• Williamson smashed his 33rd half-century on Day 1 of the first Test against West Indies.

  • Latham scored a brilliant 86 before Roach cleaned him up.

NZ vs WI, 1st Test: Kane Williamson, Tom Latham drive New Zealand to 243/2 on Day 1
Kane Williamson, Tom Latham (Image Source: Twitter)

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Kiwi skipper Kane Williamson once again showed his extraordinary class when he walked in to bat on Day 1 of the first Test against West Indies on Thursday.

On a green top wicket, West Indies won the toss and elected to bowl first. Pacer Shannon Gabriel justified the decision as he provided the first breakthrough in the fourth over of the day. The right-armer dismissed debutant Will Young on 5 runs.

However, the Caribbean bowlers then failed to capitalise as Williamson and opener Tom Latham (86) stitched a 154-run stand for second-wicket to put New Zealand into a strong position. Latham was looking well set to reach the triple-figure but a slower fullish delivery bowled by Kemar Roach crashed into Latham’s defence.

Williamson, on the other end, formed another crucial partnership with veteran batsman Ross Taylor. The pair added 75 runs for the third wicket before the umpires called the stumps.

The home team reached 243/2 at the end of day’s play with Williamson batting on 97. He is close to his 21st test century in the longest format. At the same time, Ross Taylor was unbeaten on 31.

Cricketers wear black armbands in honour of Roach’s father

On the opening day of the first Test between New Zealand and West Indies, cricketers from both the teams wore black armbands in honour of Kemar Roach’s father, Andrew Smith, who recently passed away.

Cricket West Indies (CWI) extended their deepest condolences to Roach and his family and issued a heartwarming statement.

“On behalf of CWI and the West Indies cricket team, I offer condolences to Kemar and his family back home. Losing a loved one is never easy, and we want to offer our full support to Kemar during this very difficult time. We got the news as we prepared for the Test match here, and the players and team support staff all got together and offered tremendous support,” Team Manager Rawl Lewis said in a statement.

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