Day 1
West Indies 134
New Zealand 85/2 (38 ov)
New Zealand trail by 49 runs with 8 wickets remaining in the 1st innings
Neil Wagner's role in New Zealand's set-up is unambiguous. In an attack with world-class swing bowlers, Wagner is tasked with pushing batsmen back with a hard length.
When West Indies' openers put on a display of impeccable defensive technique on the first morning, New Zealand changed tact, employing a barrage of short balls to a solid top order. It played right into Wagner's hands, who ripped through West Indies with a career-best 7 for 39, the fourth-best Test figures by a New Zealand bowler, to topple the visitors over for 134 on the first day in Wellington. New Zealand then added 85 runs for the loss of two wickets, cutting their deficit to just 49 at stumps.
After Kraigg Brathwaite and Kieran Powell put on a 59-run opening partnership, captain Kane Williamson's hand was forced. He had a short leg and leg gully, and pushed out fine leg and square leg for Wagner. West Indies, it seemed, were more comfortable pulling than fending. Brathwaite's first boundary was a top-edged pull for six over the keeper in the 21st over.
Wagner, from around the wicket, continued to angle short deliveries into their ribs. Brathwaite, trying to defend with a straight bat, then awkwardly fended a catch to short leg, only giving Wagner more oomph in his spell.
On the stroke of lunch, a short ball from Trent Boult didn't climb as steeply as Powell had expected. He dropped his hands to let it go, but the ball ricocheted low to third slip off the glove. The scales evened out after a dominating morning for West Indies.
The session turned decisively in New Zealand's favour as Shimron Hetmyer, who struck three delectable boundaries in his 13, also fended a catch to second slip, unable to sway out of the line of a short delivery from Wagner. Those wickets prior to lunch did substantial mental damage, and their change in technique was evident.
Shai Hope gloved a wafted pull to the keeper down the leg side two balls after the break. Sunil Ambris, standing deep in the crease anticipating another bouncer, clipped a back-of-a-length delivery to fine leg, but his backward momentum meant his back foot clipped the stump. Ambris hit wicket b Wagner 0 (1) on debut.
Roston Chase also chose to stand leg side of the ball to get into a better position to face the short delivery. All that helped him do was clip a leg-side delivery into the hands of leg gully. The ball of the day came immediately after. Wagner delivered the perfect yorker to Jason Holder off his first ball. Not crouching as much as he should have, the ball crept under Holder's poke to hit off stump.
A score of 59 for 0 quickly turned miserable as West Indies slumped to 105 for 9. The last pair of Shannon Gabriel and Kemar Roach added a defiant 29-run stand before Wagner had Gabriel caught at second slip to finish with seven wickets.
New Zealand's openers Tom Latham and Jeet Raval were rather comfortable for the majority of the evening session. On a pitch with sufficient grass, but almost no lateral movement, it was hard grafting for the seamers. Latham left well, and drove and pulled effectively too en route to 37 before he swatted a pull to mid-on off Holder.
Roach then gave West Indies a chance by dismissing New Zealand's best batsman, Williamson. A short ball that started wide enticed Williamson into a cut, but inward movement after pitching made it a risky stroke. Williamson ended up slashing a ball too close to him to the finer of two gullies.
It was a sour start to the tour for West Indies, but they started the day well. Both openers played close to their body and waited for the bowlers to err in areas they could benefit from. They would also have been pleasantly surprised by the lack of either seam or swing for New Zealand's seamers through the first session.
Boult often hit the perfect area - fuller than a good length - in his opening spell. He usually gets his wickets when the ball swings from that length, but with no lateral movement available, the openers were comfortable leaving or defending. Boult began the day with three straight maidens.
Matt Henry, brought in for Tim Southee, searched for movement with a full length, but overpitched often. Powell, in particular, was then rewarded for his patience as he drove straight productively.
Day 2
West Indies 134
New Zealand 447/9 (127 ov)
New Zealand lead by 313 runs with 1 wicket remaining in the 1st innings
Colin de Grandhomme capitalised on a strong platform laid by fifties from Ross Taylor and Henry Nicholls to raze West Indies with a stunning onslaught that all but batted them out of the Wellington Test. Along with Tom Blundell's debut fifty, de Grandhomme hammered a 71-ball maiden ton, the second fastest by a New Zealand batsman in Tests, to thrust New Zealand to 447 for 9, a lead of 313.
