Wagner seven-for puts New Zealand in charge v Windies
Neil Wagner took 7-39 as the West Indies were skittled for 134 on the first day of the first Test in Wellington.
Wagner’s figures were a career-best and the fourth-best Test figures by a New Zealand bowler as the Black Caps dominated the first day, ending 85-2, just 49 behind.
Wagner’s performance was all the more remarkable for the fact that West Indies’ openers Kraigg Brathwaite and Kieran Powell had put on 59 relatively untroubled runs for the first wicket after Kane Williamson had won the toss and put them in. But a change of tactics saw the 31-year-old left-armer spearhead a barrage of short-pitched bowling, and the game changed rapidly, with the tourists slumping to 105-9.
Wagner’s short-pitched attack produced New Zealand’s fourth-best Test figures
Shannon Gabriel and Kemar Roach managed to put on 29 for the last wicket before Wagner wrapped things up to finish with seven wickets.
Tom Latham and Kane Williamson were the New Zealand wickets to fall before the close, but the hosts nevertheless look set for a big first-innings lead on a greenish looking pitch at the Basin Reserve.
