New Zealand 294 of 6 (Nicholls 117 *, Young 43, Mitchell 42, Gabriel 3-57, Chemar Holder 2-65) vs. West Indies
Henry Nicholls is unlikely to score a more scratchy, fortune-laden hundred, but runs are runs, and they’re worth even more when they come on a green platform that offers rhythm, bounce, and stitching motion. Nicholls’ innings ensured New Zealand wrested control of the second Test from the West Indies, who had started opening day on a positive note with their fast pitchers, led by Shannon Gabriel in their 50th Test, enjoying the help that It is offered in the Cuenca Reserve.
In stumps, New Zealand was 294 of 6, with Nicholls hitting 117.
Nicholls, who had arrived in the area about ten minutes before lunch, survived a difficult period at the start of the second session, when Alzarri Joseph peppered him with short balls over the gate, throwing into the left-hander’s blind spot off the stump of Leg. and attacking the area between the hip and the shoulder. There was a toe jerk that fell into no man’s land, a short leg catch that didn’t get caught by Shamarh Brooks, and a hooked six that could have been a long leg catch if Jermaine Blackwood had stayed on the rope. instead of moving about 10 yards inward.
Then Gabriel and rookie Chemar Holder, who had been a favorite of the West Indies bowlers before lunch, returned and created a series of opportunities that, another day, would have earned them more than one window between them. On this day, both Gabriel, with a long ball bent over him, and Chemar Holder, with a full one that straightened around the wicket, found the outside edge of Nicholls only for Darren Bravo to knock him down both times on the first slide.
Despite all the luck, there was a lot to admire about Nicholls’ tackles, especially his discipline off the stump, and the positive intention he showed when the ball was in his favorite areas: particularly against the short ball, ironically. As his innings progressed, he felt as if his first wobbles against that form of attack had led the West Indies to abuse him, wrongly, especially since his successes earlier in the day had come through full bowling.
Gabriel had been erratic early in the day, drifting too far and often too direct to concede 21 in his first two overs, but once he got into a groove, he kept asking New Zealand hitters tough questions.
Back at the top of the order after BJ Watling’s return, Tom Blundell gave the West Indies a clear challenge to pounce on him with his method of camping deep in the fold. Gabriel struck in the seventh, finding a length that carried Blundell half forward and threw him through the door with an inward jerk.
Tom Latham had laid the platform for a grand total for New Zealand in Hamilton with an 86 of 184 balls that was distinguished by his willingness to go long. There were even more rebounds available from Wellington, and Latham dropped a few balls that buzzed six inches over the top of the stump as he moved serenely, save for a hit to the elbow from a Gabriel pitch that rose from a length to 27.
But the West Indies were also more willing to try to get him to lead, even if it meant serving an occasional half volley. They found the perfect line and length for him in the sixth after the break, courtesy of Chemar Holder. The ball was full enough to induce momentum without being full enough to fuel the hit. Then he straightened up, and Latham, who was a little late to put his weight fully on his front foot, moved behind.
That wicket led Ross Taylor to the fold. Gabriel reappeared immediately, baffling Taylor with the seam movement and the extra bounce, hitting him in the chest before one straightened out in the hallway, producing a hard-handed jab that slid from behind.
At this point, New Zealand 78-for-3 and without Kane Williamson, 2.3 overs before lunch, it looked as if the West Indies were a bit ahead. But for the rest of the day they let go of their control. Aside from the overuse of the short ball, they would also have been disappointed in Jason Holder’s display. Although he threw more overs than any of his peers and ended the day as the only player with an economy rate below 3 and above, he presented surprisingly little threat under favorable conditions, often throwing a touch too short to get the edges, or one touch. too wide to make batters play.
Nicholls was aided in his efforts by three successive half-century positions. Will Young played a pair of flawless units on the ground, but endured a difficult time otherwise, with the West Indies rapids attacking his weakness of a short front-and-cross trigger movement that left him tied to the fold and in positions. vulnerable both against the full ball angled toward him and the ball up the aisle. Gabriel delivered the perfect example of the latter, laden with sewing, to finally end Young’s stay and pick up his 150th trial window.
By then he had added 70 with Nicholls, and the next two associations increased New Zealand’s score by 55 and 83 respectively. Watling hit 30 and looked perhaps the most fluid of New Zealand’s hitters before attacking Joseph, and Daryl Mitchell showed a lot of positive intent, especially against Roston’s scion Chase, to score 42 before being caught up front by a ball of Chemar. Holder.
By then, Nicholls had reached his sixth Test Hundred, snapping a 13-inning streak without a fifty. He became more and more confident in the crease without even looking completely fluid, and it seemed totally appropriate for him to turn up his hundred with a leading edge through a point while looking to pass the ball through the midwicket.
Karthik Krishnaswamy is a senior deputy editor at ESPNcricinfo
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