New Zealand bowlers put their team in control

Southee and Boult starred with bat and ball as the West Indies was left struggling 158 runs behind on the first innings with only two wickets remaining. The tail-end batsmen boosted New Zealand to 373 in its first innings with a 61-run last wicket stand. 

The new ball pair then bagged four wickets between them on a benign pitch as the West Indies plummeted to 215 for eight at stumps. Southee has two for 34 and Boult two for 67. 

But to see the West Indies run chase fall apart after it was off the field for 90 minutes because of rain came as a surprise. New Zealand added 87 runs at the start of the day, the bulk of them in the Boult-Southee partnership with the innings ending on Southee’s dismissal. 

But 10 minutes later he was bowling the first over of the West Indies’ reply and took the wicket of Kieran Powell without scoring. He also had Shai Hope for 15 and pulled off a stunning catch to remove Kraigg Braithwaite, the West Indies’ top scorer with 66.

The 1.93-metre (6ft 4in) Southee leapt to get a hand to block an edge off Colin de Grandhomme, and then dived to get a hand under the ball just as it was about to hit the ground. Boult took the wickets of Shimron Hetmyer and the luckless Sunil Ambris for two.