Black Caps captain Kane Williamson’s career-best 251 against the West Indies at Hamilton earlier this month provided the 12th instance of an individual score of 200 or more in Tests between the two teams. On that note, here is a look at the full list of double hundreds achieved in New Zealand v West Indies Test history.
259 by Glenn Turner, Fourth Test, Georgetown, 1971-72
Turner became the first New Zealander to cross 250 in a Test innings, bettering the national record held by Graham Dowling (239 against India in 1967-68). After the West Indies declared at 365/7, Turner, who batted for 704 minutes, and Paul Jarvis put on 387 for the opening wicket – another New Zealand record – to build the total towards 543/3. The match ended in a draw, as did every other in the five-Test series.
258 by Seymour Nurse, Third Test, Christchurch, 1968-69
This was Nurse’s final Test, and he made the occasion memorable by batting for close to eight hours to notch his highest first-class score. He hit 34 fours and a six, adding 231 with Joey Carew (91) for the second wicket on the way, to steer the total to 417. New Zealand were made to follow on, but hung on to draw the match and the series 1-1. Nurse’s 258 is till date the highest score by a batsman in his last Test innings.
251 by Kane Williamson, First Test, Hamilton, 2020-21
Williamson led from the front with a career-best knock – his third double ton in Tests – to star in a dominating show from the hosts. He came in to bat in the fourth over and went on to occupy the crease for nearly ten and a half hours, collecting 34 fours and two sixes en route. His second-wicket stand of 154 with Tom Latham (86) boosted the total to 519/7, enough for a New Zealand win by an innings and 134 runs.
223* by Glenn Turner, First Test, Kingston, 1971-72
Turner’s record-breaking 259 at Georgetown was the second of his two Test doubles, with the first coming in the first Test of the same series. Replying to the West Indies’ 508/4, New Zealand were wobbling at 108/5. But Turner stayed put, and shared in a sixth-wicket stand of 220 with Ken Wadsworth (78). Though New Zealand ended up trailing by 122, Turner’s 572-minute effort was vital in ensuring the safety of a draw.
218 by Darren Bravo, First Test, Dunedin, 2013-14
When the West Indies were bowled out for 213 on the third day, 396 in arrears, an innings defeat seemed likely. However, number three Bravo rose to the task of saving the Test, digging in for more than nine and a half hours for his career-best display that featured 34 fours. At tea on the final day, New Zealand needed only 33 more with six wickets left. But rain washed out the last session, leaving the Windies relieved.
217* by Ross Taylor, First Test, Dunedin, 2013-14
After a strong platform from the openers, Taylor took charge of the New Zealand innings at the University Oval. The highlight was a fourth-wicket partnership of 195 with captain Brendon McCullum (113). Taylor remained unbeaten, piling on the runs with support from all the way down the order. He batted for 491 minutes and struck 23 fours, powering New Zealand to what was then their fourth-highest total of 609/9.
214 by Lawrence Rowe, First Test, Kingston, 1971-72
Playing on his home turf at Sabina Park, Rowe created history by becoming the first man to score two centuries on Test debut, and only the second to score a double century in his first Test innings. Batting at number three, he added 269 for the third wicket with Roy Fredericks (163) during his stay of over seven hours, enabling the West Indies to declare at 508/4. He followed it up with 100* in the second innings.
214 by Matthew Sinclair, Second Test, Wellington, 1999-00
Sinclair emulated Rowe by compiling a double ton in his maiden Test outing, ending up with the same score. The Australia-born debutant walked in at 76/1 and entered the record books with an innings that took almost nine hours. He added 164 with captain Stephen Fleming (67) for the third wicket and 189 with Nathan Astle (93) for fourth, guiding the total to 518/9. The Windies went down by an innings and 105 runs.
213 by Gordon Greenidge, Second Test, Auckland, 1986-87
Greenidge lost fellow opener Desmond Haynes early, which was followed by the dismissal of Larry Gomes to make it 14/2. But the Barbadian went on to hold the fort for nearly nine hours, smashing 20 fours and as many as seven sixes. His sixth-wicket stand with Jeff Dujon (77) fetched 165. The West Indies declared at 418/9, after which New Zealand were bowled out for 157 and 273 to endure a thumping by ten wickets.
208* by Jimmy Adams, Second Test, St. John’s, 1995-96
Leading the two-match series 1-0, the West Indies extinguished New Zealand’s hopes of drawing level by putting up 548/7 on the board. The star of the show was the left-handed Adams, who came in at 193/3 and stayed unbeaten, having batted for 435 minutes and hitting 31 fours and a six. He was given good support by opener Robert Samuels (125). New Zealand fought back well, but had to be content with a draw.
208 by Sherwin Campbell, First Test, Bridgetown, 1995-96
After New Zealand were limited to 195, Campbell put the visitors’ bowling attack to the sword with an innings that lasted for 11 hours and 15 minutes. The opener’s fifth-wicket stand of 155 with Shivnarine Chanderpaul (82) put the match in the grasp of the West Indies, who took a commanding lead of 277 and eventually hunted down a miniscule target of 29 to win by ten wickets and take an unassailable series lead.
204 by Chris Gayle, Second Test, St. George’s, 2002
The opening duel at Bridgetown had seen New Zealand’s first Test win in the Caribbean, which duly led to a series victory thanks to a hard-fought draw in Grenada. Gayle converted his second Test ton into a double – his eight-hour innings, with 29 fours and two sixes, helped the West Indies to a lead of 97 after New Zealand had posted 373. But the gritty Black Caps had done enough to seal a historic success.
The Cricket Cauldron 