully fluent 92 paving the way for a dominant stand of 165 for the fourth wicket between Lawrence Rowe and Everton Mattis. Rowe was caught in the covers off Kapil Dev for 87 but the unheralded Mattis went on to raise a deserved hundred, and with rain twice halting play on day three Jamaica batted on into the fourth and final day before eventually closing on 448 at lunch.

Rae batted as well as anyone in compiling his 92

Ghavri did his chances of Test selection no harm at all by picking up four wickets, but India's fielding was below par, with three catches going to ground over the course of the innings, and this is something that will need to be improved upon ahead of the Tests. India chose to bat out the remainder of the day, Umrigar's undefeated 68 the highlight as they progressed to an inconsequential 180-4, and the tourists' batting looks in good shape ahead of the first Test.

Score Summary
IND 1st Inns 523-9 dec. (Vengsarkar 128, Gavaskar 122, Engineer 74, Manjrekar 40)
JAM XI 1st Inns 448 (Mattis 105, Rae 92, Rowe 87, Adams 48; Ghavri 4-73)
IND 2nd Inns 180-4 (Umrigar 68*)

MATCH DRAWN

1st & 2nd innings scorecards (click to enlarge)

Close of Play

Day 1 - Indians 1st innings 354-2 (Vengsarkar 128*, Manjrekar 24*; 90 ov)
Day 2 - Jamaica 1st innings 93-1 (Rae 55*, Perry 0*; 25 ov)
Day 3 - Jamaica 1st innings 387-5 (Adams 34*, Foster 8*; 107 ov)
Day 4 - Indians 2nd innings 180-4 (51 ov) - end of match

West Indies v India - Series Preview

The three previous clashes between West Indies and India have all been close affairs, West Indies emerging victorious by a 2-1 margin on each occasion, but India would do well to repeat such a scoreline this time around, given the form that has carried West Indies to seven consecutive series victories coupled with the expected recall of the likes of Richards, Marshall and Holding after they were rested for the tour of New Zealand. West Indies are understandably the hot favourites going into this series, but the consistent failure of the top of the batting order on the New Zealand trip does provide the Indians with perhaps the merest glimmer of hope.

The Indian squad contains just one new face in seam bowler Venkatesh Prasad, and Vijay Manjrekar has been entrusted with the number four position after his century on debut against Sri Lanka. Skipper Tiger Pataudi is under pressure following his recent run of failures with the bat, and he will be looking to rediscover the form when the sides last met in India when he topped the averages by some distance. The Indian squad contains three spinners in the shape of Chandrasekhar, Bedi and Prasanna, but with the selectors likely to pick two at most for the Tests the opening tour match in Jamaica should provide an insight into the tourists' plans.

Pataudi and Prasad, for different reasons, will
both be looking to prove a point on this tour

Current form (most recent result first)
West Indies WDWLW
India WLLDW

Previous series result
India 1 West Indies 2 (Season V; 3 Tests)

India Squad
MAK Pataudi (c), Kapil Dev (v/c), BS Bedi, BS Chandrasekhar, FM Engineer, SM Gavaskar, KD Ghavri, VS Hazare, SMH Kirmani, VL Manjrekar, M Prabhakar, BKV Prasad, EAS Prasanna, J Srinath, PR Umrigar, DB Vengsarkar.

Itinerary
- Tour Match v Jamaica
- 1st TEST (Jamaica)
- Tour Match v Trinidad and Tobago
- 2nd TEST (Trinidad)
- 3rd TEST (Guyana)
- Tour Match v Barbados
- 4th TEST (Barbados)
- 5th TEST (Antigua)

New Zealand v Sri Lanka - Series Summary

NEW ZEALAND WON THE SERIES 1-0
Being able to write 'New Zealand won' is a rare event in the ATG world, but it happened twice when Jack Cowie took the final wicket in Hamilton, with New Zealand's victory there - just their sixth in 55 Tests - sealing their first ever series success. The fact that the opponents were Sri Lanka and that the series consisted of just two Tests must be taken into consideration, but when you have fed on scraps for so long you don't turn down any morsel that comes your way.

