The West Indies collapse was predictable, as it has happened so very often in the last couple of decades. The West Indies of old does not exist anymore and the newer version is a parody of the glorious older generation of cricketers. The ones who instilled fear and awe in the hearts of the rivals. This version is so bereft of any fight that a collapse is always on the cards.
On Monday, eight wickets fell for only 25 runs as New Zealand cruised to a 323-run victory and wrapped up the three-Test series 2-0 ahead of the Christmas break. For New Zealand, it’s a home summer wrapped up in style, despite injuries to their fast-bowling department.
Jacob Duffy was the hero for the hosts as he claimed five for 42 and took over Sir Richard Hadlee’s record for most wickets in a calendar year for New Zealand and pushing Trent Boult off the top spot for damage done in a single home series. Duffy had three five-wicket hauls in the series. He broke a 40-year-old national record by surpassing Hadlee’s tally of 80 wickets in a calendar year.
“To be up there, it’s pretty special. It’s been a cool year, been good fun,” said Duffy, who was named Player of the Series, about going past the legendary Hadlee.
You can’t say no to the skipper. He keeps asking me to bowl and you can’t say no. It’s also a privilege that he trusts me,” Duffy said on his bowling workload. “I think when you bowl so many overs you get them eventually. It’s just about playing simple cricket. Good quality time off now, looking forward to not bowling for a while,” he added.
The batting heroes for the Black Caps were openers Devon Conway and Tom Latham. The pair struck centuries in both innings to become the first duo to achieve this feat in First Class cricket. Conway was named Player of the Match for his superlative effort. “I don’t think it’s set in yet. Will take some time to register what happened in this game. Thankfully we got the better of the conditions, batting on Day 1. I always talk about my mindset, keeping a positive approach and just trying to do my job for the team. If I get some time to go play other leagues that’s great for me, but always keep myself available for New Zealand,” he said.
It has been a terrific series for skipper Latham. He said that they were a bit unsure of the kind of team they wanted to have on this surface, but it turned out to be very well with the one they had for this game. “You go back to Day 1, we were a little unsure about the team we wanted in terms of the balance. But throughout these five days, we were clinical. For us it was about trying to stay in there for long periods of time. if you can get one wicket, you can create more opportunities as it’s a hard pitch to start on with the variable bounce. And we got rewards in clumps, and we saw that later on today as well. I think any time you face adversity through injuries, you look at the personnel we have got and guys making debuts, guys playing their first games at home and different guys, you see it’s a collective effort and not just a few guys. Obviously really pleasing. The more experience we can build into different guys it’s good news for New Zealand cricket. Obviously, it’s a good marker for how we want to operate. This surface was different from what we usually play on so to be able to adapt is good,” Latham said.
Another sorry story for West Indies
For the visitors it was another sorry game and series. There were bright moments but, on the whole, it was another predictable loss for Roston Chase and his men. West Indies, in periods, showed fight on this tour, but in the end, their visit ended on a whimper. They made 87 runs without losing a wicket in the second innings of the match but then lost all 10 for 51.
“Tough series. We played good in patches but not in long enough periods and it showed in the results. Two of the first pitches were similar but I thought this one was drastically different from the last two. Having to adapt quick is something we can take away from this tour. Having Kemar (Roach) back in the side, all the guys were very happy to have him back. Lots of experience and lots of wickets. Having him was a big plus and he led from the front on and off the pitch, so guys were happy to have him. I think we need to firstly know when moments are up for grabs and then nail those moments. That’s one area we can improve on, and we could have had different results in all three games,” Chase said after the game.
West Indies went from 87 for 0 to 112 for 8 to 138 all out with Shai Hope exemplifying their state of mind, out to a full toss without playing a shot on 3 off 78.
Brandon King made an enterprising half-century but from there West Indies’ scorecard gave way to eight straight single-digit scores, including Chase’s 5 off 26. The captain ended the tour with 42 runs at an average of 7. He might not have been able to protect himself even if he had been in form because his wicket, caught fending at second slip, was the work of an accurate bowler generating vicious bounce off a length. Duffy was the perfect weapon for New Zealand.
Duffy and Ajaz bowled nearly 70% of New Zealand’s overs in the final innings. The left-arm spinner went unchanged from the moment he was introduced into the attack on the fifth day (29-18-23-3). Together they were undeniable.
New Zealand took the series 2-0 and climbed to second place on the World Test Championship table.
Brief scores: New Zealand 575/8 declared & 306/2 declared beat West Indies 420 & 138 (Brandon King 67; Jacob Duffy 5/42, Ajaz Patel 3/23).
