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Kiwis fight back on day 2

New Zealand came back fighting on the second day of the first cricket Test against the West Indies today. After bowling out the tourists for 365, they replied strongly in their first innings to finish the day on 113 for 3.

Captain Stephen Fleming was batting on 18 while nightwatchman Daniel Vettori was on five at stumps.

After yesterday's run feast, when the West Indies scored 282 for 1, it was a huge turnaround today as the overnight pair Adrian Griffith and Dinanth Ramnarine resumed the West Indies' innings.

Ramnarine was the first to go, after having occupied the crease for 41 minutes and scoring eight runs. Then Shivnarine Chanderpaul survived a confident caught behind appeal from Dion Nash when only on one before falling to Nathan Astle for 14.

Brian Lara came out blazing, hitting four of his first 10 balls for four. But he failed to read one from Daniel Vettori as he came down the pitch and got a leading edge to Dion Nash at mid off. He scored 24.

Then immediately Griffith drove at the next ball and edged Vettori to wicketkeeper Adam Parore. He added just 11 runs to his overnight score of 103 for his his highest Test score. However, Jimmy Adams denied Vettori his hat-trick.

In the next over, Test debutant Ricardo Powell casually hit Chris Cairns to Paul Wiseman at mid on to depart for a duck. Three wickets had fallen in the space of eight balls and New Zealand went to lunch having claimed five wickets in the first session.

The home team carried on after the break, with Ridley Jacobs, Franklyn Rose, Reon King and Courtney Walsh all falling in quick succession.

Vettori ended with 4-83, Cairns claimed 3-73 while Nash showed no ill effects of his recent back injury to end with 2-63.

New Zealand then saw Gary Stead and Matthew Horne put on their second consecutive stand of more than 50. Hard on the heels of their 131 stand against India in the third Test in Ahmedabad last month, they added 61 this time before Horne (32) took on a King bouncer and found the safe hands of Rose at long leg.

Stead, who went into the Test with 49 runs from his last six first-class innings, safely dealt with the West Indies pacemen while making 22 in 104 minutes before he walked across a straight Courtney Walsh delivery which took out his leg stump.

Craig Spearman and Fleming added 40 runs for the third wicket and looked set to see their team through to stumps before Spearman was fooled by a Ramnarine googly and was bowled for 27, three overs before stumps.

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