De Grandhomme has one of the strongest bottom hands in international cricket, but it seemed West Indies weren't aware. They attacked his ribs, and when that didn't work, they fed him on his pads. His first eight boundaries were through the leg side, forcing West Indies to change their line of attack, but by then, he was in unstoppable hitting rhythm.
He struck 14 boundaries - 11 fours and three sixes - before chipping a catch to long-on off Roston Chase in search for another. He contributed almost 60% of New Zealand's 180 runs in the final session.
Colin de Grandhomme, who struck his maiden Test century off 71 deliveries in a single session of the second day in Wellington, was not instructed by the dressing room to play as aggressively as he did. Instead, de Grandhomme said, in more than a few instances, the balls "were there to go so I had to put them away."
"No instructions," de Grandhomme said after the day's play. "I was just asked to do what I do because the boys did the hard work in the beginning and made it a lot easier for me."
De Grandhomme was acknowledging the efforts of Ross Taylor and Henry Nicholls, who struck half-centuries to lift the team to 272. Another key contributor was debutant Tom Blundell, who was unbeaten on 57 at stumps after adding 148 with de Grandhomme for the seventh wicket.
"He was very calm, confident and chill and he made it a lot easier out there for me too," de Grandhomme acknowledged.
The only disappointment for de Grandhomme, who broke Gilbert Jessop's record that had stood for over a hundred years, was that he fell without fully capitalizing the chance to gain an even bigger advantage.
"Disappointed at not getting through to the end of the day, probably really breaking them [West Indies] down and making them come back tomorrow."
Blundell played the supporting act in a 148-run, seventh-wicket partnership. He left confidently early in the innings, and gradually showed off his range. He used his feet well, milking the spinners on both sides of the wicket, and used cross-batted strokes, the late cut in particular, against the quicks. He finished with an unbeaten 57 off 100 balls.
Taylor and Nicholls had earlier shared a 127-run diligent stand that left West Indies with insufficient resources to counter the lower order. Over the last year across formats, Taylor has often consumed too many deliveries to kick his innings into gear. On the first evening in Wellington, he had made 12 off 32 after weathering a testing spell, but in favourable batting conditions on the second day, Taylor's positive intent was evident from the outset. He struck a 160-ball 93 to put New Zealand in control.
When Taylor defended, he did with soft hands, looking for singles either side of the wicket. When West Indies' seamers offered width, he slashed behind point and drove through cover. Sunny overhead conditions offering no lateral movement aided his strokeplay.
When West Indies switched to using the short ball as a tactic, just like New Zealand had done on the first day, Taylor took on the pull, albeit with middling success. He scored 20 runs through third man, 19 through cover and 13 behind square on the leg side, those three areas producing 79% of his runs before lunch.
Attempting to stem the copious flow of runs, West Indies set defensive fields with the new ball on the horizon. Taylor then tucked, nudged and pushed his way towards a hundred in an insipid period.
The game kicked back to life when West Indies took the new ball in the 82nd over. Kemar Roach, from wide of the crease, jagged one away late from a leaden-footed Taylor. The set-up, check. Off the first ball of his next over, Roach got one to seam back in to beat Taylor's inside edge and strike him plumb in front of off. The wicket, check. Taylor fell seven runs short of his fourth successive ton at home against West Indies.
Nicholls, a naturally attacking player, found his fluency immediately at the other end. He opened his account with a flick behind square for four off his first delivery. He did leave well through his innings, waiting for West Indies to stray into his pads to accumulate his runs. In the first over after lunch, he gloved a pull off Jason Holder to the keeper, but replays showed the bowler had overstepped. Nicholls only grew more patient thereafter.
Roach produced West Indies' only wicket of the morning session with an unplayable delivery. Bowling from around the wicket in the 48th over, he got one to pitch outside leg and jag away prodigiously off the seam. On 42, Raval, prodding from the crease, didn't account for as much movement and edged behind. An inch shorter and the ball would have beaten the edge. An inch fuller and Raval would have got behind the line.
The bowlers lacked the discipline, conceding 12 no-balls, and giving New Zealand several boundary-hitting options. All it did was gradually erode their chances in the Test.
