Yep, a very dominant display by New Zealand. To be honest though the West Indies were woeful. Absolutely woeful. This obviously wasn't New Zealand's fault, and the way they have played they would probably have beaten this West Indies side even if they were playing at their best, but I do hope the West Indies show a bit more fight in the 3rd test.
It is a shame how far the West Indies bowling attack has declined. They were once an attack to be feared..... now they have Darren Sammy trundling in at first change bowling mid 120kphs (at most). Best has some fire, but has never been consistent enough for test level (as a test bowling average of almost 40 would suggest), while neither Cottrell or Gabriel impressed. Obviously they are missing Roach and Rampaul (who are both pretty handy), but there doesn't seem to be any depth what-so-ever. They do have a couple of spinners who can be handy in their home conditions (though I see Shillingford has been suspended again for chucking), but they are not going to win many away tests until they can develop some quality pace bowlers. The batting lineup has failed to fire this test series, but they do have a few proven performers (Bravo, Samuels, Chanderpaul etc).
Regarding the New Zealand side I agree the 3rd seamer position needs to be looked at. Wagner has some good points. He runs in hard all day, can swing the ball at times, bowls a good yorker, and can add some aggression to the attack. The problem is he doesn't really have a stock delivery. He tends to bowl 6 different balls every over, and struggles to build up pressure on batsmen. This is fine at domestic level (as he bowls enough good balls to get out domestic batsmen), but needs to develop a good stock delivery if he is going to succeed at test level. Unfortunately I don't think Bracewell is really any better at the moment. He was outstanding a couple of years ago when he lead us to victory against Australia in Hobart, but hasn't done anything since. He is still young (only 23), and has some talent, but his overall first class record so far isn't overly impressive (a bowling average of almost 36).
Unfortunately there aren't really any fast bowlers at provincial level screaming 'pick me!'. Gillespie has pace but is injury prone and inconsistent, Arnel is accurate but doesn't have enough pace (Bates is similar but a left armer), McClenaghan can't seem to transfer his limited overs form to the longer format, while we have a number of talented young bowlers who aren't ready yet (Milne, Henry, Wheeler, Duffy et al.). It is interesting to see Hamish Bennett back - I'm not sure he is good enough for test level but it is good to see him back and bowling pretty well.
Our lack of a quality test spinner is one of our biggest issues. It is not a big problem in New Zealand (as we don't have spinning pitches) - indeed I think we should be playing 4 pace bowlers (with Williamson providing spin if required) at home. In the subcontinent it is a big problem. Sodhi has some talent, but he is nowhere near ready for test level. I imagine the selectors will persist with him for some time though, as a quality leg spinner is something every side in he world dreams of. Vettori is back bowling now, so could be back at some stage, though he is really only a containing bowler at test level these days (which is still much better than any of our other spinners).
Our opening batsmen are (as usual) our main problem. Fulton and Rutherford aren't really good enough for test level. The problem is we don't have anyone better. Many have been tried in the last few years. Almost all have failed - Fulton and Rutherford have probably been as successful as any of them. Guptill is a superb limited overs opener, but his technique isn't good enough to open at test level. Personally I think he could have value at test level, but as a middle over batsmen rather than as an opener. Redmond is probably next in line in terms of openers, but is probably no better than Rutherford or Fulton. Tom Latham has some talent, but is still finding his role at domestic level (is he an opening batsmen, a middle order batsmen, or a wicketkeeper?). There is the option of playing McCullum at opener again, but he hasn't really performed to his potential as an opener (he actually has the technique to be a good test opener, he just lacks the temperament).
Ryder will certainly come into contention, but again he is another middle order batsmen - if he is included it would most likely be at the expense of Anderson (unless McCullum was used as an opener). I have to say I have been really happy with the performances of BJ Watling over the last year or so. His keeping is steadily improving, and he has added some real solidity to New Zealand's middle order.
Anyways... I hope we can continue our momentum and wrap up the series with another win in Hamilton. If we can we will go to India with some confidence - unfortunately I think we will find the tests over there a lot more difficult!
New Zealand are unsurprisingly unchanged.