John Reid's two centuries will ensure that he retains the captaincy for a little while longer, and the form shown by Chris Cairns would suggest that New Zealand are now able to field three allrounders worthy of the name. The third member of the trio, Richard Hadlee, took his seasonal wicket haul past the fifty mark in Hamilton, but with Stephen Boock remaining out of both form and favour the Kiwi selectors continue to struggle to find a spinner capable of supporting their seamers on a consistent basis, with Hedley Howarth claiming just three wickets in the two Tests.

Aravinda de Silva showed his class by saving the first Test with twin centuries, and his absence through injury severely compromised Sri Lanka's chances in the second game. Indeed, for such a short tour the visitors had to cope with a number of injuries, and the loss of Wickramasinghe for the Tests, whilst probably not affecting the final outcome, certainly weakened their bowling attack. De Silva apart, Chandika Hathurusingha, with fifties in both matches, was the only other Sri Lankan to enhance his reputation over the course of the series, and even though Australia are not expected to field a full strength XI for the upcoming one-off Test in Kandy, one would not bank on Sri Lanka to break their ATG duck any time soon.

Series Averages
(click to enlarge)

Players of the Series: JR Reid & PA de Silva

New Zealand v Sri Lanka - Second Test

Seddon Park, Hamilton

New Zealand: GM Turner, CS Dempster, BE Congdon, MD Crowe, MP Donnelly, *JR Reid, CL Cairns, RJ Hadlee, +IDS Smith, J Cowie, HJ Howarth.
Sri Lanka: RS Mahanama, UC Hathurusingha, AP Gurusinha, RL Dias, *A Ranatunga, HP Tillakaratne, DS de Silva, JR Ratnayeke, +HM Goonatilleke, RJ Ratnayake, ALF de Mel.

Debuts: HM Goonatilleke (SL)
Umpires: DR Shepherd (ENG) & D Sang Hue (WI)
Toss: New Zealand

Sri Lanka's injury crisis continued ahead of the second Test - Rumesh Ratnayake and Gurusinha returned but Dharmasena (shoulder) and, crucially, Aravinda de Silva (finger) were ruled out - and wicket keeper Mahes Goonatilleke made his debut after being hurriedly flown out to bolster the squad. John Reid won the toss for an unchanged New Zealand, and two days of hard toil later Goonatilleke must have been wishing he had stayed at home as the Kiwis surpassed the record total that they had posted in the previous game, although to his credit he only conceded one bye out of a mammoth total of 623.

All this came after the hosts had been reduced to 139-4 midway through the first afternoon, at which time Sri Lanka looked like they could really make inroads into the match. The pitch was not to blame though, and New Zealand's fifth wicket pair of Donnelly and Reid batted faultlessly in compiling a partnership of 230, a national record for any wicket. Both players made centuries, Donnelly extending his to a dominant 151, and Sri Lanka's attack looked wholly impotent as the runs flowed. The scoreboard read 369-5 when de Silva finally broke through by bowling Reid on the stroke of lunch on day two, and it had moved round to 475-8 when Jack Cowie joined Ian Smith at the crease shortly before tea. New Zealand's ninth wicket pair then proceeded to rub salt into what were already deep Sri Lankan wounds by equalling the ATG record with a partnership of 124 before Smith fell to the third new ball just seven short of a maiden hundred, and Cowie was able to raise his first ever fifty in partnership with last man Howarth as the Sri Lankans were brought to their metaphorical and, in some cases, literal knees.

Jack Cowie poses with his wonderbat!

Sri Lanka began their reply on the third morning, and as only could have been be expected they crumbled under the sheer weight of all those Kiwi runs. New Zealand bowled well, but the level of application and belief shown by the tourists was disappointing to say the least, with Gurusinha's dismissal typifying Sri Lanka's plight. He top-edged a catch off an ill-advised hook shot having made 59 when he should have been aiming for 159, and it was not until a gallant last wicket stand of 58 between Goonatilleke and de Mel that we saw anything like the type of attitude that was needed.

