Fast bowler Jacob Duffy wrecked the West Indies’ batting lineup with a second consecutive five-wicket haul to give New Zealand to a comprehensive nine-wicket victory inside three days in the second Test at the Basin Reserve.
Duffy claimed five wickets in an innings for the second time in the series, as the Windies, trailed by 73 runs in their first innings, producing another disappointing batting display to be out for just 128 runs.
Needing to score only 56 runs to complete the win, the home side lost captain Tom Latham cheaply, but Devon Conway and Kane Williamson needed just 10 overs to reach their target and take a 1-0 lead following the drawn opening Test.
The West Indies started the day with confidence on 32 for two, with overnight batsmen Brandon King and Kavem Hodge adding a quick 18 runs, until the unfortunate run out of King, which turned things upside down for the regional team.
Five balls later, Rae got the crucial wicket of Shai Hope, with a simple return catch, to leave the Windies in serious trouble at 58 for four.
Skipper Roston Chase then gloved a sharp, rising delivery from Duffy behind to the keeper after scoring just two, and substitute fielder Will Young took an excellent catch at short midwicket to remove Hodge for the topscore of 35. At this stage, the contest was essentially over at 88 for six.
Justin Greaves added 25 runs with Tevin Imlach, but Duffy returned after lunch to account for Greaves lbw via review and with just one run added to the score, Imlach was caught at second slip by Latham off a delivery from Duffy to send the Windies into deeper trouble at 114 for eight.
The end came swiftly after that, with Rae bowling Jayden Seales for a duck and Duffy dismissed last man Ojay Shields to grab his second five wicket haul in only his second Test.
Duffy ended with figures of 5-38, while Rae bagged 3-45.
In reply, Anderson Phillip claimed the wicket of Latham for nine, but Conway, who scored an unbeaten 28 off just 22 balls with six fours and Williamson, and who ended on 16 not out with four boundaries, wasted little time and carried their team across the finish line with 57 for one.
Chase ‘Disappointed’ With WI Batting Display In Loss To Kiwis
West Indies Test captain Roston Chase has expressed his disappointment with his team’s deplorable batting performance after they fell to a nine-wicket defeat against New Zealand inside three days in the second Test recently.
The Windies were only able to gather 205 in their first innings, before being dismissed for just 128 in their second innings, with only four batsmen making it into double figures, and two scoring 25 or more.
Speaking at a post-match press conference, Chase said the unsatisfactory performance of the batters was extremely disappointing considering the tremendous effort shown by the bowlers in restricting New Zealand to 278 in their first innings.
“I’m obviously disappointed,” Chase said. “I thought we were in a good position up to this morning, even though in the first innings we thought that we should have gotten some more runs with a number of batsmen getting some starts, but we didn’t really convert into anything big.”
Chase added: “We thought that we left some runs out there in the first innings and we thought that we would have gotten those runs in the second innings, but it didn’t happen, so I’m very disappointed for us after the bowlers really put up their hands and brought us back into the game.”
The skipper said the team’s effort with the bat was especially disheartening, as it came a few days after they scored a 457 for six in their second innings in the first Test to earn a draw.
“A different game, different conditions, but I still thought the pitch was one that we could score runs on. Personally, I thought it was not as tough as the first game in Christchurch. I thought in the first innings in Christchurch the ball was doing a whole lot, but I didn’t think that was the case here.”
“I just thought that we made some mistakes at some crucial points in the game and we just never really got our feet back into the game today,” Chase admitted.
Despite the result, Chase said the Caribbean team would be going all out to win the third and final Test, at Mount Maunganui.
“It was and always will be the motivation for this team to win a game in New Zealand. The last time we won was in 1995, so we want to leave here with a win.”
“We came close in the first innings, and we still think that we are capable enough to get a win, but it’s just for the batting to be consistent, because the bowlers have shown that they are capable of getting us those 20 wickets that we need to get, so I think it’s just for the batting to come up to par,” Chase said.
World Class Track And Field Complex To Be Built In Dominica
The island of Dominica is set to receive a top-tier synthetic track and field complex courtesy of World Athletics.
The Dominica Athletics Association (DAA) has recently made the announcement that Dominica has been officially designated as a recipient of the World Athletics Project 10 initiative. which will see the construction of the facility.
The DAA said the news comes two years after it submitted a detailed proposal to World Athletics, advocating for Dominica’s inclusion in Project 10, to advance sports in Dominica.
