Shai Hope who was battling an eye infection and was batting with sunglasses having spent most of the time off the field during their bowling innings led the resistance for West Indies with his fourth test century in an unbroken partnership of 140 with Justin Greaves which began when New Zealand captured four wickets relatively quickly in the second session. At stumps, Hope was 116 not out, Greaves was 55 not out and the West Indies were 212-4, trailing New Zealand by 319 runs. Both batters showed fight as West Indies require a further 319 to win and epic Test match while New Zealand need six wickets and there is also the possibility of a draw. So with all three results still possible going into Day 5 this has been a quality Test match so far.
New Zealand started Day 4 with an overnight score of 417 for 4. They batted just 14 more overs and put up 49 runs before declaring their innings. They set West Indies a target of 530 runs. West Indies lost early wickets and they were reduced to 72/4 before the pair of Hope and Greaves batted for the rest of the day and set up this match quite beautifully. With Henry and Smith out of action for the latter part of the day due to injuries, Jacob Duffy and Zak Foulkes, with only two previous tests between them and in their first tests at home, were left as New Zealand’s only fit pacers and they had to get through the overs.
New Zealand had no choice from the second session but to tie up one end with the spinners Michael Bracewell and Rachin Ravindra, then rotate Duffy and Foulkes at the other end with the nagging wind at their backs. Bracewell bowled 22 overs, taking 1-54, Ravindra bowled nine over The fitness test for both pacers tomorrow morning might determine how New Zealand might fare for the rest of the game.
After his hundred Hope said “I don’t want to give away too much but it’s just about understanding what you have to do to overcome a situation,” Hope said. “They’ve got quality bowlers in test cricket, nobody’s a walkover in this format.” It was a heroic effort by Shai Hope and he will be keen to create a magic tomorrow on Day 5.