An all out total of 249 allowed John Reid to enforce the follow-on for the first time in New Zealand's history, and with a deficit of 374 it was the same story in Sri Lanka's second innings as the top order all got in only to get themselves out when set. Rain sent the match into a fifth day with Hashan Tillakaratne the last remaining hope for the tourists, and although he managed to complete his fifty, Hadlee and Cowie reduced the innings from 200-5 to 207-9 as the new ball cut a swathe through the tail on the final morning, Hadlee picking up his third five wicket haul of the Antipodean summer. The Blackcaps were made to wait until after lunch to claim the final wicket, but when Goonatilleke edged Cowie behind the party could finally begin, and although the opposition had only been Sri Lanka, New Zealand's first ever series victory in this, the sixth season of ATG cricket, was still a cause for celebration. Sri Lanka now head home for a one-off Test against Australia, whilst New Zealand will be able to look forward to next season, as they always seem to do, with a reserved air of optimism.

Hadlee's last five Tests have brought him
37 wickets and, finally, an elusive series victory

Score Summary
NZL 1st Inns 623 (Donnelly 151, Reid 114, Smith 93, Cowie 59, Congdon 42; Ratnayeke 4-136)
SL 1st Inns 249 (Gurusinha 59, Goonatilleke 42*)
SL 2nd Inns 217 (Tillakaratne 55, Hathurusingha 54; Hadlee 5-52, Cowie 4-61)

NEW ZEALAND WON BY AN INNINGS & 157 RUNS

1st & 2nd innings scorecards (click to enlarge)

Close of play
Day 1 - New Zealand 1st innings 319-4 (Donnelly 93*, Reid 86*; 95 ov)
Day 2 - New Zealand 1st innings 623 (171 ov)
Day 3 - Sri Lanka 1st innings 244-9 (Goonatilleke 42*, de Mel 18*; 90 ov)
Day 4 - Sri Lanka 2nd innings 171-5 (Tillakaratne 37*, de Silva 7*; 66 ov)
Day 5 - Sri Lanka 2nd innings 217 (98.4 ov) - end of match

Notes
▪ New Zealand's series victory is the first in their history
▪ New Zealand's 623 is their highest ever total
▪ Donnelly & Reid's fifth wicket partnership of 230 is New Zealand's highest for any wicket
▪ Smith & Cowie's partnership of 124 equals the world record for the ninth wicket
▪ New Zealand enforced the follow-on for the first time in their history
▪ Goonatilleke and de Mel's partnership of 58 is a Sri Lankan record for the tenth wicket
▪ Crowe made his 50th appearance for New Zealand

Man of the Match: MP Donnelly

New Zealand v Sri Lanka - First Test

Carisbrook, Dunedin

New Zealand: GM Turner, CS Dempster, BE Congdon, MD Crowe, MP Donnelly, *JR Reid, CL Cairns, RJ Hadlee, +IDS Smith, J Cowie, HJ Howarth.
Sri Lanka: RS Mahanama, UC Hathurusingha, RL Dias, PA de Silva, *A Ranatunga, +HP Tillakaratne, DS de Silva, JR Ratnayeke, HDPK Dharmasena, ALF de Mel, CPH Ramanayake.

Debuts: CPH Ramanayake (SL)
Umpires: DR Shepherd (ENG) & D Sang Hue (WI)
Toss: New Zealand

Injury-hit Sri Lanka entered their first ever Test against New Zealand with only eleven fit players, and on a flat track New Zealand racked up the highest total in their history before John Reid declared at tea on the second day, leaving himself undefeated on 130 out of a mammoth 576-7. Turner had earlier contributed 107 as he and Dempster put on 170 for the first wicket, and Congdon was denied a century on recall when, on 99, he was caught at short leg off DS de Silva. Ranatunga was on the defensive in the field from an early stage, and whilst the boundaries may have been protected the runs kept coming. Congdon and Donnelly added 145 for the fourth wicket and then Reid and Cairns piled on 168, New Zealand's second best sixth wicket partnership, both players recording their highest ever scores in the process.

All that net practice paid off for John Reid

Sri Lanka fought back well in reply to New Zealand's huge total, Mahanama's typically flamboyant 75 getting them off to a fine start, and following his dismissal during a rain-shortened morning session Aravinda de Silva took over with stroke play that became ever more audacious as his innings progressed. He took just eight balls to move from 77 to 100 and then followed this up by lofting Hadlee for consecutive sixes as the tourists moved on to a relatively healthy 276-4 by tea on the third day. Reid took the new ball at this stage, and under the cloud cover that had hung around for most of the day, wickets started to fall. Chris Cairns bowled superbly to snare the best figures of his fledgling ATG career, but the last pair of de Mel and the debutant Ramanayake managed to cling on into the fourth day, and a tenth wicket stand of 32 saved the follow-on as Sri Lanka reached 382, their highest ever total.

