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

New Zealand v West Indies - First Test

Basin Reserve, Wellington

New Zealand: GM Turner, CS Dempster, AH Jones, MD Crowe, MP Donnelly, *JR Reid, CL Cairns, RJ Hadlee, +IDS Smith, J Cowie, SL Boock.
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: CL Cairns (NZL) & CC Griffith (WI)
Umpires: DL Orchard (SAF) & LP Rowan (AUS)
Toss: West Indies

Despite the potentially one-sided nature of this series, two debuts and a multiplicity of recalls on both sides brought an element of the unknown to the first Test in Wellington, and neither captain knew quite what to make of the pitch either; it was rock hard, which would aid the stroke players, but patches of live, green grass promised to give the bowlers some assistance too.

Sobers won the toss and elected to bat, but the innings stumbled to 45-3 before a pair of attacking fifties from Weekes and Worrell and a boundary laden 35 from Sobers himself re-established the equilibrium. Half an hour before tea the score had reached 186-4, but Sobers and Worrell then departed in consecutive overs to derail West Indies' recovery. Worrell was run out courtesy of a direct hit by Reid, and it took an extraordinarily resilient 33 from Hall at number eight to drag the innings up to a disappointing final total of 272.

Hadlee was expensive yet penetrative
in West Indies' first innings

Hadlee returned the excellent figures of 6-94, but by lunch on the second day the Blackcaps had themselves slipped to a precarious 50-3 in a repeat of the tourists' first morning struggles. Turner and Donnelly staged New Zealand's own rescue act with a stand of 131 though, and once Turner was finally out for 71 both Reid and Cairns contributed to fifty stands with Donnelly, who went on to bring up a wonderfully ebullient century. Cairns looked particularly comfortable at the crease after a wicketless debut with the ball, but in the day's last over an injudicious slog against the part-time spin of Fredericks cost him his wicket, and with Hadlee departing lbw to the very next ball a collapse had begun that would send New Zealand spiralling from 306-5 to 325 all out on the third morning. Donnelly failed to add to his overnight score of 144 but a 53 run lead had been secured nonetheless, and West Indies' top order misfired again as their second innings followed the same script as the first.

Donnelly's hundred was undoubtedly
one of his finest ever innings

Fredericks made a career-high 47, but upon his dismissal West Indies were 74-4 and in distinct trouble as Hadlee and Cowie again bowled well in tandem. However, an early collapse was once again followed by a stabilising partnership, and on this occasion Worrell and Sobers looked like they could be playing a winning hand. Both partners passed fifty as the runs accumulated, but with the score on 223-4 and the lead up to 170, Hadlee found the edge of Worrell's bat to send him on his way for a fine 82, and with the partnership broken at 149 the floodgates suddenly opened. Hadlee also removed Sobers for 67 soon after, and with the innings suddenly in disarray Cowie ran through the tail to emulate Hadlee's six wicket haul in the first innings. West Indies had been bowled out for 254 having lost their last six wickets for just 31 runs, and New Zealand now had two whole days in which to score the 202 runs that would secure them the most famous of victories.

Scores of 67 and 82 made for a profitable
return to the side for Frank Worrell

New Zealand had folded when in an almost identical position against Australia in Brisbane last season though, and it was sadly a case of deja vu for Blackcaps fans on the fourth morning here as the innings crumbled in the face of a remorseless barrage from Hall, Griffith and Garner. By lunch the score was a calamitous 62-5, and although Turner was still there the wind had been well and truly taken out of New Zealand's sails. Turner was eventually seventh out for a fighting 57, but with no-one else getting past 13 it was a sorry effort from the Kiwis, and their target was never remotely threatened. Sobers' spin ran through the tail, and Garner applied the coup de grace by bowling Cowie for 12 shortly after tea to end the innings on 134 and clinch a 67 run victory for West Indies. Just as they had done in the Caribbean last season, New Zealand had pushed their opponents to the brink only to come up short, and one is left to wonder whether the hosts' best chance of an upset in this series has been and gone already.

Score Summary
WI 1st Inns 272 (Weekes 70, Worrell 67; Hadlee 6-94)
NZL 1st Inns 325 (Donnelly 144, Turner 71, Cairns 44)
WI 2nd Inns 254 (Worrell 82, Sobers 67, Fredericks 47; Cowie 6-62)
NZL 2nd Inns 134 (Turner 57; Sobers 4-32)

WEST INDIES WON BY 67 RUNS

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

Close of play
Day 1 - West Indies 1st innings 259-9 (Hall 23*, Walsh 2*; 90 ov)
Day 2 - New Zealand 1st innings 306-7 (Donnelly 144*, Smith 0*; 82 ov)
Day 3 - West Indies 2nd innings 254 (75.4 ov)
Day 4 - New Zealand 2nd innings 134 (55.1 ov) - end of match

Notes
▪ Turner & Weekes both passed 3000 career runs

Man of the Match: MP Donnelly

New Zealand v West Indies - Tour Match

North Island v West Indians
McLean Park, Napier
3 Day Game
Umpires: FR Goodall & SJ Woodward
Toss: West Indians

North Island: BA Young, *GO Rabone, JF Reid, JM Parker, MJ Greatbatch, SA Thomson, BW Yuile, +FLH Mooney, DJ Nash, RS Cunis, GB Troup.
West Indians: RC Fredericks, DL Haynes, RB Kanhai, EdeC Weekes, FMM Worrell, *GStA Sobers, +PJL Dujon, WW Hall, CC Griffith, J Garner, CEH Croft.

