Sun, Jun 22, '14 by TONY COZIER
We have got to go back 15 years, to the 1999 home series against Australia, to find as unlikely a turnaround for West Indies as that in the second Test against New Zealand at the Queen's Park Oval on Friday.
The circumstances were almost identical, as was the margin of victory.
West Indies cricket has floundered for so long that any straw is eagerly clutched at. Normally, it would be fanciful to base any optimism on nothing more than a solitary victory over tough, resilient but hardly intimidating opponents; in this case, the expectation is that the impact of the latest revival won't be as transitory as that in 1999.
read the full article at ESPNcricinfo
Fri, Jun 20, '14
It's not easy to win a Test match. Just ask West Indies. Their victory drought in Tests seemed set to end yesterday evening itself, but Mark Craig and BJ Watling made them wait. And wait. The odd drizzle and some threatening rain clouds on the fifth morning only increased the anxiety for the home side. More than two hours into play on the fifth morning, they finally did get New Zealand all out, and though they faced a not-too-challenging target of 93, a downpour soon after the final wicket meant there was little relief for West Indies.
As the skies cleared, so too did the home side's troubles. West Indies fans got to see the sight that perhaps cheers them up the most: Chris Gayle batting in Twenty20 mode to demolish the bowling. The target was hunted down in just 13.2 overs, the long wait for a Test win was finally over, and the series was level.
Fri, Jun 20, '14
PORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad (AP):
The West Indies bowlers produced a spirited performance to put a series-levelling victory in sight against New Zealand after four days of the second cricket Test yesterday.
The Black Caps, facing a first-innings deficit of 239, reached 257-8 in their second innings, leading by 18 with two wickets in hand.
Kemar Roach toiled manfully on a placid Queen's Park Oval pitch to claim 3-53 while fellow pacer Jerome Taylor took 2-46. Left-arm spinner Sulieman Benn grabbed 2-62 from a marathon 49 overs, and claimed a sensational return catch.
Kane Williamson top-scored with 52, while BJ Watling provided a defiant, unbeaten 36 in 41/2 hours at the crease.
Thu, Jun 19, '14
ICC Media Release.
Port of Spain, Trinidad - New Zealand fast bowler Tim Southee has been fined for a Level 1 breach of the ICC Code of Code for Players and Support Personnel during second day’s play in the second Test against the West Indies in Port of Spain.
Southee was fined 30 per cent of his match fee by Chris Broad of the Emirates Elite Panel of ICC Match Referees, after he pleaded guilty to breaching Article 2.1.8, that relates to ‘conduct contrary to the spirit of the game’.
Wed, Jun 18, '14
A half-century on debut from 22-year-old Jermaine Blackwood was the key performance on the third morning, during which West Indies stretched their first-innings lead to 239 in the Trinidad Test. Blackwood added 47 for the seventh wicket with Shivnarine Chanderpaul, then followed it up with a 76-run association with captain Denesh Ramdin to thwart New Zealand's plans of limiting the damage. In response, New Zealand were setback by the early loss of Brendon McCullum but held fort till the end of the day with old-fashioned attritional cricket. With two days remaining and a 166-run lead, West Indies are in pole position to square the series.