New Zealand still had a lead of 194, and quick runs were now the order of the day if the Blackcaps were going to have enough time to bowl out the tourists for a second time on the final day. The Sri Lankans bowled well though, and only Crowe was truly able to dominate with an undefeated 71 as New Zealand made their way to a rather ponderous 209-6 before Reid declared with an hour's play remaining on the fourth evening. DS de Silva extracted three lbw decisions from Douglas Sang Hue, including Donnelly first ball, to hinder New Zealand's progress, and the Sri Lankans were presented with a target of 404 off a minimum of 103 overs to record their first ever ATG Test victory. Their attempt started disastrously when Mahanama and Dias were dispatched with just six runs on the board, but Hathurusingha and Aravinda de Silva rallied with a third wicket partnership of 142 and the chase was on.

Aravinda de Silva batted beautifully
for Sri Lanka in both innings

De Silva was not quite as fluent as in the first innings but he still managed to pick his way to his second century of the match, and although he was out shortly afterwards a tea time score of 241-4 meant that the tourists retained an outside chance of victory. Sri Lanka's tactics changed after the break though, and their switch to a defensive mindset actually played into New Zealand's hands as Reid was able to attack with the new ball. Cairns delivered a remarkable spell of 3-0 in twelve balls as five wickets tumbled for just sixteen runs, and with the haven of a draw in sight Sri Lanka now looked like falling at the final hurdle.

The last pair of de Mel and Ramanayake had done their team proud in the first innings, and with the scoreboard reading 286-9 they would now need to survive for 41 balls if the tourists were to escape with the draw. Ball beat bat on numerous occasions but for the second time in the match they held on, and when de Mel jammed his bat down on Reid's final delivery the Sri Lankans celebrated as if they had won the match. Once again New Zealand had let a possible victory slip through their fingers, and it will be a case of winner takes all when the teams meet in Hamilton for the second and final Test.

New Zealand were unable to force victory
despite the all round efforts of Chris Cairns

Score Summary
NZL 1st Inns 576-7 dec. (Reid 130*, Turner 107, Congdon 99, Dempster 88, Donnelly 82, Cairns 57)
SL 1st Inns 382 (PA de Silva 131, Mahanama 75; Cairns 4-84)
NZL 2nd Inns 209-6 dec. (Crowe 71*, Dempster 63)
SL 2nd Inns 296-9 (PA de Silva 105, Hathurusingha 72, Ranatunga 58)

MATCH DRAWN

1st & 2nd innings scorecards (click to enlarge)

Close of play
Day 1 - New Zealand 1st innings 330-3 (Congdon 59*, Donnelly 68*; 101 ov)
Day 2 - Sri Lanka 1st innings 99-1 (Mahanama 61*, Dias 7*; 29 ov)
Day 3 - Sri Lanka 1st innings 363-9 (de Mel 14*, Ramanayake 5*; 109 ov)
Day 4 - Sri Lanka 2nd innings 48-2 (Hathurusingha 20*, PA de Silva 22*; 15 ov)
Day 5 - Sri Lanka 2nd innings 296-9 (105 ov) - end of match

Notes
▪ Sri Lanka avoided defeat for the first time in six attempts
▪ New Zealand's 576-7 is their highest ever total
▪ Sri Lanka's 382 is their highest ever total
▪ Congdon passed 2000 career runs
▪ Aravinda de Silva is the eighth player, and the first Sri Lankan, to score two hundreds in a Test

Man of the Match: PA de Silva

New Zealand v Sri Lanka - Tour Match

South Island v Sri Lankans
University Oval, Dunedin
3 Day Game
Umpires: DEA Copps & WT Martin
Toss: Sri Lankans

South Island: GT Dowling, *WA Hadlee, KR Rutherford, BF Hastings, NJ Astle, V Pollard, +WK Lees, TB Burtt, DR Hadlee, FJ Cameron, SB O'Connor.
Sri Lankans: RS Mahanama, UC Hathurusingha, RL Dias, PA de Silva, *A Ranatunga, HP Tillakaratne, +RS Kaluwitharana, JR Ratnayeke, HDPK Dharmasena, CPH Ramanayake, GP Wickramasinghe.

