Cricket: Entertaining and frustrating series vs the Windies

It's hard to imagine a touring team that's galvanised New Zealand cricket folk more than the West Indies.

From the "Three Ws" to present-day prince Brian Lara, from the days of "white" captains to the fury of Lloyd and Richards, the Caribbean federation has historically represented the exotic and stylish for Kiwi fans, not to mention the most un-English principle of adopting adventure over caution.

Indeed, if any team can lay claim to paving the way for today's action-packed test format, it's the West Indies, who for years were patronised by the English for their lack of due diligence and refusal to play safe.

They were, and remain, a romantic notion: a union of 12 or more nations initially held together by the yoke of colonialism who continue to come together as sovereign states for the purpose of playing cricket.

Arguably the game's most entertaining influence, they have toured New Zealand on half a dozen occasions and feature in some of this country's most dramatic cricketing moments.

* 1952
This was the time of the revered "Three Ws", Frank Worrell, Everton Weekes and Clyde Walcott, and the spin twins, Sonny Ramadhin and Alf Valentine. Off-spinner Ramadhin was famous for bowling a mystery ball that went the other way. If that sounds familiar, he also bowled with sleeves firmly buttoned around his wrists. Also in the touring team was wicket-keeper Sam Guillen, later to play for New Zealand. The Windies won the first test at Christchurch and drew the second at Auckland.

* 1956
The year of New Zealand's first test win, the fourth test against the West Indies at Eden Park. That the tourists had won the first three couldn't dampen the spirits of the Eden Park crowd, who had been forced to watch their team fold for 26 against England. It wasn't a half-bad West Indian side, either. Worrell and Walcott had gone but Weekes scored consecutive centuries in the first three tests. For the record New Zealand, having lost the previous three tests by margins of an innings and 71, an innings and 64 and nine wickets, prevailed by 190 runs after dismissing their guests for 145 and 77.

* 1969
New Zealand repeated their success, bouncing back after a first-test defeat at Auckland to win by six wickets at Wellington before holding out for a draw in the final match at Christchurch. Both teams were on the climb, having introduced new faces that would serve them well over the next decade. Captained by Garfield Sobers, the West Indies included Roy Fredericks, Seymour Nurse, Clive Lloyd, Wes Hall and Lance Gibbs, while New Zealand featured Glenn Turner, Bevan Congdon, Mark Burgess, Bruce Taylor and Bob Cunis.

* 1980
The most controversial tour in New Zealand cricket history, starting with local umpires Fred Goodall and John Hastie dishing out a world-record 12 lbws in the first test at Carisbrook, where Michael Holding kicked John Parker's stumps clean out of the ground and the hosts held on for a thrilling one-wicket win. The second test was even more dramatic, including a defiant sit-in by the West Indies after tea on day 3 and culminating in fast-bowler Colin Croft deliberately barging into Goodall on Day 4. New Zealand withstood all the sideshows to draw both this test and the third, securing their most unlikely series win.

* 1987
Another finely balanced touring side, including a batting line-up to die for: Gordon Greenidge, Desmond Haynes, Richie Richardson and Viv Richards, and a bowling attack featuring the late Malcolm Marshall, Joel Garner, Courtney Walsh and Michael Holding. The first test at Wellington was drawn, but the Windies then took the initiative at Auckland with a 10-wicket win, before being beaten at Christchurch by five wickets for a squared series.

* 1995
The 1995 visit followed New Zealand's "Drugs, Sex and Rock 'n' Roll" tour to South Africa and ended with (at the time) the country's worst test defeat, by an innings and 322 runs. The first test at Christchurch was drawn, but the re-match at Wellington a few days later was a wholesale slaughter, the Windies first racking up 660 before bowling Ken Rutherford's side out for 216 and 122. Walsh took 13 wickets.

