New Zealand vs West Indies 1st Test, Day 2: New Zealand captain Kane Williamson played a captain’s stroke against the West Indies in the opening innings of Test 1, putting the host in a dominant position on Friday at Seddon Park.
The 30-year-old played a magnificent shot of 251 runs that comprised 34 limits and two sixes. This was its third double century and interestingly enough, its last double ton also arrived at the same location last year.
With this sumptuous hit, Williamson also reached his new highest score in test cricket.
“Third double ton for Kane Williamson. His last Double 100 also came in Hamilton, in 2019, ”ICC tweeted.
Former West Indies cricketer Ian Bishop praised Williamson’s hit, writing: “Kane Williamson’s technical hitting prowess is out of this world.”
While former Indian cricketer Wasim Jaffer tweeted: “The court was green enough for goats to graze, A GOAT came, and what a grace! #KaneWilliamson #NZvWI ”.
Earlier Thursday, Jaffer had said that seeing Williamson’s bat is “therapeutic.”
New Zealand declared their first inning at 519/7 against the West Indies. Aside from Williamson’s innings, the knockout of Tom Latham (86) and Kyle Jamieson (51) helped New Zealand put a massive total on the board.
NZ vs WI: Day 1 how it happened:
Williamson and starter Tom Latham scored a brilliant half century as New Zealand dominated the proceedings on the opening day of the first Test against the West Indies to be played at Seddon Park.
At the end of the day’s play, the Black Caps were well placed 243/2 with Williamson and Ross Taylor hitting the crease at 97 and 31 respectively.
Previously, West Indies captain Jason Holder won the toss and chose to field on a pitch that seemed to have a lot of help for pacemakers. His decision came off right when Shannon Gabriel drew the first blood, sending Will Young back to the locker room after the rookie scored five 11-ball runs.
Bowlers from the West Indies, however, came back strong in the final session and showed much more consistency in their lengths by throwing full bowls, on stumps and asking pertinent questions.
Latham landed on one of those nice balls thrown by Kemar Roach when he was wiped through the gate as he tried to pull away from his body with huge momentum after scoring 86 runs.
Taylor, who came in afterward, made sure the visitors didn’t make any more forays, as he and the skipper added 75 runs to the scoreboard to bring the team’s score to 243/2 at Stumps. Williamson is only three short of what his 22nd test hundred would be.
