Duffy bowls New Zealand to series lead as West Indies beaten in three days

Jacob Duffy claimed five wickets as New Zealand sealed a straightforward victory over West Indies on day three of the second Test in Wellington.

A makeshift New Zealand bowling attacking- missing several frontline seamers- skittled West Indies for 128 before reaching a modest victory target of 56 runs for the loss of one wicket.

Duffy- playing in just his third Test- finished with a five-wicket haul for the second time in the series.

Devon Conway and Kane Williamson, who respectively finished on 28 and 16 not out, got the hosts over the line with ease before tea.

“We took a little bit to get into the game, [on the] morning of day one [with] potentially some heavy legs,” New Zealand captain Tom Latham said.

“But we adjusted things and we bowled better in the second innings, and Duffy on the back of that [five-wicket haul] and some of our substitutes coming on and getting on the board [was pleasing].”

Victory ensures New Zealand, who drew the first Test, cannot lose the series with just next week’s Test in Tauranga remaining.

It is New Zealand’s first win of the 2025-27 World Test Championships (WTC) cycle, while West Indies have now lost six of their seven outings.

“Batting is a bit of a concern, after coming from the first Test and that beautiful second innings [in Christchurch],” said West Indies’ Roston Chase.

“But we came here and our batters never really capitalised. Initially we thought the pitch would be similar to Christchurch, but this pitch was a lot easier for batting.

“There is one Test match left and we can still level the series. That can help motivate the guys further.”

The third Test begins on December 17 at 18:00h, Guyana time. (BBC)