Live cricket updates: Black Caps v West Indies, third day of the second test at Basin Reserve

All the action between the Black Caps and West Indies in Test 2.

Day 2 Report: By Dylan Cleaver:

Deep down, when Kyle Jamieson hit Jermaine Blackwood on the pads, looking for his second hat-trick of a golden summer, he knew the ball was missing.

“Yes, yes, I did,” he said with a smile.

Still, he wasn’t about to tell captain Tom Latham, who wasted a review on what was possibly the only misstep New Zealand has made in this test.

“It was more of a crowd game. It was a great atmosphere. We thought, ‘Why not? Let’s try it,’ but unfortunately he did too much.”

That one didn’t turn out the way he wanted it, but five did. After helping to crush the spirits of the West Indies with the bat as New Zealand swooped in to score runs in the morning session, Jamieson came back to end any hope with 5-34 in 13 overs where he felt like every ball could claim a wicket.

With Tim Southee doing Tim Southee stuff (3-29), New Zealand now has an unassailable position in this event that could end tomorrow and it certainly won’t last five short of a miracle or an unexpected weather bomb.

When a series is as one-sided as this, it’s tempting to dismiss the opposition as flawed, but it increasingly feels like a disservice to the Black Caps. They have been a monster that has relentlessly and mercilessly crushed any ambitions that the West Indies, which won a test in England this winter, might have harbored.

They have done this by building large first-entry totals in green fields by building partnerships around a grand entry.

They have done it by playing bowling in pairs; swinging the ball when it’s there to be hit and hitting the court in the right areas at the right pace when it’s not.

They’ve done it, aside from a bad session at Hamilton, holding on to most of the things that fly through the air.

The West Indies now appear completely disheartened. Coach Phil Simmons showed a helpless figure late in the game and could only offer a “we have to hit better” as a means of answer.

Blackwood’s robust half-century was the only thing that stood between the West Indies and total capitulation.

They are far from being a well-oiled machine, but even if they were, they are unlikely to be able to keep up with a team that is not only happier, but more talented.

However, 24 hours ago they could have felt like they had a finger on this test, and therefore on the series. They needed fast windows with the second new ball, but it didn’t happen.

“It started with our hitting effort,” Jamieson noted. “That first hour was crucial, not missing a wicket and the way Wags and Henry [Nicholls] putting the icing on the cake prepared us to go out and play. “

Ah yes, Neil Wagner.

He walked to the fold at 359-8 with the kind of energy in his stride that you would associate with a teenager who has just been called by his girlfriend with the news that his parents are out for the night.

He dropped 42 balls later with 66 not eliminated, his first test 50 and somehow managed to overshadow Nicholls’ high score in the test of 174.

“It was great entertainment for everyone, first for the crowd and then for us in the locker room,” Jamieson said. “I was nervous when he came out [for lunch] in 48 not out. He had Trent Boult and Southee on his ear giving him a bit of a stick. “

Those three, whose fortunes often seem tied to the ball, can now claim a test of half a century.

However, it is for bowling that they are paid and they have a fourth musketeer in their club.

“It’s great to be part of a four-pronged attack, but I [consider] “I’m the fourth striker myself,” Jamieson said. “You look at Tim, Trent and Wags and the way they have gone about their business in the last [decade] And it has been nothing short of world class.

“First of all, being in the environment around those guys you learn so much from and going in and playing with what those guys are doing makes my job a little easier. I find myself very lucky to play on the same team as those guys.

“Three of the best rapids in New Zealand”.

They have more bowling to do before this is over, but it is not decided if they will rest first.

Tom Latham is almost certain to face a decision tomorrow morning on whether to enforce the continuation. It feels almost academic; the result, barring an unforeseen miracle, will be the same in both directions.