Day 3
West Indies 134 and 214 for 2 trail New Zealand 520 for 9 dec. by 172 runs
New Zealand hurtled to a profoundly commanding position in the first seven sessions of the Wellington Test, but the opposition began to resist on the third day. West Indies were still a long way back - 172 in arrears with two second-innings wickets already spent. But thanks to Kraigg Brathwaite's fortitude, a spark from Kieran Powell, and a little flash from Shimron Hetmyer, their hopes of making something out of this match are not yet extinguished. Brathwaite remained at the crease on 79, with Shai Hope for company.
But perhaps this was always going to be a batting day - the Basin Reserve pitch tends to flatten dramatically as matches wear on. In the morning, Tom Blundell had progressed from an overnight 57 not out to triple figures, becoming the first wicketkeeper-batsman to make a debut Test century since Matt Prior in 2007.
What was remarkable was that he scored 52 of his eventual 107 not out in the company of Trent Boult - the pair putting on an unbeaten stand of 78 for the last wicket. Soon after Blundell reached his century, New Zealand declared on 520 for 9, taking a 386-run advantage into the second innings.
Few might have expected West Indies to claim momentum as dramatically as they did after lunch, however. If one aspect of play epitomised the vigour they brought to those sessions, it was their bristling confidence when facing their tormentor from the first dig: Neil Wagner. On day one, Wagner had collected 7 for 39 in 14 overs, as batsmen almost raced each other back to the pavilion.
On Sunday, Wagner again deployed his familiar lifters from around the wicket, but suddenly, the West Indies top order was almost disdainful of the tactic, pulling, hacking, and cracking him through the leg side throughout the afternoon and evening sessions. Wagner was left nursing figures of 0 for 89 from 15 overs by stumps, having suffered 14 fours and two sixes. Unable himself to make a breakthrough, Trent Boult was also visibly frustrated by the closing stages of the day.
That it is around their senior opener that West Indies' resistance built was unsurprising. Brathwaite did as Brathwaite does, leaving judiciously, defending solidly, and awaiting the bad balls to dispatch to the fence. His two early boundaries were the result of wayward leg-side deliveries that he simply nudged fine. He was a little more ambitious in the evening session, even running at Mitchell Santner to launch him over the deep midwicket boundary.
His patience and assuredness at the start of the innings allowed Powell to take risks at the other end. It was Powell who began the assault on Wagner by hitting two sixes and a four off consecutive Wagner balls. Having survived a close lbw shout off Boult early in his innings - a not-out decision that would have been overturned had New Zealand reviewed - Powell went on to make 40 off 55 balls before losing concentration and giving Matt Henry a simple return catch.
Hetmyer's 66 was sprightly and attractive, as he and Brathwaite combined for a second-wicket stand worth 94. Having been reprieved via a batting review on seven, Hetmyer took to playing Wagner with particular aplomb, driving and pulling imperiously. He didn't always keep his shots on the ground, but found empty space whenever he went aerial, once lofting Boult for a straight six with sublime timing. That Boult over, the 42nd of the innings, also featured two Hetmyer fours: down the ground, and over midwicket.
Like for Powell, it was a misjudgement of Henry's pace that brought his wicket, after the tea break. Attempting to turn Henry towards the leg side, Hetmyer succeeded only in sending a leading edge to extra cover.
Hope and Brathwaite ensured there were no further wickets before the end of the day by showing a little reticence as stumps drew near, but the bad balls were still punished. All up, day three saw 287 runs scored for the fall of just two wickets. New Zealand will hope to get early breakthroughs on day four, to ensure the match does not progress to a fifth day, but if West Indies bat as they have so far in the innings, victory will have to be hard-won, for New Zealand.
Day 4
West Indies 134 & 319
New Zealand 520/9d
New Zealand won by an innings and 67 runs
The defiance that West Indies had found on day three wilted, their wickets fell in a heap for the second time in the Test, and New Zealand sped to an innings-and-67-run victory - the hosts' quicks having wiped the opposition out with the second new ball. Following the top-order partnerships West Indies had mounted on Sunday, it was the rate of their demise on Monday that was dispiriting. They added only 105 to the overnight score, and lost their last seven wickets for 62 runs, in the space of 20 overs.
The New Zealand quicks shared the wickets around, as the opposition perished to a series of poor strokes. Matt Henry added the wicket of Roston Chase to the two dismissals he had effected on day three, to finish with figures of 3 for 57. Trent Boult, Neil Wagner and Colin de Grandhomme claimed two wickets apiece meanwhile - Wagner's wickets particularly significant, after he had been clobbered by the top order on Sunday.
