West Indies in New Zealand, 2013-14

The West Indies are touring New Zealand to play 3 tests, 5 ODIs and 2 T-20Is.
The 2 captains, Brendon McCullum and Darren Sammy are facing questions regarding their leadership and place in the side. Both teams are struggling for consistency. But hopefully the battle of the 2 sides in the bottom part of the test ladder would produce some exciting cricket.
West Indies are missing Kemar Roach and Chris Gayle with injuries. Sunil Narine has been added to the test squad as Shane Shillingford's bowling action is under scrutiny.

The series to kick start in a few hours, with the first of the 3 tests. West Indies are already without Chris Gayle and Kemar Roach, lost to injuries, and replacement opener Kraigg Brathwaite hasn't arrived as yet due to delay in processing his travel documents. Shane Shillingford's bowling action is under the scanner, and if he's not in a good space mentally to play, Sunil Narine might play. New Zealand also aren't without concerns. Kane Williamson, one of the mainstays of the batting unit, and a handy more than parttime bowler hasn't completely recovered from a thumb injury and won't play the first test. Aaron Redmond is getting an opportunity in the side after a 5 year gap. Jesse Ryder had some minor injuries that kept him out of the tour game before the test and couldn't be considered, and Daniel Vettori hasn't regained match fitness for test match cricket as yet.

yet agian Vettori's injured again, but amazingly fit enough to take part in the entire big bash!! He may as well retire from international cricket...cant remeber the last time he played for NZ......#moveon

New Zealand ended day 1 of the first test at a commanding 367-3. Their best batsman, Ross Taylor, has managed to go pass flashy 50s to post a hundred, he is unbeaten on 103. After a very lean time with the bat of late, skipper Brendon McCullum found form at last and smashed his way to 109 not out. Taylor and McCullum have added 182 so far, and the solid platform provided by openers Peter Fulton and Hamish Rutherford helped them a lot. Rutherford made a quick 62 before holding out to Narsingh Deonarine of Shillingford, it was an excellent catch from Deonarine. Fulton played at a ball that he could have left alone and edged behind of Sammy for 61. Aaron Redmond, getting a game in place of the injured Kane Williamson, couldn't take advantage of the opportunity he got or the start he managed as he picked out Gully of a widish delivery from Tino Best to go for 20.
Already, everything's down to Chanderpaul and Samuels for the West Indies, every other contribution is a bonus, and hopefully there will be a bit of that bonus coming in, otherwise another humiliation is on the cards.

McCullum gone early

An unbeaten double hundred (217) from Ross Taylor helped NZ build a massive first innings score of 609-9. After conceding a mammoth, West Indies need a strong start from the top order, but Kirk Edwards and Kieran Powell didn't trouble New Zealand much as Boult and Southee got into the act with the new ball right away. After the openers went for single figures, Darren Bravo 37 not out and Marlon Samuels 14 not out took them to 67-2 at close.

West Indies were bowled out for 213 in their first innings, conceding a massive 396 run first innings lead to New Zealand. Brendon McCullum then enforced the follow-on. Kieran Powell went early, but Kirk Edwards made 59 and Darren Bravo is battingg on 72 as they reached a much more solid, much more respectable 168-2 at close. The West first innings extended thus far all because of their 39 year old young man Shivnarine Chanderpaul who topscored with 76. Bravo made 40. Tim Southee took 4 wickets while his new ball partner Trend Boult picked up 3. Leggy Ish Sodhi took 2 wickets. Sodhi and Boult shared the 2 2nd innings wickets.

finally Kirk Edwards makes some test match runs!!

Gotta feel a little sorry for Shiv Chanderpaul.

A truly great player playing in such a terrible side.

Shiv joined the 11,000 club and still received no support.

With regards to the Black Caps. Trent Boult looks a real talent. And Timmy Southee is getting better all the time.

It's funny Ishant and Southee debuted at the same time. Southee went off the boil but has come back excellently.

Those two will cause the Indians a lot of problems in their Test series.

The windies are in dire straits as a cricketing nation, and have been for some time...the fast bowling appears to be in terminal decline.

The West Indies do have a quality bowler in Roach. The likes of Rampaul are decent options. But its the batting that is the real problem. There is Chanderpaul, then daylight, then Samuels, Gayle and the younger Bravo, and all of them need to be far more consistent. Beyond them, there is nothing. Kraigg Brathwaite is promising, but he's not picked.

Gayle is an IPL specialist these days.

Sigh...different day, same old rubbish.

A quite brilliant century by Darren Bravo.

His 5th a Test century and all 5 have been away from home.

He's a very fine player...Baby Lara...