* 1999
Now it was the turn of the West Indians to fall into decline, Brian Lara's tourists crumbling in the face of a well-organised but hardly world-beating New Zealand combination and eventually being whitewashed in both the tests and one-dayers. It started in the first test at Hamilton, where openers Adrian Griffith and Sherwin Campbell put on 276 for the opening wicket, only to watch as their side folded against Daniel Vettori and Chris Cairns and eventually lost by nine wickets. Then it was on to Wellington, where Mathew Sinclair made his astonishing test debut, 214 as New Zealand won by an innings and 105.

 
Scoreboard

Fourth test (1956)
(Eden Park)

NEW ZEALAND
First innings

S. N. McGregor c Smith b Dewdney 2
L. S. Miller c Weekes b Valentine 47
A. R. MacGibbon b Smith 9
D. D. Taylor lbw Valentine 11
J. R. Reid hit wkt b Dewdney 84
J. E. Beck c Sobers b Ramadhin 38
S. C. Guillen run out 6
M. E. Chapple c Atkinson b Dewdney 3
D. D. Beard c Binns b Dewdney 31
H. B. Cave c Smith b Dewdney 11
J. C. Alabaster not out 1
Extras (7b 5lb) 12
- - Total 255
Fall: 1/9, 2/45, 3/66, 4/87, 5/191, 6/203, 7/205, 8/210, 9/250.

Bowling: Dewdney 19.5-11- 21-5, Atkinson 32-14-45-0, Valentine 41-20-46-2, Ramadhin 23-8-41-1, Smith 31-19-55-1, Sobers 20-7-35-0.

Second innings

S. N. McGregor c Binns b Atkinson 5
L. S. Miller c Weekes b Atkinson 25
A. R. MacGibbon c Weekes b Atkinson 35
D. D. Taylor c Valentine b Atkinson 16
J. R. Reid c Binns b Atkinson 12
J. E. Beck lbw Atkinson 2
S. C Guillen st Binns b Valentine 41
M. E. Chapple lbw Ramadhin 1
D. D. Beard not out 6
H. B. Cave not out 0
J. C. Alabaster b Atkinson 5
Extras (4b 5lb) 9
- - Total (9 wkts decl) 157

Fall: 1/14, 2/61, 3/66, 4/91, 5/100, 6/101, 7/109, 8/146, 9/155.

Dewdney 12-5-22-0, Atkinson 40-21-53-7, Valentine 6-0-29-1, Ramadhin 18-6-26-1, Smith 4-0-18-0.

WEST INDIES
First innings

H. Furlonge c Guillen b Cave 64
B. Pairaudeau c MacGibbon b Cave 9
G. Sobers c Guillen B MacGibbon 1
E. D. Weekes c guillen b MacGibbon 5
O. G. Smith b Beard 2
D. Atkinson b Reid 28
A. Roberts b MacGibbon 28
A. P. Binns lbw MacGibbon 0
S. Ramadhin b Cave 3
A. L. Valentine c Taylor b Cave 0
T. Dewdney not out 0
Extras (1b 3lb 1nb) 5
- - Total 145
Fall: 1/25, 2/32, 3/46, 4/59, 5/94, 6/139, 7/140, 8/145, 9/145.

Bowling: MacGibbon 21-5-44-4, Cave 27.3-17-22-4, Reid 18-8-48-1, Beard 9-4-20-1, Alabaster 3-1-6-0.

Second innings

H. Furlonge c MacGibbon b Beard 3
B. Pairaudeau b Cave 3
G. Sobers run out 1
E. D. Weekes c McGregor b Alabaster 31
O. G. Smith b Cave 0
D. Atkinson c Chapple b Cave 10
A. Roberts b Beard 0
A. P. Binns b Alabaster 20
S. Ramadhin c Miller b Beard 0
A. L. Valentine st Guillen b Cave 5
T. Dewdney not out 4
Extras 0
- - Total 77
Fall: 1/4, 2/16, 3/16, 4/16, 5/18, 6/22, 7/68, 8/68, 9/68.

Bowling: MacGibbon 6-1-16-0, Cave 13.1-9-21-4, Reid 6-2-14-0, Beard 15-7-22-3, Alabaster 5-4-4-2.

Result: New Zealand win by 190 runs.