Rain hands Windies a miracle draw

Cricket365
December 7, 2013

The West Indies walked away from the first Test against New Zealand in Dunedin with an unlikely draw, after rain arrived late on day five with the Black Caps needing just 33 more runs to win.

The Kiwis had been set 112 to win after bowling the Windies out for 507 in their second, following-on, innings. Darren Bravo's double century had prevented an innings defeat and put the visitors in a position to save the game.

And then the Black Caps reached 79 for four in their chase, assuming they'd reach the score and bag the win, but then the heavens opened and every time a restart looked on the cards, the rain would begin again, thus ending the game.

The Windies began the day on 443 for six, with Bravo on 210 and Darren Sammy on 44, and their lead was 47. They had been all out for 213 in their first innings, chasing the 609 the Kiwis made, and a miracle was required.

Bravo was out for 218 early on day five, dismissed by Trent Boult, before the rest of the tail followed suit. Sammy was brisk in his scoring though, pushing the lead over 100 as he reached 80 before falling to Tim Southee.

The Kiwis then went in to bat three overs before lunch, not knowing they would only have the afternoon session at their disposal. Spinner Shane Shillingford took all four wickets to fall.

When the rain arrived, Man of the Match Ross Taylor had added 16 to his first innings double ton, while Corey Anderson was on 20. But their efforts were in vain, leaving the second and final Test with all the significance.