Roach stars with four-wicket haul
Led by Kemar Roach, the fast bowler, West Indies Cricket Board President's XI bowlers took advantage of helpful conditions to restrict New Zealanders to 137 for 8
ESPNcricinfo staff
21-Jul-2012
New Zealanders 137 for 8 (Williamson 55, van Wyk 34, Roach 4-28) v West Indies Board President's XI
Scorecard
Scorecard
West Indies Cricket Board President's XI bowlers took advantage of helpful conditions to restrict New Zealanders to 137 for 8, on the opening day of their three-day tour game at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua. The star turn came from fast bowler Kemar Roach, who was playing his first match since a shin injury cut short his tour of England two months ago.
The New Zealanders were sent into bat under overcast conditions and struggled as their top order failed to handle the moving ball. Roach had Martin Guptill lbw, and followed that up with the wickets of Brendon McCullum (2) and Ross Taylor (0), both edging the ball to Shivnarine Chanderpaul. The wickets kept tumbling as Delorn Johnson accounted for Daniel Flynn to reduce the New Zealanders to 28 for 4. Dean Brownlie fell lbw to the left-arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul, and Roach picked up his fourth wicket of the innings when he dismissed Daniel Vettori for 9.
At 54 for 6, the New Zealanders looked in danger of being bowled out cheaply. However Kane Williamson and Kruger van Wyk, offered some resistance; their 80-run stand taking the score to 134. Their dogged, seventh-wicket effort came to an end when van Wyk was dismissed for 34. Williamson, who had grafted his way to 55 off 176 deliveries, fell on the same score, to Assad Fudadin. Rain brought an early end to the day's play; a poor one for the New Zealanders, with only three of their batsmen having reached double figures.
Van Wyk, who was the second-highest scorer, said conditions were tough, but it was important for the batsmen to "mentally" prepare themselves before the first Test. "Patience is a massive word on this tour," van Wyk said. "You don't get a lot of value for the shots - the wicket is really slow, some turn, some don't and some spit, and it is only day one. Wickets will get tougher to bat on as the tour goes on but patience is the key word. Time in the middle will help."