Sri Lanka's warm up game ahead of their two Test series against New Zealand was a turgid affair, played on a flat, unyielding surface in front of a sparse crowd at the University Oval. Roy Dias played the stand-out innings on the opening day, his 114 reviving the tourists' fortunes after they had slumped to 29-3, and his fourth wicket partnership of 179 with skipper Arjuna Ranatunga (84) underlined just what a toil it all was for the bowlers on this pitch. Tillakaratne and Kaluwitharana added a further 108 in enterprising fashion before stumps, and an overnight declaration closed the innings on 365-6, a total that the South Islanders would go on to match exactly over the course of the next four sessions.

A century from Roy Dias was one of few
highlights in a dull tour opener in Dunedin

Dowling dropped anchor to record a dour 84, and with Sri Lanka's attack looking every bit as toothless as their Kiwi counterparts, Rutherford, Astle and Lees all helped themselves to fifties, although it must be said that the visitors' bowlers did at least manage to keep the scoring rate down, with Wickramasinghe looking the pick of the bunch. Walter Hadlee declared at lunch on the final day with the scores level, and although the Sri Lankans wobbled somewhat in their second innings, stumbling to tea at 64-4, a robust 41 from Ranatunga allayed any fears of an embarrassing collapse and the game petered out into an inevitable draw, the tourists having crawled to 155-7 before rain ended proceedings mercifully early for the few spectators that had stayed on. The teams remain in Dunedin for the first Test, which is to be played at Carisbrook, and one can only hope that the Tests serve up more entertaining fare than the cricket that was on display here.

Score Summary
SL 1st Inns 365-6 dec. (Dias 114, Ranatunga 84, Tillakaratne 77*, Kaluwitharana 55)
SI 1st Inns 365-6 dec. (Dowling 84, Astle 83, Rutherford 63, Lees 57*)
SL 2nd Inns 155-7 (Ranatunga 41)

MATCH DRAWN

1st & 2nd innings scorecards (click to enlarge)

Close of Play

Day 1 - Sri Lankans 1st innings 365-6 (Tillakaratne 77*, Ratnayeke 11*; 96 ov)
Day 2 - South Island 1st innings 257-5 (Astle 26*, Lees 6*; 92 ov)
Day 3 - Sri Lankans 2nd innings 155-7 (65.5 ov) - end of match

New Zealand v Sri Lanka - Series Preview

On face value a battle of the basement between ATG cricket's two lowest ranked teams is unlikely to whet many appetites, but in actual fact the two Tests that make up the series should provide plenty of competitive action for both the committed and the casual spectator alike. For New Zealand, this is their best chance yet of securing a first ever ATG series victory, whilst the Sri Lankans will be looking to avoid defeat for the first time after losing each of their first five Tests.

The New Zealand selectors are expected to retain faith with the majority of the squad that was engaged against West Indies, but John Reid's position is under review once again after a poor personal performance in that series and an overall record that now reads just three wins in thirty three Tests as captain, although it must be said that there are few, if any, obvious candidates to take over the reins should the axe fall.

John Reid and Arjuna Ranatunga will both be hoping to lead
their countries to what would be a first ever ATG series win

As for Sri Lanka, this will be the first time that they enter a series with expectation as well as hope, and if their bowlers can at last find some penetration on wickets that should suit them then we could be in for some interesting cricket over the course of the two Tests.

Current form (most recent result first)
New Zealand LDLDL
Sri Lanka LLLLL

Sri Lanka squad
A Ranatunga (c), HP Tillakaratne (v/c), ALF de Mel DS de Silva, PA de Silva, RL Dias, HDPK Dharmasena, AP Gurusinha, UC Hathurusingha, RS Kaluwitharana, RS Mahanama, CPH Ramanayake, RJ Ratnayake, JR Ratnayeke, GP Wickramasinghe.

