Christchurch: A mammoth effort from Justin Greaves, 202 not, and an unbeaten 58 from Kemar Roach helped West Indies pull off an epic draw against New Zealand in the first Test at Hagley Oval. Earlier, the West Indies created history, achieving the highest fourth-innings score in Test cricket on Saturday.
With a career-high score of 202 not out, batting all-rounder Justin Greaves led the Windies and briefly threatened to have the unachievable mark of 531 chased down. The Barbados right-hander is only the seventh player in Test history to score a double hundred in a match’s fourth innings. Pace bowler Kemar Roach (58*), who also recorded his best-ever innings from 86 Test matches, provided him with fitting support. On Day 5, he faced 233 balls on an extremely flat Christchurch pitch during his exhausting 282-minute stint.
With 5/78 in the Kiwis’ second innings, Roach, 37, became the fourth-oldest player in a Test to register both a five-wicket haul and a half-century in the same game. Shai Hope also scored a tonne earlier in the innings before getting removed for 140 off of Jacob Duffy’s bowling.
After chasing down Australia’s goal of 418 in 2003, the visitors ultimately fell 74 runs shy of the highest fourth-innings chase in Test cricket. The Windies’ fourth innings score is only surpassed by England’s 5/654 in the historic against South Africa back in 1939 a match that literally compelled the format to be shortened from timeless to no more than five days.
After lunch, the Kiwis had no wickets, but the on-field umpire gave Roach a major lifeline in the 143rd over when he was declared not out on a caught behind appeal. After using their three reviews for the innings without result, the hosts were left helpless as replays revealed he had actually hit the ball.
While fast bowler Jacob Duffy claimed eight wickets from 60.4 overs during the match, 43 of which were in the second innings, New Zealand off-spinner Michael Bracewell bowled an incredible 55 of the West Indies’ 163.3 overs in the fourth dig.
Brief scores: New Zealand 231 & 466/8 decl vs West Indies 167 & 457/6 (Justin Greaves 202*, Shai Hope 140, Kemar Roach 58*; Jacob Duffy 3-122) match drawn
(IANS)