This result means that New Zealand go to the second Test without having been stretched at Wellington. Although there were difficult moments in the field, particularly while Shimron Hetmyer and Kraigg Brathwaite batted together on the third evening, no bowler was required to deliver more than 45 overs in the Test, and at no point did West Indies muster a century stand.
It was the wicket of innings top-scorer Brathwaite - the only dismissal that went to a spinner in this innings - that set West Indies' slide into motion. Having begun the day on 79, Brathwaite had progressed without incident into the 90s, as New Zealand rested their frontline quicks so they might be deployed only after the second new ball became available. Even before the 80th over rolled around, however, Brathwaite lost his wicket. Having nudged a legside Mitchell Santner delivery to the fine leg boundary, he misjudged the pace of the very next Santner delivery, and it brushed his back pad before it hit his bat. The ensuing lbw appeal was turned down on the field, but the batsman was given out upon review. Only 17 runs had been added to the overnight score at that stage.
Then, from the 86th over, came the rapid collapse. Shai Hope, whose innings had been defined by its reticence, was dismissed playing a defensive shot - a Boult lifter finding his outside edge, then Kane Williamson's hands in the gully. Roston Chase, who had hit Boult for consecutive boundaries to get his innings under way, did not last long following Hope's exit, inside-edging a wide Henry ball on to his stumps.
West Indies went to lunch with five wickets remaining, but New Zealand needed less than an hour after resumption to close the game out. Debutant Sunil Ambris edged de Grandhomme to wide slip, first ball after the break. Then, next over, Shane Dowrich slashed Wagner to point - it was the first ball Dowrich had faced in the session. The tail was in no mood to resist. Kemar Roach, Jason Holder and Miguel Cummins were all out in the space of 28 balls.
What was particularly disappointing for the West Indies was that the pitch had long since begun to favour batsman, and though the second new ball offered the New Zealand seamers bounce and carry, there was no dramatic movement. The only positive for the visitors, apart from some decent top-order scores, is that they now have an extra day of preparation for the Hamilton Test, which begins on Saturday.
2nd Test
Day 1
New Zealand 286/7 (87 ov)
West Indies
A measured 84 from Jeet Raval, and a Colin de Grandhomme blitz bookended New Zealand's day, but it was West Indies' quicks who made the best of it, starting off slowly, then working themselves into a fine rhythm by stumps. The hosts are still nicely placed, at 286 for 7, with the pitch expected to get quicker on days two and three. However, in breaking through to the tail with the second new ball, West Indies have given themselves a chance in this match - which is more than what could have been said at a similar stage of the game in Wellington.
It was Shannon Gabriel who, having leaked boundaries with the first new ball, inflicted important blows with the second, dismissing de Grandhomme and Mitchell Santner after the pair had put on 76 for the sixth wicket.
He had also claimed the wicket of Raval during West Indies' resurgent period in the middle of the day. New Zealand had had 154 runs for the loss of just one wicket, before Gabriel, Kemar Roach, Miguel Cummins and Raymon Reifer combined to claim four wickets either side of the tea break. Where Gabriel bowled both good spells and poor ones through the course of the day, Cummins, Roach and debutant left-armer Reifer were much more consistent, delivering tight lines and muzzling New Zealand's batsmen when they threatened to attack. Between the three of them, they claimed four wickets and conceded only 118 runs from 53 combined overs.
That West Indies ended in a creditable position is testament to the attack's fortitude, for their day had not begun well. Gabriel was driven for two boundaries by Raval in the first over, and had been guilty of pitching too full -perhaps in search of swing or seam movement, which did not eventuate. Raval was assured through that first session, pulling with authority and rotating the strike with ease, as he had Tom Latham built an opening partnership of 65. The scoring did slow down soon after lunch, however. Kane Williamson, who replaced Latham at the crease after the opener had gloved a pull shot off Cummins, was left scoreless for the first 17 balls he faced in the second session, 12 of which were delivered by Reifer. That period of tight bowling from West Indies helped produce the wickets that came later in the session - Williamson caught behind down the leg side off Cummins, before Gabriel drew an outside edge from Raval with a length ball that seamed across the batsman.