The 4th day of the first test belonged to Darren Bravo. He converted his half-century into a big ton, a double ton at that, and batted through the day to remain not out at 210. Marlon Samuels was out quite early in the day, and for a change, Chanderpaul had a failer when he was out for only 1. But Bravo then received support from Narsingh Deonarine who made 52, Denesh Ramdin 24 and skipper Darren Sammy 44 not out. With all that effort, West Indies have moved into the lead, ending the day at 443-6, ahead by 47.

Is this the moment Darren Bravo "arrives"?

from a no hope......to rays of hope of forcing a draw.....WI have turned this around significantly.......a draw for WI here will be a moral win for them and one of the big cricketing milestones of 2013 before it closes

Before Bravo's knock today, the last man to score a double hundred in a follow-on innings was VVS Laxman. The result of that game is legendary!.

the game situation is techincally 47-6 so NZ still huge favs..however Shilly can bat, and you cant forget tino's 99 at edgbaston

Windies are diffrent from real minnows.....because any day they can hit such a high and knock out the top and the best.
well done here to come from so far back and force a draw.

Why was Bravo not the MoM beats my logic

West Indies extended their 2nd innings to 507, setting New Zealand a target of 112. When New Zealand, after losing 4 early wickets recovered to 79-4, the rain arrived and then it never really went away, washing out a major chunk that eventually forced the game to a draw. So Bravo's double ton continued the tradition of double tons in follow-on innings always preventing defeat.

The 2nd test got underway today. West Indies put New Zealand in after winning the toss, but the toss was the only thing they got right today. They kept bowling short on a wicket that rewarded a fuller length, and then when they somehow managed a fuller length, the fielders kept dropping catches. The end result was a score of 307-6 at close for NZ. The hero of the day yet again was Ross Taylor, who after being dropped on 0, went on to score 129. Taylor gave a couple more chances after crossing his hundred, but it was the 4th chance that was eventually taken. On a track that offered some life for the seamers, the West Indies spinners bowled more than a 3rd of the day's overs, showing how poorly the WI quicks bowled.

just noticed Corey Anderson batting 6 for NZ...surely thats 1 possibly 2 places too high..

NZ, thanks to a responsible half-century from wicketkeeper BJ Watling and useful contributions from the lower order, Tim Southee 21, Ish Sodhi 27 and Trend Boult 38 pushed their first innings score up to 441. By close of day, they then managed to take out 4 West Indies wickets. Kirk Edwards made a half-century, and Marlon Samuels also has reached an unbeaten 50, but Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Darren Bravo failed. West Indies ended the day at 158-4, with Narsingh Deonarine giving Samuels company.

Trent Boult cleans up the WI tail this morning and finishes with 6/40... and an economy of 2.63

WI All Out 193 after 49.5 overs. A lead of 248 runs and NZ have enforced the follow on.

This kid Boult looks a real talent.

I wonder what he'll do against the much hyped Indian line up in January.

Windies crumbling badly. losing wickets. 6, 7, 8 for two runs.

KP_fan wrote:from a no hope......to rays of hope of forcing a draw.....WI have turned this around significantly.......a draw for WI here will be a moral win for them and one of the big cricketing milestones of 2013 before it closes

Brought down to Earth with a bump....
  
Lost the second by an innings.

windies are bloody awful, they really are!

Boult finished with 10 in the match as West Indies lost by an innings inside 3 days, they are becoming the champions of 3 day finishes!. Really pathetic.
Brendon McCullum has at last led his side to a test win, after a year in charge. McCullum and coach Hesson can feel a bit of relief now.

NZ should have been 2-0 up now. They were very unlucky in Dunedin.

What about Boult's catch? Wow!!!

no suprise Shane Shillingford banned by the ICC from bowling...the guy has a seriously obvious chuck!

So Sunil Narine should be returning to test cricket after almost a year?

Or Nikita Miller..

The 3rd test started today.
West Indies, put into bat, ended the day at 289-6. After both openers made a start, West Indies had a typical collapse as they plunged from 77-1 to 86-5. But Shivnarine Chanderpaul was not one of those 5, and then he set about doing what often has to de, yet another damage control operation. This time he had wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin for company. Ramdin made 107 before getting out towards the end of the day but Shiv is still there on 94 at stumps and their efforts have given the West Indies a decent total. If Darren Sammy can show some common sense and support Chanderpaul, then 350 or even 400 is not beyond reach.
For New Zealand, Corey Anderson took 3 wickets while Tim Southee picked up 2.

