West Indies openers fly after Conway double ton

West Indies have been here before, craning their necks to view the mountain of runs put in front of them by an opposition. But like they've shown once before in the series, they showed the ability to not be unnerved by it. After New Zealand declared at 575 for 8, West Indies openers John Campbell and Brandon King gave nothing away, pushing the visitors to 110 for 0 at Stumps and setting up a fascinating future for this fixture.

New Zealand attacked the day with an impending double century for Devon Conway. West Indies were further dented by the absence of lead pacer Kemar Roach, who was laid low by a hamstring strain. However, West Indies put up a far better show with the ball on Day 2 to chip away. They snuffed out nightwatch Jacob Duffy early, but Conway soon reached his milestone through back-to-back boundaries off Jayden Seales. After the drinks break, Conway and Kane Williamson took New Zealand past 400. A 69-run stand ensued, but Roston Chase made quick bowling changes and found an opening. Justin Greaves got one ball to swing away from Williamson, drawing an edge behind to Tevin Imlach.

In the second session, Greaves trapped Conway leg before for 227, ending his epic knock. Daryl Mitchell and Tom Blundell fell shortly after, raising West Indies' hopes of wrapping up the innings soon. But Rachin Ravindra stitched two quick alliances—first worth 61 off 85 with Glenn Phillips and then 39 with Ajaz Patel. Ravindra finished unbeaten on 72, with Phillips (29) and Ajaz (30) making considerable contributions.

New Zealand threw their bats around for 10 overs in the final session before declaring. West Indies openers then showed they could stand toe-to-toe with their New Zealand counterparts on a pitch still excellent for batting. Both batters made a flourishing start, driving and cutting their way to early boundaries. New Zealand's pace troika of Jacob Duffy, Michael Rae, and Zak Foulkes erred after the ninth over, allowing the West Indies pair to pick up at least one boundary in a six-over period. This emboldened King and Campbell to keep going, with King reaching a 63-ball fifty before Stumps. Duffy brought the day to a close with a length ball that nipped away from Campbell, invoking appeals, but the West Indies opening pair remained unbroken.

West Indies scored 110 in 23 overs, showing they're ready to bat long again. How they keep up on Day 3 will determine the direction this Test takes.

Brief scores: New Zealand 575/8 decl. (Devon Conway 227, Tom Latham 137, Rachin Ravindra 72; Justin Greaves 2-83) lead West Indies 110/0 (Brandon King 55*, John Campbell 45*) by 465 runs.