New Zealand ease to series victory

New Zealand 349 (Taylor 131, Williamson 58, Narine 6-91) and 124 for 2 (Williamson 56) beat West Indies 367 (Chanderpaul 122*, Ramdin 107, Southee 4-79) and 103 (Boult 4-23, Southee 3-12) by eight wickets
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

New Zealand suffered few alarms as they eased to an eight-wicket victory in Hamilton to claim the series 2-0. It was their first series victory over a top-eight nation since they beat the same opposition in 2006. Kane Williamson provided the main contribution, with an elegant 56, while Hamish Rutherford was unbeaten on 48, having been required to fight a little harder.

The winning runs came at 1.45pm when Rutherford drove Narsingh Deonarine through the covers, meaning Ross Taylor could not quite score enough in the second innings to become New Zealand's leading scorer in a calendar year after Williamson had been bowled with six runs required.

The only chance West Indies had of conjuring something remarkable after yesterday's post-tea demise, where they lost 10 wickets in a session, was to grab a couple of quick breakthroughs to create some nerves in the home camp. However, Rutherford and Peter Fulton saw through the initial stages, and although Fulton chipped a return catch back to Darren Sammy - the West Indies captain's fourth sharp take of the match - the visitors could not strike in quick succession.

Narine probed away throughout the entire first session, making life tough for Rutherford who was stuck at the offspinner's end for the eighth to the 26th over. Rutherford was given out, caught behind, on 24, but the DRS showed that he had hit the ground rather than the ball. Although rarely convincing, he did collect a couple of boundaries off Narine when the bowler dropped his line short.

Williamson was more free-flowing after taking 15 deliveries to open his account. He greeted Veerasammy Permaul's first over with two classy drives, exhibiting swift footwork and confidence against the more orthodox spin of the left-armer.

A third lofted boundary by Williamson brought the end to Permaul's brief spell, and Tino Best, who has been one of the major disappointments of the series, was given a run with little impact.

After lunch, Williamson skipped to his fifty from 74 balls, his second of the match, but could not quite see the chase to its conclusion when he aimed a pull at a ball from Permaul which skidded through. The job, though, was soon completed and New Zealand were able to celebrate a convincing start to their international season. For West Indies, their Test cricket does not hold much cause for satisfaction.