It revealed that after a thorough process involving consultations, technical evaluations and extensive assessments, the country has now been confirmed as a successful beneficiary.
It was also reported that the land has been secured in Portsmouth to accommodate the new venue.
The DAA extended heartfelt gratitude to all individuals and organizations whose cooperation made this achievement possible and also to those involved in ongoing evaluations of the proposed site.
Special appreciation was given to Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit and the Office of the Prime Minister, Hon. Oscar George and the Ministry of Sports, Reggie Severin, and Billy Doctrove for their leadership, encouragement and unwavering support throughout the proposal process.
“This milestone marks the beginning of a new era for athletics in Dominica. With this world-class facility, the nation is poised to elevate athlete development, expand its capacity to host regional and international events, and inspire generations of young athletes to pursue excellence,” the DAA said in a release.
“The DAA looks forward to continued partnership with the Government of Dominica, World Athletics, and the Qatar Olympic Committee as we move towards the realization of this landmark project,” the DAA added.
Sammy’s Stinging Verdict: Batsmen Must “Stand Up” After Wellington Wobble
A frustrated West Indies head coach Daren Sammy described his team’s recent performance in a nine-wicket defeat against New Zealand in the second Test as a case of “two steps backwards.”
The Caribbean side was defeated inside three days at the Basin Reserve, for a mere 205 and a paltry 128.
While the bowlers shared the wickets in New Zealand’s first innings, with fast bowler Anderson Phillip finishing with four wickets, their batting display was disappointing and proved detrimental.
Shai Hope’s 47 and John Campbell’s 44 were the highest scores.
“It shows every time we try to take a step forward, we take about two steps backwards,” Sammy stated. “It takes me back to 2013, where we drew the Test in Dunedin, came here, and lost inside three days. It’s just the consistency that we’re looking for.”
“We keep getting ourselves in good positions, but little moments switch the momentum, and in this Test match, once we lost the momentum, we lost it for a long period of time.”
While praising a New Zealand attack that “answered the call,” Sammy criticized his own batting line-up and delivered a blunt assessment of their failure to support a battling bowling unit.
“In a team, you want people to step up when needed the most. In this Test match, nobody stood up for us,” he said. “When you have runs not coming from the number seven and the number five positions, it puts a lot of pressure on the rest of the team. The bowlers are doing their job. It’s not the bowlers’ fault. I think it’s the batsmen that have to take more responsibility.”
Sammy made reference to the first Test draw in Christchurch, which was proof that resilience changes their complexion entirely.
“You’ve seen in the first Test, when we take responsibility, and one or two people put their hands up and dig deep, we look like a different side.”
The West Indies will take on New Zealand in the third Test at Mount Maunganui.
Football Fans Cry Foul As New World Cup Prices Released
Football fans have accused FIFA of a “monumental betrayal” following the release of ticket prices for the World Cup which began to circulate on Dec. 11.
The governing body allocates 8% of tickets to national associations for games involving their team to sell to the most loyal fans.
A list published by the German football federation released prices ranged from US $180-$700 for different group stage games. Meanwhile, the lowest price for the final was $4,185 and the highest was $8,680.
Those prices are very different from FIFA’s claims of $60 tickets being available for group-stage matches, while the target from US football officials when bidding for the tournament some seven years ago was to offer hundreds of thousands of $21 seats across the opening phase of games.
Fan organization Football Supporters Europe (FSE) described the latest prices as “extortionate.”
“This is a monumental betrayal of the tradition of the World Cup, ignoring the contribution of supporters to the spectacle it is,” it said in a statement.
The pricing policy was described as “laughable” by the Football Supporters’ Association’s England Fans’ Embassy.
In a social media, the England Fans’ Embassy said: “These prices are a slap in the face to supporters who support their team outside of the flagship tournament that appears every four years.”
“To call the Category 3 tickets, the cheapest available to ESTC members, ‘Supporter Value Category 3’ that comes at a cost of $7,020 if you want to follow England from start to finish, is laughable.”
FIFA said in September that tickets released through its website would range from $60 for group-stage matches to $6,730 for the final. But those prices are subject to change as it adopts dynamic pricing for the first time at the World Cup.
FIFA tickets are available in four categories, with the best seats in category one.
The FSE called on FIFA to immediately halt ticket sales through national associations “until a solution that respects the tradition, universality, and cultural significance of the World Cup is found.”