Shivnarine Chanderpaul made an unbeaten 122, his 29th test hundred, and number 10 Veerasammy Permaul made 20 and Tino Best at 11 made 25 as West Indies pushed their first innings score to 367, marking a remarkable recovery from 86-5. Tim Southee took 4 wickets for New Zealand and Corey Anderson took 3.
Sunil Narine, returning to test cricket after almost a year, creaed some serious problems for the New Zealand batsmen, though resolute half-centuries from Kane Williamson (58) and Ross Taylor (56 not out) ensured Nerine could take only 2 wickets despite bowling pretty well. Narine was ripping the ball across both Brendon McCullum and Taylor when Stumps came much to the relief of New Zealand. McCullum reached 11 at stumps, and he and Taylor will have to carry New Zealand batting tomorrow.

Sammy has been very econimical again, but still a lack of wickets from him, and as usual no runs from him...and in a 4man attack with only 2 seamers, that aint good enough..

Sammy is not good enough. End of story.

why on earth are the windies playing 2 spinners in a test in NZ?! #headsgone

CF wrote:why on earth are the windies playing 2 spinners in a test in NZ?! #headsgone

They play Sammy and make him captain too don't they?
The pitch isn't really an absolute seamer track. More importantly, the West Indies seamers have been bowling pretty poorly in the absence of Kemar Roach. Narine has created more troubles for the New Zealand batsmen, more than what the seamers have managed across the 3 games so far. Even Permaul kept things tight from his end.

Ross Taylor scored his 3rd hundred in as many tests, but the comeback man Sunil Narine celebrated with 6-91 in a 42 over spell as West Indies managed to take an 18 run first innings lead. Despite Taylor's hundred, New Zealand were bowled out for 349 as Narine dominated the middle and lower order. But the West Indies batsmen managed to throw it all away in a session of absolute ineptness, 4th rate, pathetic, obnoxious batting display as they neatly gave in for 103 in their 2nd innings as Trent Boult took 4, Tim Southee 3, Niel Wagner 2 and Corey Anderson 1 wickets. New Zealand ended the day at 6 without loss, needing another 116 to win the match and the series. West Indies would need Narine to create some massive magic and the New Zealand batsmen to replicate some of the West Indies' ineptness.
Inspirational Sammy's side is a disgrace to the glorious past of the West Indies, and they don't even worth being mentioned along with Zimbabwe and Bangladesh.

Predictably poor batting performance by Windies.  They can't go far without a spectacular batting collapse.

New Zealand completed a chase of 121 without much fuss as opener Hamish Rutherford made an unbeaten 48 and Kane Williamson made his 2nd 50 of the game. New Zealand won by 8 wickets to take the series 2-0. Ross Taylor, who has been at his very best with the bat in this series was along Rutherford when the winning runs were scored.
Sunil Narine bowled very well and troubled Rutherford a lot but the New Zealand opener tempered his Shot a Minute approach and fought his way through. Williamson was quite fluent in his 53, hitting Veerasammy Permaul out of the attack in his first spell and handling Tino Best without any trouble whatsoever.

important knock that from Rutherford..needed runs, and being not out there will do him the world of good..

A series win and NZ will definitely take that rare series victory. The same problems are there though. Williamson gets a 50 but doesn't push on. Take out both of Taylor's innings and the batting still seems brittle.

NZ show that if they can get a key contribution in the bat and the ball, they can trouble sides. They have shown though with their batting that in can all fold in like a house of cards and take them out of the match. Test cricket always needs runs to be scored at some stage to give your bowlers some confidence to set their traps and keep to the plan. Too often NZ take a limited overs approach to the game and get out with reckless shots, often committing the cardinal sin of giving up their wicket when they're set.

Looking forward to India visiting and seeing if this series win gives the players confidence. India won't gift matches like the Windies did with their batting. NZ showed they're also vulnerable to spin rather than pace on these slower wickets.

Luke Ronchi is a seriously bad player,ive never seen or heard of him scoring any runs!

In a game of collapses, West Indies collapsed just a little bit less, and thanks to an attacking 43 from Darren Sammy, pulled off a chase of only 156 with 8 wickets down. Jesse Ryder was out for a duck in his comeback innings, but other than the McCullum brothers, Sammy and Lendl Simmons, there was very little contribution with the bat from the rest of the players from both sides.

Apparently this is the worst West Indies side ever. As bad as England's tour to Australia has been this is getting absurd now.

Anderson hit the fastest ever century in limited over cricket of any type and Ryder the sixth fastest despite still being in recovery from his near fatal beating. McCollum racked up his 33 even more quickly in just 11 balls. Rampaul hit for 21 an over.

West Indies reply came at considerably less than half the asking rate.


Yet another complete spanking. And you can't even blame sammy for this one. New Zealand aren't that good are they?

Corey Anderson looked good when he travelled to India with the A-side-

and not that we are about to travel to NZ.....they are finding super-touch

Who knows ? Perhaps this is to be the Year of the