When, soon after tea, Roach and Reifer also struck in quick succession to remove Ross Taylor and Henry Nicholls, New Zealand had lost four wickets for 45 runs, and were reduced to 189 for 5.
It was at this stage that de Grandhomme reclaimed some ground for his side. Having taken 11 balls to make his first run, and having perhaps been dropped by the wicketkeeper off the offspin of Roston Chase for 8, de Grandhomme walloped 42 runs - including three sixes and a four off chase - off 25 balls, to register a half-century. He used Seddon Park's small boundaries to his advantage, as even some good deliveries were muscled to the fence. He had threatened to reassert New Zealand's control over the match when West Indies took the second new ball, and Gabriel struck immediately. Mitchell Santner lost his off stump to a ball that pitched on leg and nipped slightly back, beating his booming drive. De Grandhomme was himself dismissed in similar fashion, though for him the ball seamed in the other direction.
Tom Blundell, New Zealand's debutant centurion from the last match, remained not out alongside Neil Wagner at stumps.
Though West Indies will be pleased with the manner in which they closed out the day, there will be some consternation about their over rate. They were three overs short of the target of 90, even though the extra half-hour was used. That regular captain Jason Holder is suspended for this match is of course down to West Indies having been too slow to complete their overs in the first Test. This time, it is stand-in captain Kraigg Brathwaite who is at risk of being penalised.
Day 2
New Zealand 373
West Indies 215/8 (64 ov)
West Indies trail by 158 runs with 2 wickets remaining in the 1st innings
Trent Boult and Tim Southee pillaged 61 runs together at the start of the day, then claimed two wickets apiece, and held one spectacular catch each, as they set off and then perpetuated West Indies' dramatic decline on a rain-interrupted day.
By stumps, New Zealand had a stranglehold on the Test. Their opposition, eight down, and still 158 runs short of the hosts' 373, were facing a long climb back into contention. Only Kraigg Brathwaite made a substantial score, hitting 66 off 116 deliveries while several batsmen made promising starts and perished around him. Having ended the first day with so much momentum, and even begun day two with a wicket in the first over, West Indies were guilty of failing to apply themselves on a pitch that - while lively - was not the challenge their scoreline made it seem.
It was in the eighth over of the day, with New Zealand's score on 312 for 9, that Tim and Trent's day-two adventure began. Getting off the mark with an enterprising uppercut for four over the slips off Shannon Gabriel, Boult tried the shot again next over, and this time fetched six for it. Before long he and Southee were in the middle of a full-scale blitz, Boult hitting five fours and two sixes in his 27-ball 37 not out, while Southee cracked 31 off 39, hitting two leg-side sixes and a four of his own. They were aided by Seddon Park's modest dimensions, as even mis-hits proved a challenge to West Indies' fielders. But there was spunk to go with the luck - Boult backing off awkwardly against Miguel Cummins at one stage, only to reach out and blast past point a ball that might have shaved the top of off stump.
New Zealand had begun the day in danger of not making it to 300, but thanks largely to their No. 10 and No. 11, 87 runs were added to the overnight score. Kemar Roach, who dismissed Neil Wagner third ball of the day (thanks to a flying catch at gully by Shai Hope) claimed the final wicket to finish with figures of 3 for 58, while Gabriel, who also took a day-two wicket, ended with 4 for 119.
It was in the field, and with the ball, however, that Boult and Southee really left their mark on this Test. Gaining more bounce and carry from the surface than West Indies had managed (though it is possible the pitch had quickened up), they began beating edges almost immediately. Southee took the wicket of Kieran Powell in the first over, having the batsman caught behind for zero. Boult took longer to make his breakthrough, dismissing the spirited Shimron Hetmyer with a sublime return catch, leaping to his left.
Having tottered to 46 for 2, West Indies then seemed to be regaining their composure while Brathwaite and Hope were at the crease, but when play resumed after a rain delay of almost two hours, more wickets were in store. Hope nicked one to the slips off Southee soon after play re-started, then Roston Chase and Sunil Ambris both departed in quick succession - the latter treading on his stumps to the bowling of Boult, as he played a back-foot shot on the leg side. This was the second time in three innings that Ambris was out hit wicket.
