BARBADOS: New Zealand faced an extended session with West Indies sitting on a useful overnight foundation. Starting well was imperative and the visitors did that in addition to sticking to their plans. West Indies were 53 runs from eclipsing the lead, and lunch was minutes away when they suffered their biggest blow with the dogged Shivnarine Chanderpaul becoming the third victim of the morning.
Inventive fields and consistency from the bowlers made for an absorbing session. The abrasive pitch sapped most of the pace off the ball and the search for wickets led Brendon McCullum to play hot potato with his close-in fielders. It started with twin gullies for Darren Bravo, then twin short covers, and as the batsman continued to drive on the up, a third short cover.
Bravo took on the challenge. Two fours were conceded before Neil Wagner duped him with a slower ball that drew him a little too far outside the off stump. Williamson at gully completed a good catch and the visitors celebrated an astute plan coming off.
Wagner and Tim Southee were adamant in keeping the ball up to the batsman. If the ball stopped in the pitch, silly mid-ons and short midwickets lay in wait for the miscued drive. The short ball was used as a surprise weapon as Chanderpaul found out against Wagner, whose accuracy was remarkable.
It did help New Zealand that even set batsmen like Kirk Edwards had trouble regaining their stride. He had to contend with the bowlers targeting the stumps. His strokeplay was restrained and a simple defensive push skimmed across the turf to usher him to his half-century. However, pushing on from the mark has been a problem in recent times. The last three times he had reached this far, he could not reach 60. Southee ensured the continuation of that trend by generating reverse swing in his second spell. The flick off the legs ended up as a leading edge that swirled in the air before Hamish Rutherford held a well-judged catch.
Trent Boult was held back until the 10th over of the morning and extracted some zip off the deck. He enjoyed a hint of reverse swing as well and almost had Chanderpaul caught at short midwicket.
New Zealand created opportunities and if they couldn't they kept things tight. They would know West Indies' tail is long and traditionally brittle. The onus now is on the captain Denesh Ramdin to regain lost ground.
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