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December 21, 2025
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December 20, 2025
West Indies 420 (Hodge 123*, King 63, Duffy 4-86) and 43 for 0 (King 37*, Campbell 2*) need another 419 runs to beat New Zealand 575 for 8 dec and 306 for 2 dec (Latham 101, Conway 100, Hodge 2-80).
It was a sense of déjà vu as Devon Conway and Tom Latham seemingly batted West Indies out of the match for the second time in the space of four days. But the visiting openers, Brandon King and John Campbell, once again put on a defiant stand, taking their side to stumps unscathed and still 419 runs away from their target.
Conway and Latham, who added 323 runs for the first wicket in the first innings, racked up centuries again as they put on a 192-run opening stand in New Zealand’s second dig, helping set West Indies a target of 462 on a testing pitch with uneven bounce.
In doing so, Conway and Latham became the first pair of openers in first-class cricket history to score twin centuries in the same match. Their efforts, along with a blistering 72-run partnership off just 37 balls between Kane Williamson and Rachin Ravindra, helped New Zealand extend their dominance after taking a 155-run first-innings lead earlier in the day by bowling out West Indies for 420.
Kavem Hodge, who finished unbeaten on a career-best 123, provided the only two breakthroughs in New Zealand’s second innings, removing the prolific openers with the help of some outstanding catching by Jayden Seales in the deep.
The pitch offered deceptive bounce. One delivery from Hodge stayed so low to Latham that it nearly bounced twice before reaching him, while a length ball from Jacob Duffy reared up on Anderson Phillip to take the shoulder of his bat for the first wicket of the day. The very next ball, a bouncer stayed low and struck Shai Hope on the abdomen, compounding his discomfort after missing the previous two days with food poisoning.
The day began with Duffy removing Phillip and Hope in his first two overs. While Phillip was undone by extra bounce, Hope attempted to pull a well-directed short ball and top-edged it to long leg. Like Phillip, however, Seales showed resistance, putting in a solid rearguard effort.
Hodge, though, allowed the tail to face a significant portion of the bowling. Of the 69 balls faced during his 29-run partnership with Seales, Seales accounted for 53. When Ajaz Patel bowled Seales with a slider, Hodge took a single off the first ball of the next over before Michael Rae induced an edge from Kemar Roach with the very next delivery to end the innings.
Roach, who had walked off injured on the first day, did not bowl on the second day and was again unable to contribute during New Zealand’s second innings.
With the bounce at its most awkward with the new ball, Conway and Latham began cautiously, with Seales looking particularly threatening. Conway struck the first boundary with a glorious cover drive and soon began finding the off side more regularly. While Latham was content to play a supporting role early on, Conway took charge of the scoring.
Against the seamers, Conway scored freely through the off side, while against Roston Chase’s off spin he used his feet effectively to launch the ball over the leg side. He brought up his half-century from just 63 balls.
Latham eventually shifted gears after crawling to 18 off 52 deliveries. His only boundary up to that point had come via an under-edge through Tevin Imlach’s legs, but he then struck Chase for back-to-back boundaries to begin the 21st over. He used the sweep well and continued to advance down the pitch with intent.
When Seales returned, Latham drove him through the covers first ball before following up with a pick-up pull over fine leg for six. He then dispatched a Glenn Phillips long hop to the long-leg boundary to reach his half-century from 77 balls.
A boundary drought of 49 balls followed, during which Conway became the first New Zealand batter to follow a double century with a century in the same Test. In the final over before tea, Latham struck 6, 4, 4 off Phillips – including a no-ball – in an 18-run over.
West Indies finally found some respite in the first over after tea when Conway failed to get enough distance attempting to launch Hodge over midwicket. Seales sprinted to his left, caught the ball above his head, tossed it in the air while crossing the boundary rope, and completed the catch after leaping back inside.
Latham went on to find the boundary a few more times on his way to a 16th Test century before miscuing a hoick off Hodge, with Seales again diving to take the catch at deep midwicket.
It was an unusual day for Williamson. Normally so elegant and composed, he repeatedly tied himself in knots, particularly while attempting the reverse sweep with abandon. On several occasions, he committed so early to the shot that he ended up playing straight drives down the ground like a left-hander when bowlers saw him setting up and pitched the ball full.
Even when attempting to slog or charge down the track, Williamson struggled for rhythm, though he kept the scoreboard ticking. He struck one six and two fours in a brisk 40 off 37 balls.
Ravindra, meanwhile, found it easier to dominate Chase and Hodge, consistently lofting them between midwicket and long-off.
King and Campbell, who put on 111 in the first innings, once again gave West Indies a solid platform. While there remains a long way to go in the match, the fact that West Indies will begin the fifth day with all ten wickets intact will offer them a significant boost.
Campbell began watchfully, while King was more enterprising against the new ball. By the time Campbell got off the mark from the 21st ball he faced, King had raced to 35 off 27, featuring several crisp drives through the off side.
As the ball softened and New Zealand turned to spin, King curbed his attacking instincts and, together with Campbell, safely negotiated the remainder of the session. They set up a fifth day where, remarkably, the game could still go either way. (ESPNcricinfo)
