Duffy sinks West Indies with another five-wicket haul

Jacob Duffy's five-wicket haul in the second innings gave him his career-best match figures of 9 for 128 as he starred in New Zealand's 323-run victory in the third Test against West Indies, helping them seal the series 2-0. West Indies, chasing an improbable 462, were bowled out for 138 as Duffy finished with 5 for 42 while Ajaz Patel bagged his best innings figures and match figures at home (3-23 & 6-136 respectively), having gone wicketless in his three previous outings in New Zealand.

West Indies began the final day with the intent of batting time, and for the first session, Brandon King and John Campbell did exactly that. On a surface with uneven bounce, the openers showed discipline early before finding occasional release through the off side. King was the more fluent of the two, unfurling crisp cover drives off Michael Rae and Duffy, and pulling confidently to bring up a well-paced fifty that featured 10 boundaries. Campbell, meanwhile, dug in for the long haul and also survived a leg before shout off Rae that was overturned on review. By drinks, West Indies had reached 74 without loss.

The breakthrough arrived shortly after as New Zealand's patience paid off in quick succession. Duffy provided the opening when King, on 67, was undone by a short ball that climbed awkwardly and took the glove. Campbell then struck a lofted four off Ajaz, but the left-arm spinner struck soon after when the opener miscued a big hit down the ground and Phillips again judged it well at mid-on to end a 105-ball stay. That wicket triggered a rapid slide: Kavem Hodge prodded defensively and lobbed a chance off Ajaz to short leg, where Rachin Ravindra reacted sharply to complete a stunning catch on the rebound.

The collapse gathered pace as Duffy exploited the bounce and movement on offer. Alick Athanaze fell driving loosely on the up, edging behind, and Justin Greaves lasted only 13 balls before another hard-length delivery nipped away and found the edge, with Daryl Mitchell holding on low at first slip. From a solid 87 for no loss, West Indies crumbled to 99 for 5 at Lunch, with Shai Hope and Roston Chase forced into survival mode.

The Chase-Hope partnership, which lasted for 52 deliveries, yielded only six runs before the skipper became Duffy's fourth scalp, getting into an awkward position to a sharp bouncer and gloving it to second slip. Hope stone-walled the New Zealand attack in his 78-ball stay for three runs before Ajaz trapped him in front, with New Zealand making successful use of the DRS. Phillips bagged the next wicket, getting Kemar Roach bowled through the gate. Tevin Imlach continued his resistance and was not out on 15 off 78 at Tea, with Anderson Phillip giving good support from the other end, as West Indies went into the break at 138/8, with fours overs left for the second new ball to be due.

Phillip, who was put down by Phillips early in the third session, was out leg-before to Ravindra in the same over. Duffy returned with the second new ball and promptly had Jayden Sealed bowled for a duck as New Zealand wrapped up the game in the final session.

Earlier in the game, Devon Conway and Tom Latham became the only opening pair to register hundreds in both innings in a Test. Conway's 227 and Latham's 137, along with Ravindra's 72 not out, powered New Zealand to 575/8 declared in their first innings. West Indies came up with a solid reply but Hodge's 123 not out was the only big score while King got 63 and three other batters got out in the 40s as they finished with 420, with Duffy bagging four wickets and Ajaz getting three. New Zealand then raced to 306/2 declared in 54 overs in their second essay, riding on tons from Conway and Latham to set West Indies a steep target, which they fell well short of eventually.

Brief scores: New Zealand 578/8 decl. (Devon Conway 227, Tom Latham 137; Justin Greaves 2-83) & 306/2 decl. (Tom Latham 101, Devon Conway 100; Kavem Hodge 2-80) beat West Indies 420 (Kavem Hodge 123*; Jacob Duffy 4-86, Ajaz Patel 3-113) & 138 (Brandon King 67; Jacob Duffy 5-42, Ajaz Patel 3-23) by 323 runs.