West Indies swept away Black Caps savour series whitewash
The Black Caps know they have bigger fish to fry come their test-cricket resumption at the end of the season, but for now they can happily dine out on a cracking start to their summer.
New Zealand romped to a 2-0 series whitewash over the woeful West Indies in Hamilton yesterday, coasting to a 240-run victory on day four at Seddon Park, as the tourists were bundled out for 203.
It followed similar scenes to the innings and 67-run win in the first test in Wellington, and the once dominant Windies have now become New Zealand’s most-conquered test enemy, nudging ahead of Sri Lanka, on 15 defeats.
It carries on quite the home test record this Black Caps side have fashioned in recent times – three sweeps in their past four series, 13 wins from their last 19 games (three draws, three losses), and a fifth successive unbeaten effort at Seddon Park (one draw).
Captain Kane Williamson cut a delighted figure post-match, as he summed up his side’s professional and clinical dismantling of the tourists, which has maintained New Zealand’s spot at No 4 in the test rankings, a place ahead of Australia.
‘‘Two very very good performances,’’ was how he described it. ‘‘The highlight would probably be how we adapted and stuck to our plans and executed those plans.
‘‘We knew coming up against this West Indies side, how talented they are. So we were expecting a tough challenge, but we were able to keep putting pressure on them with the ball and bat.’’
Sent in, New Zealand’s 373 was a real team effort, that 61-run 10th-wicket partnership between Tim Southee and Trent Boult being a turning point.
‘‘Lower order runs are so valuable,’’ Williamson said. ‘‘As a fielding unit when you see they’re nine down you’re certainly not banking on them putting on 50, that’s for sure.’’
Defeated skipper Kraigg Brathwaite agreed that stand on the second morning proved decisive.
‘‘Obviously that gave them a fair bit of momentum going into when they bowled,’’ he said.
Then, seemingly not taking enough lessons from the capital, the Windies folded for 221, which left the Black Caps an age to bat, Ross Taylor making the most of it, in scoring his record-equalling 17th test century to join Williamson and late mentor Martin Crowe atop the Kiwi charts.
‘‘He’s such a fine player, a world-class player, it was great he could achieve such a fantastic thing for himself and for the team as well,’’ Williamson said. ‘‘A 150-lead is a nice place to be but there’s still a lot of work to be done and he was a huge part of that and a lot of sentimental value in it as well for Ross.’’
In setting the Windies a wouldbe world-record 444 with more than two days to play, it was then just a matter of what time the curtains would be drawn.
Trent Boult became the sixth New Zealander to take 200 test wickets, and while Roston Chase’s 64 and Raymon Reifer (29 off 109 balls) delayed the inevitable for a while, poor old double hit-wicket victim Sunil Ambris retired hurt with a fractured arm, Neil Wagner picked up three scalps to finish top of the series stakes with 14, and Mitchell Santner wrapped things up in successive deliveries.