Both camps praised the ground staff at McLean Park for producing a good cricket wicket ahead of West Indies' tour match against Geoff Rabone's North Islanders, but bat very much dominated ball on day one as the tourists rattled up an impressive total of 361-5. Des Haynes led the way with an authoritative 105, and once he was run out by substitute fielder Jeff Crowe it was Everton Weekes that came to the fore, posting a partnership of 106 with erstwhile captain Frank Worrell on his way to a chanceless, undefeated 127.

Everton Weekes looked in great
touch ahead of the first Test

Current skipper Garry Sobers declared overnight, and runs were far harder to come by on the second day as the hosts stuttered their way to a score of 216-6 by the close. Griffith delivered an impressive opening spell to help reduce the innings to a rocky 31-3, but the middle order rallied around the stoic presence of Mark Greatbatch, who completed a hard-earned century on the third and final morning after almost six hours at the crease. His innings was not without controversy though; he appeared to have been trapped absolutely plumb in front by Garner when on 66, but umpire Woodward refused to heed the West Indians' vehement appeals, and from that point on the atmosphere out in the middle remained decidedly thorny.

Mark Greatbatch's resolute century held
West Indies at bay for over six and a half hours

Indeed, the applause from the fielders when Greatbatch finally reached his hundred was decidedly muted, and one had to feel for the stocky left-hander as his reprieve on the previous day was hardly of his own doing. North Island's innings finally closed on 289, Frank Mooney having contributed a delightful 57 in support of Greatbatch, and despite a second declaration of the match by Sobers at tea after a brief West Indian second innings, the game was destined for a draw. The tourists did manage to capture four wickets in the final session, but Young and Parker batted together for an hour and a half to blunt the pace barrage that was sent their way, and Test skipper John Reid will be hoping to see the same levels of resolve from his batsmen when the first Test gets underway in Wellington.

Score Summary
WI 1st Inns 361-5 dec. (Weekes 127*, Haynes 105, Worrell 48)
NI 1st Inns 289 (Greatbatch 108, Mooney 57)
WI 2nd Inns 89-2 dec.
NI 2nd Inns 53-4

MATCH DRAWN

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

Close of Play

Day 1 - West Indians 1st innings 361-5 (Weekes 127*, Dujon 12*; 95 ov)
Day 2 - North Island 1st innings 216-6 (Greatbatch 84*, Mooney 18*; 71 ov)
Day 3 - North Island 2nd innings 53-4 (27.2 ov) - end of match

New Zealand v West Indies - Series Preview

If one discounts Sri Lanka, who arrive in Aotearoa for two Tests immediately following West Indies' departure, this is the ultimate 'top vs bottom' match-up; New Zealand have never won an ATG series in fifteen attempts, emerging victorious in just five Tests out of fifty in that time, whilst West Indies have won their last six series and have sat comfortably at the top of the rankings since taking over from England at the start of the current season.

New Zealand surrendered rather meekly in their most recent series in South Africa and West Indies ran out 4-1 winners when the sides met in the Caribbean last season, but if truth be told New Zealand could, and perhaps should, have won three of those Tests, and consequently the Blackcaps will be entering into this series with positive intentions and a feeling of unfinished business. Chris Cairns should make his long awaited debut after being forced to pull out of the South Africa Tests with injury, and John Reid has been retained as skipper, at least for the first half of the New Zealand summer.

John Reid needs results in order to
hold on to the New Zealand captaincy

With this series sandwiched between a tough tour of South Africa and a full five Test engagement at home against India, a number of players have either been rested or omitted for reasons of form and fitness by the West Indies' selectors, most notably Viv Richards and Malcolm Marshall. Charlie Griffith is included in a West Indian squad for the first time, whilst recalls are given to Frank Worrell, Clyde Walcott, Sonny Ramadhin, Wes Hall, Andy Roberts and Colin Croft, with Worrell included for the first time since losing the captaincy following West Indies' 4-0 humiliation at home to Pakistan at the end of season 3.

Whether West Indies are taking their opponents too lightly remains to be seen, but even with such changes in personnel their squad is still strong, and anything other than a series victory for Garry Sobers' side would have to be seen as one of the biggest shocks in the history of ATG cricket.

Current form (most recent result first)
New Zealand DLLWL
West Indies LWWDL

Previous series result
West Indies 4 New Zealand 1 (Season V, 5 Tests)

The three Ws have played together just
once previously in West Indies' ATG history

West Indies Squad
GStA Sobers (c), RB Kanhai (v/c), CEH Croft, PJL Dujon, RC Fredericks, J Garner, CC Griffith, WW Hall, DL Haynes, S Ramadhin, AME Roberts, CL Walcott, CA Walsh, EdeC Weekes, FMM Worrell.

Itinerary
- Tour Match v North Island (Napier)
- 1st TEST (Wellington)
- 2nd TEST (Christchurch)
- 3rd TEST (Auckland)