When Southee caught Brathwaite spectacularly on the juggle soon after - the ball hitting the tips of his outstretch hands at short cover, only to bounce out and then be re-taken just before it hit the turf behind him - West Indies had lost four wickets for 45 runs. Brathwaite had been the player holding the innings together, keeping out the good balls and finding boundaries behind the wicket - though he did have some luck when he was dropped off Boult in the slips, on 14. He left West Indies at 135 for 6 - in danger of not making 200. Thankfully, for the visitors, Shane Dowrich struck a belligerent 35 before top-edging a pull off Neil Wagner, and debutant Raymon Reifer moved to an unbeaten 22 by stumps.
Southee returned New Zealand's best figures of the day, his two wickets only costing him 34 runs. Colin de Grandhomme and Wagner also had two wickets to their name. Mitchell Santner's left-arm spin was not required.
Day 3
New Zealand 373 & 291/8d
West Indies 221 & 30/2 (8 ov, target: 444)
West Indies require another 414 runs with 8 wickets remaining
New Zealand's stranglehold on the Hamilton Test grew tighter on day three, as they piled on the runs to set West Indies 444 to chase, and claimed two wickets before stumps to begin the victory push.
Ross Taylor's 107 not out was instrumental to strengthening New Zealand's position - the hundred taking him equal with Kane Williamson and Martin Crowe, who hold the New Zealand record, with 17 Test centuries. Williamson himself struck a lively fifty to steady the innings after West Indies had struck early blows, and Trent Boult was impressive again with the ball, taking wickets off successive deliveries in the morning, before making the first incision of the fourth innings as the day waned.
It was not as if West Indies were substantially outperformed on the day - just that they had ceded so much ground already that they required a near-miraculous effort to reimpose themselves on the match. Their quicks were good in patches - Miguel Cummins and Shannon Gabriel running hot at various points through the day. In one especially hostile spell, Cummins bowled Williamson with a searing yorker from outside the off stump, had Henry Nicholls nicking off to a well-directed short ball, and would also have had the wicket of Mitchell Santner had wicketkeeper Shane Dowrich managed to hold a difficult overhead chance off Santner's top edge.
Gabriel, meanwhile, prospered with fast length balls aimed at the stumps. He claimed two wickets, one of which was an lbw of Colin de Grandhomme - a decision that was overturned in New Zealand's favour only after a confused third-umpire's review.
Taylor's, meanwhile, was an innings of moderation. Sixty balls he took to hit his first boundary, having kept out some excellent deliveries from Cummins and Gabriel in that time. At no stage during his knock was he hurried; he was content usually to push the ball into gaps, keeping that brutal cut and those bludgeoned drives in check. Of his first fifty runs, 38 came from singles and twos. The only bowler who troubled him consistently was Gabriel, who beat him for pace repeatedly, and had even drawn and outside edge when Taylor was on 35, only for the gully fielder to grass the low chance.
After tea, Taylor's pace quickened - the singles coming more frequently than before, and Cummins even suffering two disdainful pulls for four in front of square. Having got out on 93 at the Basin Reserve, Taylor didn't dally long in the nineties, taking only nine deliveries to move to triple figures. In addition to having equaled the New Zealand record, this is a special ton for Taylor: his longtime friend and mentor Martin Crowe had said Taylor would reach and surpass his own tally of 17 centuries.
Earlier, West Indies had had a brief opportunity to spark a New Zealand collapse, when they dismissed the openers with 42 on the board, but Williamson's energetic innings sucked the worst of the venom out of their bowling. Having arrived at 11 for 1, Williamson began to leave the ball judiciously, and defend with assurance. He batted out 26 balls before the expansive strokes began to appear. His two first boundaries were made possible by fielding errors at point and deep square leg, but then the 33 balls he faced before lunch yielded 42 runs. His fifty was brought up via a leg glance to the fine leg boundary immediately after he had socked Shannon Gabriel past mid-off. It was an important score for Williamson, for he had gone five international innings without a fifty - a significant stretch for such a consistent batsman.
Elsewhere in the New Zealand innings, batsmen got starts and were undone when more substantial scores beckoned. Tom Latham, Mitchell Santner and Colin de Grandhomme all made it past 20 before being dismissed, generally by very good West Indies bowling. None of the dismissals seemed to dent New Zealand much, so secure were they already in the game. When Williamson declared, New Zealand had made 291 for 8 in the second dig.
