A sparkling century by Shai Hope ably supported by Justin Greaves had the West Indies 212-4 at stumps on Friday and clinging to the remote chance they can save the first Test against New Zealand in Christchurch.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Hope was 116 not out and Greaves 55 with the pair putting on 140 for the fifth wicket after the West Indies were in dire straits at 72-4.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
New Zealand need six more wickets with the new ball six overs away while the West Indies, set a mammoth 531-run target, need a further 319 runs.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The tourists' cause was helped by injuries to New Zealand's pace ranks which have forced captain Tom Latham to be creative with how he managed his bowlers.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
A side strain sidelined seamer Nathan Smith for the remainder of the Test and lead bowler Matt Henry was restricted to 11 overs because of a hamstring issue.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
That brought off-spinner Michael Bracewell and part-timer Rachin Ravindra into the attack earlier and longer than expected.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
But that takes nothing away from the stubborn performance of Hope, who is enjoying a purple patch despite battling an eye infection, with 56 in the first innings and coming to New Zealand off a century against India.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
He played briskly with 15 fours and one six and the delight was evident when he raised his bat after driving Ravindra to the covers for a single to bring up his century.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Greaves played his support role admirably, offering two faint edges but both fell well short of the slip cordon.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
After the West Indies went to lunch at 11-0, New Zealand dominated the second session with four wickets.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Jacob Duffy removed John Campbell for 15 in the second over after lunch with a seaming delivery that clipped the edge of the bat and Bracewell held the catch diving in front of first slip.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
At the start of his next over Duffy had Tagenarine Chanderpaul caught behind for six.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Right-arm spinner Bracewell picked up an easy wicket when he accounted for Alick Athanaze (five).<\/p>\r\n\r\n
A gentle long-hop which should have been despatched to the boundary went instead to Zak Foulkes at mid-on.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Henry made a brief return to the attack to removed captain Roston Chase for four.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
New Zealand resumed the day at 417-4 and added 49 runs in an hour before Kemar Roach ended the innings taking a return catch from Duffy (10).<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Roach also took the wickets of Bracewell and Henry to finish with 5-78.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
The New Zealand innings closed with 466-8 with the injured Tom Blundell (hamstring) and Smith unable to bat and in doubt for the second Test, which starts in Wellington next Wednesday.<\/p>\r\n", "image": "https:\/\/img.cricketnmore.com\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Shai-Hope.jpeg", "alt_img": "Shai Hope", "alt_title": "West Indies tour of New Zealand 2025 first Test", "image1": null, "video": null, "seo_title": "Hope\u2019s Century Fuels West Indies\u2019 Fightback vs Injury-Hit New Zealand On Cricketnmore", "seo_desc": "A sparkling century by Shai Hope ably supported by Justin Greaves had the West Indies 212-4 at stumps on Friday and clinging to the remote chance they can save the first Test against New Zealand in Christchurch.", "seo_keywords": "West Indies Tour New Zealand 2025, Justin Greaves, Shai Hope", "tag": null, "tagging": "West Indies Tour Zealand 2025,Justin Greaves,Shai Hope,", "status": "1", "img_rpt": "0", "google": "1", "standout": "0", "edapps": "0", "pulse": "0", "no_index": "0", "feed": "0", "fixture": null, "slug": "hopes-century-fuels-west-indies-fightback-vs-injury-hit-new-zealand", "user_id": "0", "read_count": "1", "ians_date": null, "ians_time": null, "server_time": null, "trash": "0", "view_count": "622", "page_break": "0", "instant_articles": "1", "auto_link": "1", "created": "2025-12-05 11:17:45", "updated": "2025-12-05 11:17:45", "img_from": "Image Source: Google", "img_source": null, "schedule_publish": null, "news_keywords": "West Indies Tour New Zealand 2025, Justin Greaves, Shai Hope", "livescore_text": null, "livescore_link": null, "btn_text": null, "resend_feed": "0", "google_feed": "0", "read_more": "1", "posted_by": "19", "jio_date": "2025-12-05 11:17:45", "scheduled": "0", "news_now": "1", "breaking_news": "1", "google_date": null, "featured": "0", "pred_match_id": "Select", "article_content_type": null, "england_cricket": "0", "link": "https:\/\/www.cricketnmore.com\/cricket-news\/hopes-century-fuels-west-indies-fightback-vs-injury-hit-new-zealand-183306" }