New Zealand crushed West Indies by 323 runs on Monday to win the third Test at Mount Maunganui and seal a 2-0 series victory, with Jacob Duffy’s five-wicket haul proving crucial.
The hosts set a target of 462 and bowled out the tourists for 138, wrapping up the innings four overs after tea following a dramatic collapse either side of lunch.
Duffy finished with 5-42 and was backed up by Ajaz Patel, who claimed 3-23, while opener Brandon King top-scored for West Indies with 67.
New Zealand’s Devon Conway scored 227 and 100 in two innings, while captain Tom Latham scored 137 and 101 — the first opening pair in first-class cricket history to score twin centuries in the same match — to set up the win.
The series began with a draw in Christchurch, before New Zealand won the second Test in Wellington.
“It was a pretty clinical performance,” Latham said. “Winning the toss, batting first, being able to get close to 600, the perfect blueprint.
“And then obviously doing what we did with the ball… guys sort of playing the way that they did was obviously really pleasing,” he said.
Seamer Duffy and spinner Patel posed constant danger to both edges of the bat on a cracked surface that offered uneven movement and bounce.
West Indies collapsed from 87-0 to 112-8 either side of lunch after starting the day on 43-0.
King dominated early, hitting a flurry of cuts and drives and scoring 53 of his team’s first 59 runs.
New Zealand captain Latham’s field placements had lacked aggression but that changed after the drinks break when Duffy broke the opening stand, with King gloving a rising delivery to Glenn Phillips at gully.
– ‘Below par’ –
Patel struck in the next over, removing John Campbell for 16 after a rash attempt to slog down the ground. Phillips took another good catch in the deep.
Patel soon claimed another, with first-innings centurion Kavem Hodge falling for a duck.
Duffy then dismissed Alick Athanaze for two and Justin Greaves for nought in successive overs, leaving the West Indies reeling.
He struck again two overs later, with Alick Athanaze edging to keeper Tom Blundell for 2, before removing Justin Greaves for nought with an edge to Daryl Mitchell at slip.
Duffy then had Roston Chase caught off the gloves by Latham at slip for five, capping a miserable series for the West Indies captain.
Chase scored just 42 runs at an average of seven in three matches, the second-worst figures for a captain dismissed six or more times in a Test series.
“I think I had a tough series, very below par for my standards,” Chase said. “I didn’t really lead from the front on the field.
“Leading in terms of words and encouraging and inspiring the team, that was all good and well, but in terms of going out there and producing for the team, I thought that I let myself down and the team down as well.”
Patel claimed Shai Hope’s wicket for three from 78 balls after a controversial lbw review. Hope did not offer a shot but the ball was deemed to be hitting his foot on the full and going on to hit the stumps.
Phillips then took his first wicket of the match by bowling Kemar Roach, who was nursing a hamstring strain.
Rachin Ravindra was introduced in the final session and snared Anderson Phillip’s wicket with an lbw, before Duffy wrapped up the innings by bowling Jayden Seales.
