NZvsWI 2nd Test: New Zealand Defeat West Indies by Nine Wickets as Duffy Takes 5-38 in Wellington

New Zealand crushed the West Indies by nine wickets on the third afternoon of the second Test at the Basin Reserve on Friday, December 12, 2025, to take a 1–0 lead in the three-match series. Stand-in seamer Jacob Duffy continued his dream series with a second five-wicket haul (5-38), bowling the tourists out for 128 in their second innings and leaving the Black Caps a trivial target of 56, which they knocked off in just 10 overs before tea.

Resuming at 32-2—still 41 runs behind New Zealand’s first-innings 278—West Indies collapsed spectacularly against a depleted but determined Kiwi attack missing several frontline pacers. Debutant Michael Rae (3-45) and Duffy shared eight wickets between them, while a remarkable effort was made after Blair Tickner dislocated his shoulder while fielding on day two, leaving the hosts effectively three bowlers down. The visitors lost their last eight wickets for 96 runs in 35.2 overs, with no batter managing more than Justin Greaves’ 23.

The tone for the collapse was set early when Brandon King (22) was run out in a horrible mix-up with Kavem Hodge. Shai Hope, the only recognised batter to reach 40 in the match, fell lbw to Duffy for 15, and the tail folded meekly. Duffy, who had already bowled 60 overs in the drawn first Test, sent down another 17.2 tireless overs to finish with match figures of 9-99 across both innings—a heroic workload that earned him Player of the Match honours.

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Chasing 56, New Zealand lost Tom Latham for 9, caught at slip off Kemar Roach, but Devon Conway (28*) and Kane Williamson (16*) finished the job in a hurry. Williamson sealed victory with a pulled four off Anderson Phillip minutes before the scheduled tea break, triggering jubilant scenes among the injury-ravaged home side.

Debutant wicketkeeper-batter Mitch Hay had earlier provided the backbone of New Zealand’s first-innings 278 with a gritty 61—the highest score of the match—while Conway contributed 60. Rae, also on debut, impressed with 6-106 across both innings, giving the Black Caps rare depth despite their injury crisis that ruled out Matt Henry, Will O’Rourke, Nathan Smith, Kyle Jamieson, and Ben Sears.

West Indies captain Roston Chase admitted the batting failure was alarming. “Coming from a beautiful second innings in the first Test, our batters never capitalised here. We got starts, but no one went big,” he said. The series finale begins in Hamilton on December 18, with the tourists needing a drastic improvement to avoid a whitewash.

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