Itinerary
- Tour Match v South Island (Dunedin)
- 1st TEST (Dunedin)
- 2nd TEST (Hamilton)

New Zealand v West Indies - Series Summary

WEST INDIES WON THE SERIES 2-0
West Indies made it a magnificent seven consecutive series wins with their expected victory over New Zealand, but had Garry Sobers' team been up against stronger opponents then it could well have been a different story. Time and again the West Indian top order failed - Fredericks, Haynes and Kanhai recorded just one fifty between them and averaged less than fifteen as a unit - and only the form of Sobers and Worrell coupled with a tail that defied expectations with the bat kept the tourists afloat. Worrell was truly magnificent on his recall to the side, and his partnerships with Sobers, which were worth an average of 97.67, really proved to be a major difference between the teams.

A depleted West Indian attack supported each other well as a unit - Walsh, Garner, Griffith and Sobers shared 46 wickets evenly between them - with Hall proving the only real disappointment, but the same cannot be said of New Zealand, for whom Richard Hadlee ploughed an increasingly lone furrow as the series went on. Cowie bowled well in Wellington but faded thereafter, and by the end of the series Hadlee had captured 25 wickets compared to a combined haul of 28 for the remainder of New Zealand's attack. John Reid endured an anonymous series with the ball, but with Chris Cairns making little impact on debut, Reid is expected to retain his place in the side for the Sri Lanka Tests.

Despite its failings in the final innings in both Wellington and Auckland, New Zealand's batting looks in reasonable shape ahead of those matches, with Turner, Donnelly and Dempster all putting in good performances over the course of this series. There remains a vacancy at number three though, and Bevan Congdon is expected to be recalled to fill the berth against Sri Lanka. West Indies now head home to prepare for the visit of India, and all things point to them retaining their number one ranking come the end of that series.

Series Averages
(click to enlarge)

Players of the Series: RJ Hadlee & FMM Worrell

New Zealand v West Indies - Third Test

Eden Park, Auckland

New Zealand: GM Turner, CS Dempster, GP Howarth, MD Crowe, MP Donnelly, *JR Reid, RJ Hadlee, +IDS Smith, JG Bracewell, J Cowie, HJ Howarth.
West Indies: RC Fredericks, DL Haynes, RB Kanhai, EdeC Weekes, FMM Worrell, *GStA Sobers, +PJL Dujon, WW Hall, CC Griffith, J Garner, CA Walsh.

Debuts: Nil
Umpires: CJ Egar (AUS) & LP Rowan (AUS)
Toss: West Indies

Sobers wins the toss, elects to bat and then rescues the innings in partnership with Frank Worrell after the top order all fail. That has been the recurring theme thus far in the series, and so it was again in Auckland as an inspired Richard Hadlee reduced West Indies to 32-3 on a damp first morning at Eden Park. Weekes was then forced to retire hurt having deflected a rising delivery from Hadlee into the side of his head, and with ball seaming around one wondered whether the decision to field two spinners was the right move on the part of the Kiwi selectors, John Bracewell having been chosen to replace hamstring victim Chris Cairns.

Frank Worrell has become New Zealand's
nemesis over the course of this series

As the sun broke through batting became easier, allowing Worrell to add 118 for the fourth wicket with Sobers and a further 109 for the fifth with Dujon as the tourists spent the rest of day one recovering and consolidating. Sobers and Dujon both made fifties but Worrell pressed on to reach his second century of the series before the close, although he was granted a reprieve on 75 when Hadlee ripped out his off stump only to see umpire Col Egar signalling no ball to the scorers. As it was, Worrell went on to reach 131 before Hadlee finally had him caught in the gully by Reid on the second morning, one of eight wickets for New Zealand's champion fast bowler in what was by far the best performance of his ATG career, but West Indies' final total of 362 gave them the upper hand on a pitch that did not look as though it would last the full five days.

That said, Turner and Crowe made batting look easy after coming together at 48-2 in New Zealand's reply, and by the close they had extended the score to 164-2 as the hosts enjoyed an excellent second day. Walsh finally broke the partnership on the third morning when he trapped Crowe plumb in front for 85, and with the ball moving about in hot and humid conditions the innings fell away thereafter; Turner went for 86, popping up a return catch to Sobers to end his five hour stay at the crease, and with Walsh going on to complete West Indies' first five wicket haul of the series, the innings eventually closed on 295 to hand the visitors a 67 run lead.

