West Indies 381 for 6 (Hodge 109*, King 63, Duffy 2-79) trail New Zealand 575 for 8 dec (Conway 227, Latham 137, Ravindra 72*, Greaves 2-83) by 194 runs
Slow-burn thrillers aren't for everyone. Mount Maunganui's been screening one for the past three days and just as the draw was starting to turn favourite, things started to happen. "Ooooh my Goooddddd," cried Kavem Hodge rolling around on the floor. Apparently, he was only allowed a second Test match century if he could show he could take a cricket ball to the crown jewels. He did. On 97, he put his agonised body through the trauma of a quickly run two, and on 99, decided running is for losers and whacked a pull shot to the square-leg boundary.
West Indies went to stumps on 381 for 6, and trailing by 194, but there is uncertainty around two of the wickets they have in hand. Shai Hope was holed up in his hotel all of Friday and he hasn't really been seen since. It is reported that he is unwell and as team-mate after team-mate came in ahead of him, it is starting to look serious enough to prevent him from batting. Kemar Roach is down with a hamstring injury he picked up on the first day and his status is unclear as well.
New Zealand will remain hopeful of a positive result, particularly on the evidence of how they roused themselves in the final session. They were tired. The slow pace of the pitch was negating the movement that was still on offer. So there was a lot of oohs and aahs but never the aha! Until Daryl Mitchell was given the ball and he just trundled in and trapped Justin Greaves lbw. Three balls later, Ajaz Patel had Roston Chase trapped in front as well.
West Indies had racked up fifty partnership after fifty partnership - four of their top five wickets were able to bed in. They'd proven hard to crack. Then all of a sudden, a dibbly-dobbly bowler and a man who had never taken a Test wicket at home broke through.
Slow burn thrillers. Gotta love 'em.
Hodge batting in the 90s started to get uncomfortable. Anderson Phillip got hit in the head. New Zealand missed an edge through to the keeper. The replay went up on the big screen and Tom Latham said, "Oh, not again!", throwing back to the missed opportunity when they had no reviews in Christchurch and Roach lbw only for the umpire to shake his head. There's still two more days of this left.
Hodge's Test career has been a slow burn too and at one point was in danger of being put out. He had been dropped during the home summer with only two of his previous 15 innings crossing the 30-run mark. Speaking at the end of the day's play, he had the grace to accept that, saying if the employees aren't giving what is expected of them, bosses will look elsewhere.
West Indies came back to him for this tour of New Zealand and he made it a priority to figure out a way to bat against the moving ball. This challenge, far from making him shrink, triggered the analytical side of him. He has a degree in sports science and those principles might have come in handy to recognise that he could leverage his strength, scoring square of the wicket, into runs, "Plan your work, work your plan," he said at the end of the day on 109 not out.
Hodge looked suspect initially, surviving outside edges through the slip cordon and berating himself about his front foot's reluctance to get in line with the ball. But none of that deterred him from doing the basics right; from being ready for the next ball; from gaining better awareness of his off stump. With more and more time in the middle, he was able to get his body moving the way he wanted. The strength of his defence began to shine through - soft hands, bat face pointed down to make sure the ball didn't reach the close catchers - and the bowlers began looking elsewhere. Hodge punished them for their lack of perseverance, playing some of the most crisp pull shots. The early struggle and the method to get out of it made the final yield all the better.
Tevin Imlach, batting at No. 4 in place of Hope soon after his captain had wondered where he was trying to score his runs, put in a decent shift which included running down the pitch at Ajaz and hoisting him over the top for a straight six. That shot was a direct response to the left-arm spinner almost running through his defence with an arm ball.
Alick Athanaze was all class. He, like Hodge who was his room-mate as they came up playing together in Dominica, was back-foot dominant. Punches and whips and cuts all eye-catching for the sound off the bat and the balance at the crease.
Greaves spoke on Friday about bringing glory back to West Indies and it is clearly not beyond him. Once, a mere forward defensive was almost enough to carry the ball to the long-off boundary.
Each of those three players had the chance to go big in largely placid conditions but they were all cut short. Imlach out for 27 driving at a ball that wasn't pitched up and could've been left alone. Athanaze left a nothing ball from Ajaz that would've comfortably missed leg stump but for a cruel deflection off his back leg. He was 45 off 57. Greaves (43 off 69) missed a straight ball from Mitchell and needed a review to see just how plumb he was. New Zealand's batters had been ruthless. West Indies' had work to do.
Jacob Duffy, the highest wicket-taker of the series, ran in with purpose whether his job was to strike early - which he did, John Campbell falling without adding to his overnight score of 45 - or do some donkey work - he cranked his pace up to 144kph for the last over of the day which he spent banging the ball into the pitch to see if he could benefit from a bit of variable bounce.
Ajaz, who hasn't played a Test at home for five years, and whose 85 wickets until now were all the result of work done away from home, made the most of the wind blowing across the ground, just lobbing the ball up at the high-70-low-80 kph range and getting good drift and dip. Michael Rae overcame a laceration to his shin to keep trucking in. Zak Foulkes, a swing bowler out of place on a pitch which was helping only those who could hit the deck hard, tried his best. New Zealand were a much-improved bowling side. Their discipline was up. They didn't let their shoulders sag even as the ball got soft and partnerships kept building. That mentality is going to be crucial as the slow burn in Mount Maunganui continues.