As had been the case at the Basin Reserve, West Indies' first-innings indiscretions meant that they began the second innings with only a miniscule chance of avoiding defeat. That chance would become worse before stumps. Kieran Powell was out for his second duck of the match - squared up by a short delivery from Boult that took his edge and flew low to third slip. Shimron Hetmyer sparkled briefly again, playing a dismissive pull and a searing on-drive for four, but he was out cheaply again, just lofting a full Tim Southee delivery into the hands of mid-off.
West Indies must take heart from their successful pursuit of 322 at Headingley earlier this year. The target in front of them now, however, will take even more grit and resilience - the likes of which they are yet to show for an extended period, on this tour.
Day 4
New Zealand 373 & 291/8d
West Indies 221 & 203 (target: 444)
New Zealand won by 240 runs
Trent Boult and Tim Southee shot out the top order, Neil Wagner bruised the batsmen in the middle, and Mitchell Santner cleaned up the tail, as New Zealand cruised to a 240-run victory at Seddon Park. West Indies' second innings featured only one brave stand - a 78-run association for the sixth wicket between Roston Chase and Raymon Riefer. Only on the first day of this Test can the visitors be said to have been in the hunt for victory. Avoiding defeat was always going to be difficult after giving up a first-innings lead of 152, but West Indies would perhaps be disappointed with the speed of their demise.
New Zealand, meanwhile, made a strong start to their home summer, as their quicks bowled themselves into a rhythm, and key batsmen ran into form. The only downside for the hosts is that having played no Tests since March, they now have no long-format matches scheduled until March next year.
Neil Wagner is ecstatic as he sends back Shane Dowrich for a golden duck Getty Images
It was Wagner and his hostility that made the greatest impression on the final day, and set New Zealand on track for a day-four finish. Combative and intense as ever, and aided by a Seddon Park track receptive to his mode of operation, he sent a torrent of deliveries at the batsmen's ribs, and regularly threatened their throats, clearly taking pleasure in their discomfort. The bodyline barrage began in his first over of the day. Immediately after being cover-driven for four by Shai Hope, he struck the batsman flush on an unprotected forearm. The follow up: another bouncer - up near the neck this time. Hope could not control his hook, which finished up in the hands of long leg.
In his next two overs, Wagner claimed two more victims. He got a ball to rear up off a back-of-a-length and struck Sunil Ambris painfully on the forearm - a blow that required the attention of a physiotherapist, and would turn out to have caused a fracture. Ambris initially stayed in the middle after receiving the blow, but one more ball from Wagner in the following over - this one at the ribs - was enough to convince him to head for the safety of the dressing room. He did not return to bat.
West Indies fined for slow over rate
The West Indies players were fined 20% of their match fee, and stand-in captain Kraigg Brathwaite 40% of his, after the team was deemed to be two overs short its target in Hamilton. As per ICC regulations, the team is fined 10% of their match fee for each over they fall short, and the captain is fined twice that.
Brathwaite was already standing in as captain due to Jason Holder being suspended for previous over-rate offences - two minor over-rate offences in a Test within 12 months results in the captain being suspended.
Shane Dowrich, the man who replaced Ambris at the crease, was one of the few West Indies batsmen to avoid being struck by Wagner, but that is because he only lasted two balls. In fending off a another uncomfortable rib-high delivery, Dowrich sent a sharp catch to short leg, who claimed the chance to his right. Having also struck Chase on the upper body, Wagner would be the man to break that sixth-wicket partnership, prompting another mis-hit hook, which was again gobbled up by an advancing long leg.
While Wagner had his victims caught on the legside, Boult and Southee went the more conventional route: having them caught behind the wicket on the offside. Kraigg Brathwaite was the first batsman to be dismissed on Tuesday, slapping a Boult delivery to Williamson, who took the sharp chance at head height. Williamson would see more action in that position later on. Riefer, who ground his way to a 109-ball 29 - sent a low catch in that direction, and Williamson made an incredibly difficult chance seem simple, taking the catch at shin height with his left hand.
Chase was positive through the course of his 64 off 98 balls, but it was his ability to resist hooking Wagner that allowed him to survive so long. He scored his runs through the offside instead - particularly backward of point. When he was dismissed, New Zealand were on the home stretch. Kemar Roach opened his shoulders during a 44-ball 32, but Santner struck in successive deliveries to end that salvo, and the match.
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