New Zealand vs West Indies: Visitors must do in Hamilton what they recently did in Headingley

Although the view of the West Indies Test team being on the improve is held in many circles, the innings and 67-runs defeat in Wellington shows that there is much work left to be done and more pieces of the puzzle that need to fall into place. Playing in New Zealand has always been difficult. The West Indies last won a Test there in 1995. But if being consistently competitive is the aim, then they have got to find ways to avoid instances like the total capitulation of their batting that occurred in the first innings and the collapse after a solid start that occurred in the second. It is also imperative that they develop a bowling attack with more incisiveness and depth. Too often have we seen the bowling unit make reasonably early inroads, only to be put to the sword later as they run out of steam. In Wellington they had the Kiwis at 281/6, a position not totally without hope. But then they allowed them to romp to 520/9 declared, killing any chance that they had of staging a comeback, considering their very inadequate first innings total of 134. [caption id=“attachment_4242941” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] West Indies huddle on the field during the first Test match against New Zealand. AFP [/caption] Kane Williamson put the visitors to bat first after winning the toss, and the Windies negotiated the first 20 or so overs without alarm. But then Neil Wagner began his predictable, short-pitched assault that completely upended the West Indies’ innings, leaving it in tatters. It is certain, considering how often he has resorted to this method of attack in the past, that the visitors knew what to expect. Yet they appeared totally unprepared as to how to defy the left-arm pacer, who captured Test-best figures of 7/39 off 14.4 overs. Or maybe they were just inept at dealing with the ball honing in on body and head. As the home of many of the game’s great fast bowlers, batsmen in the Caribbean were once brought up on a diet of pace. Every island brandished men capable of serious velocity. A number of them were rarely in the running for West Indies duties, but would have skated into almost any other Test team. That environment spawned batsmen who were not overly perturbed by short-pitched bowling. Batsmen like Alvin Kallicharran, Roy Fredericks, Desmond Haynes, Viv Richards and Richie Richardson were some of the finest hookers and pullers in the game. Bowlers pitched short to them at their own risk. Nowadays, however, Caribbean pitches are low and slow and turn from the first day. It is no surprise then that spinners have been dominating the region’s First-Class competition for years. And as Ian Bishop remarked from the commentary box, a whole generation of batsmen have not had much opportunity to develop the tools required to combat the high bouncing ball. They have had difficulties with it before but never was their ineptness so cruelly exposed as it was by Wagner in Wellington. Decidedly better was the West Indies’ batting in the second innings. Until, that is, they suffered another collapse and were dismissed for 319 after being well-placed at 231/3. Particularly refreshing was the performance of Shimron Hetmyer, the 20-year-old from Guyana who captained the Under-19 team to the youth World Cup in 2016. He made 66. The young left-hander was fluent and fearless. After an uncertain start his innings blossomed into a full-fledged exhibition of elegant drives and full-throated pulls. He entertained to such a degree that even the New Zealand supporters must have regretted him not carrying on for a bit longer. The talent is palpable, and his bat should be doing a lot of talking in the years ahead. With some of the sting evaporating from the surface, Wagner’s short-ball method was less effective in the second innings. The West Indies still found a way to flit away some of their wickets, however, and so they will need to sell their wickets more expensively in the second Test. Going into the first game without a specialist spinner was a miscalculation. The selectors, somewhat understandably, were convinced that the relatively green surface would facilitate seam, bit Devendra Bishoo was Player of the Series on their recent Zimbabwe tour and ought to have played. That error should be rectified in Hamilton, most likely at the expense of Miguel Cummins. The West Indies are crucially in need of a third front-line seamer. Jason Holder, who currently holds that job, is not consistently penetrative enough to fulfill that role. The selectors should therefore consider using him as an all-rounder who bats at six in order to accommodate another fast bowler. But they are unlikely to make that change in Wellington, especially with the batting also underperforming. That, however, is a proposal for future contemplation. Too often the front-line bowlers seem to flag as the match wears on. It is probably for that reason that Colin de Grandhomme was able to smash the ninth fastest century in Tests, and why wicketkeeper Tom Blundell, was able to mark his debut with a hundred. Save for the return of Tim Southee, New Zealand need not consider any adjustments. If you discount captain Williamson’s score of one, all their players more or less contributed to their emphatic win. Their confidence should be high going into the second test. Hamilton, for the home team, should be more of the same. Though having a number of problems to rectify, captain Holder is convinced there is no need for “panic.” Speaking after the game, the West Indian captain offered that, “To get 300 odd [in the second innings] is still very good but we probably wanted it in the first innings. We always speak about a good first-innings total; it always sets the game up. We didn’t have that in the first innings and obviously faltered.” He went on, “We shouldn’t panic. I think we have done reasonably well in the year. We have done some good things in this Test match as well. So, there is no need to panic. Just one Test match gone — we have lost the first match obviously — but there is a chance to put things right in the second Test match.” A few months ago they were embarrassingly smashed in the first Test of their England tour before staging a stunning comeback in the second. They must now do in Hamilton something akin to what they did in Headingly. That is the task they face.