New Zealand’s Ross Taylor batted for more than eight hours on a bad knee to make an unbeaten 217 as the hosts declared at 609-9 on day two of the first test against the West Indies.
In reply, the West Indies were 67-2 at stumps on Wednesday, having lost openers Kieran Powell (7) and Kirk Edwards (0) to catches behind the wicket.
Darren Bravo was 37 not out and Marlon Samuels 14 not out at stumps while Trent Boult and Tim Southee each had figures of 1-15.
Taylor ignored the patella tendon injury which limited his preparation for New Zealand’s first home test of the summer, compiling the 12th-highest total by a Kiwi in tests.
His 491-minute innings lifted New Zealand to its fourth-highest total in tests, bringing to an end a recent run of mediocre Test form.
Taylor eclipsed his previous-highest test score of 154 not out and was the first 200 by a New Zealand in tests since Brendon McCullum’s against India in 2010. It was McCullum who teamed with Taylor on Wednesday in the central partnership of the innings — 195 for the fourth wicket.
McCullum was out for 113 in the fifth over of the day but Taylor led a series of productive partnerships until the declaration came after tea.
He put on 84 for the sixth wicket with B.J. Watling (41), 76 for the eighth wicket with Ish Sodhi (35) and 61 for the ninth wicket with Neil Wagner (37) as New Zealand ground down the West Indies, who had elected to bowl after winning the toss.
Wagner was then part of a New Zealand attack with bowled with more purpose than the West Indies, exploiting what little they could get out of a batsman-friendly pitch. “It’s going to be tough work,” Wagner said. “It’s flattened out a lot.
“There’s still a bit of inconsistency in bounce there. Some seem to just die a little bit and some seem to take off which makes it difficult for batters. If we can just bash it in on a length and hit the deck hard, hopefully there will be some inconsistent bounce.”
The partnership between Taylor and McCullum was of broader importance than this match alone.
Brief Score
New Zealand: 609/9 dec (Taylor 217*, McCullum 113, Best 3/148) lead West Indies: 67/2 (Bravo 37*, Samuels 14*, Boult 1/7) trail by 542 runs.