MOUNT MAUNGANY, New Zealand (AP) — New Zealand quickly turned the West Indies' tail in the fourth Sunday morning to take a 155-run first-innings lead in the third Test.
By lunch New Zealand were 35-0 after 11 overs and had increased their lead to 189. Devon Conway was 25 not out and Tom Latham 5.
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West Indies resumed on 381–6 and lost their last four wickets in just over 15 overs in the first hour, scoring 420 in reply to New Zealand's declared 575–8.
Kevam Hodge is unbeaten on 123, his second Test century and highest score.
The question now is how hard New Zealand will push to win the match on a pitch that is starting to crack and crumble. New Zealand already leads the three-match series 1-0 after the first test was carried out and after the victory in second test by nine wickets.
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New Zealand's best hope would be to maximize their lead by getting close to the stump and leave themselves a full day to beat the West Indies for a second time. The match became slightly more difficult on the second day when New Zealand managed to capture only six West Indies wickets and the tourists added 281 runs.
Jacob Duffy, the workhorse of the New Zealand attack, took two wickets, including the key wicket of Shai Hope, in the first four overs of Sunday to speed up the end of the West Indies innings. Hope finished in 9th place after missing most of the second and third days due to an unspecified illness.
Duffy bowled over 60 overs in the first Test, over 36 overs in the second Test and 35 overs in the West Indies first innings, being the tireless spearhead of a depleted New Zealand attack. The hosts are without Matt Henry, Will O'Rourke, Ben Sears, Nathan Smith and Kyle Jamieson, who are recovering from injuries.
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Duffy has so far taken two bags of five wickets in the series and a total of 18 wickets in the series at an average of 17.3, including 4–86 in the current match.
New Zealand only used a light roller between innings, highlighting concerns that a heavy roller could open cracks already evident in the Bay Oval surface.
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AP Cricket: https://apnews.com/hub/cricket
Associated Press