Glenn Turner has been by far New Zealand's
most consistent batsman of the series

New Zealand struck back immediately as Hadlee found Fredericks' edge to send him on his way for a third ball duck, but with Kanhai managing to bring up his first fifty of the series the score had moved on to 130-3 by stumps, giving West Indies a lead of 197 with power to add. Cowie removed Kanhai's leg stump with just the fourth ball of day four though, and despite yet another fifty from the metronomic Worrell, wickets fell regularly throughout the day as batting became progressively more difficult. Hadlee claimed four more scalps to finish with match figures of 12-139, the best in New Zealand's history, and a total of 231 presented New Zealand with a target of 299 to square the series.

Uneven bounce was now proving to be a problem for the batsmen though, and in a disastrous evening session the Blackcaps were quickly reduced to 60-5 as only Stewie Dempster provided any resistance to an unremitting West Indian pace barrage. He eventually went for 40, bowled by the increasingly unplayable Garner, and although Donnelly and Hadlee managed to survive until stumps, at 103-5 the outlook was bleak for New Zealand. Donnelly managed to raise a spirited fifty on the final morning, and with Smith looking in good touch after replacing Hadlee at 128-6, the more Panglossian Kiwi fans began to sense that victory was not out of the question. Sobers shattered the dream though by holding onto his second caught and bowled of the game to dismiss Smith for 26, and the last four wickets proceeded to tumble for just eight runs as West Indies completed a comfortable 117 run win in the first over after lunch. New Zealand had run out of steam once again, and one must feel sympathy toward Richard Hadlee, whose sterling work with the ball was ultimately trumped by Worrell's unwavering form with the bat.

Hadlee's efforts were in vain as West Indies proved too strong once again

Score Summary
WI 1st Inns 362 (Worrell 131, Sobers 67, Dujon 59; Hadlee 8-73)
NZL 1st Inns 295 (Turner 86, Crowe 85; Walsh 5-49)
WI 2nd Inns 231 (Kanhai 59, Worrell 57; Hadlee 4-66)
NZL 2nd Inns 181 (Donnelly 66, Dempster 40; Garner 4-37)

WEST INDIES WON BY 117 RUNS

1st & 2nd innings scorecards (click to enlarge)

Close of play
Day 1 - West Indies 1st innings 282-6 (Worrell 107*; 90.5 ov)
Day 2 - New Zealand 1st innings 164-2 (Turner 60*, Crowe 77*; 49 ov)
Day 3 - West Indies 2nd innings 130-3 (Kanhai 59*, Worrell 16*; 45 ov)
Day 4 - New Zealand 2nd innings 103-5 (Donnelly 25*, Hadlee 16*; 35 ov)
Day 5 - New Zealand 2nd innings 181 (61 ov) - end of match

Notes
▪ Hadlee's innings analysis of 8-73 is the second best for New Zealand and the sixth best overall, and his match return of 12-139 is the best ever for New Zealand
▪ Dujon became the first wicket keeper to pass 3000 career runs
▪ Turner made his 50th appearance for New Zealand

Man of the Match: FMM Worrell

New Zealand v West Indies - Second Test

Lancaster Park, Christchurch

New Zealand: GM Turner, CS Dempster, GP Howarth, MD Crowe, MP Donnelly, *JR Reid, CL Cairns, RJ Hadlee, +IDS Smith, J Cowie, HJ Howarth.
West Indies: RC Fredericks, DL Haynes, RB Kanhai, EdeC Weekes, FMM Worrell, *GStA Sobers, +PJL Dujon, WW Hall, CC Griffith, J Garner, CA Walsh.

Debuts: Nil
Umpires: DL Orchard (SAF) & CJ Egar (AUS)
Toss: West Indies

Whilst West Indies fielded an unchanged XI in Christchurch following their victory in the first Test, New Zealand handed recalls to the brothers Howarth, Geoff coming in to replace the injured Jones and Hedley taking over the spinner's berth in place of the under-performing Boock. The pitch looked a beauty and Sobers duly batted upon winning his second toss in a row, but just as in Wellington the top of the batting card was reduced to rubble by Hadlee and Cowie, and by lunch the scoreboard read a parlous 64-4.

Worrell and Sobers came to the
rescue once again in the first innings

The visitors counter-attacked to devastating effect in the afternoon though as Worrell and Sobers picked up from where they had left off at the Basin Reserve. Sobers raised a wonderful hundred off just 128 balls, his fourth in six Tests this season, and Worrell reached three figures for the first time since his 216 against India in Ahmedabad way back in season III as the pair added 217 for the fifth wicket. Worrell did not have much time to celebrate his century though; after he completed the two runs to take him from 98 to one hundred he turned for a third only to be run out by Dempster's throw to Crowe at the bowler's end, and New Zealand had been handed a lifeline.

Crowe then trapped Sobers lbw without any further addition to the score, and when Hall went for 10 West Indies had slipped from 273-4 to 283-7, and the Kiwis would have been fancying their chances of finishing off the visitors for less than 300. However, the tourists' innings held a devastating sting in the tail; Dujon made a serene 70 and put on a national record 94 for the ninth wicket with Garner, who then continued to swing the bat to great effect in a last wicket stand of 75 with Walsh that exactly matched their effort against South Africa earlier this season.

Big Bird was on song with the bat as
West Indies' tail rallied on day two

Garner swung his way to an incredible 81, and the New Zealanders looked utterly deflated as they left the field, having allowed West Indies to add an unbelievable 214 runs for their last three wickets as the total swelled to 497. New Zealand's reply got off to a solid start as Turner - who was dropped on 39 by Hall off the bowling of Walsh - and Dempster posted 72 for the first wicket, but that was to be the highest partnership of the innings as wickets fell at regular intervals thereafter. Turner ground his way to a six hour century but on the whole the Kiwis found it difficult to score against a disciplined West Indies attack, and although both Reid and Smith finally perked up the crowd with some clean hitting later on, the hosts eventually fell an agonizing five runs short of saving the follow-on.

After a brief period of uncertainty Sobers asked New Zealand to bat again, but with the pitch still holding up well the Blackcaps made a much better fist of it on the fourth day. Turner (37) and Dempster added 92 for the first wicket this time round, and Dempster then hooked up with Crowe to the tune of 190 runs for the third wicket as New Zealand batted their way into the lead. Roy Fredericks popped up to bowl Crowe just two short of his century, but Dempster made no mistake and converted his first hundred into a big one, finally departing for 152 shortly before stumps on a day that had been dominated by New Zealand.

Dempster's maiden ATG century was a chanceless affair

A total of 336-4 gave New Zealand a lead of 132 going into the final day, and runs and wickets came rapidly as both sides tried to force the issue with some positive cricket. Reid's fighting fifty helped take the total total to a commendable 414, but West Indies were still in the box seat, and a target of 211 off 60 overs looked eminently gettable. A slow start hampered the chase though, and with two separate rain delays in the afternoon only serving to put West Indies further behind the clock, what had been another rollercoaster ride of a game was eventually consigned to a draw with West Indies still 72 runs short of their target. New Zealand will take more away from the result than their guests, and the series now remains alive going into the third and final Test in Auckland.

Score Summary
WI 1st Inns 497 (Sobers 113, Worrell 100, Garner 81, Dujon 70)
NZL 1st Inns 293 (Turner 102, Reid 46, Smith 41*)
NZL 2nd Inns 414 (Dempster 152, Crowe 98, Reid 52; Hall 4-102)
WI 2nd Inns 139-5

MATCH DRAWN

1st & 2nd innings scorecards (click to enlarge)

Close of play
Day 1 - West Indies 1st innings 304-7 (Dujon 4*, Griffith 13*; 90 ov)
Day 2 - New Zealand 1st innings 34-0 (Turner 20*, Dempster 14*; 14 ov)
Day 3 - New Zealand 2nd innings 13-0 (Turner 5*, Dempster 7*; 4 ov)
Day 4 - New Zealand 2nd innings 336-4 (Donnelly 25*, Reid 7*; 94 ov)
Day 5 - West Indies 2nd innings 139-5 (49 0v) - end of match

Notes
▪ Hadlee passed 200 career wickets
▪ Garner's 81 is the highest ever score by a number ten batsman
▪ Dujon and Garner's ninth wicket partnership of 94 is a West Indian record
▪ Garner and Walsh's tenth wicket partnership of 75 equals the national record

Man of the Match: CS Dempster