NZ vs WI, 2020: 2nd Test, Day 2 – Partnerships rescue New Zealand, Wagner's record knock and more stats

New Zealand stepped in to drive seat at the Basin Reserve on 2nd day as they reduced West Indies to 124/8 by stumps after posting 460 in their first innings. Henry Nicholls smashed his career-best of 176 by adding 57 runs to his overnight score but Neil Wagner hogged the limelight for his unbeaten 42-ball 66 which included four sixes. Later, Kyle Jamieson ran through the West Indies with a 5-wicket haul amidst Jermaine Blackwood’s 69 from only 92 balls.

Here are all the statistical highlights from 2nd day’s play of the Wellington Test match:

Wagner wags around:

66* – Neil Wagner’s unbeaten 66 is now the 5th highest score by a No.10 or lower batsman in Test cricket for New Zealand. Wagner’s 66* is also the first fifty by a New Zealand’s No.10 since Ish Sodhi’s 63 in the 2014 Abu Dhabi Test against Pakistan.

36 – Wagner completed his fifty in 36 balls which is now the fastest known fifty in Test cricket for New Zealand at Basin Reserve. The previous fastest was in 42 balls by Craig McMillan and Daniel Vettori.

3035 – Neil Wagner completed 3000 runs in first-class cricket when he went past his individual score of 31. The unbeaten 66 on Saturday was Wagner’s maiden fifty in Test cricket but his 9th half-century in first-class cricket.

A big partnership between Nicholls and Wagner:

96 – The partnership of 96 between Henry Nicholls and Neil Wagner is New Zealand’s highest for 9th or lower wicket in Test cricket since Mark Craig-BJ Watling’s 99-run stand in the 2014 Port of Spain Test against West Indies.

Watling’s milestone dismissal:

250 – BJ Watling, with the two catches on Saturday, became the first player from New Zealand to affect 250 dismissals in Test cricket. Watling affected 8 stumpings and claimed 242 catches including ten as an outfielder. Overall, Watling is the 11th player in Test cricket to complete 250 dismissals.

Partnerships rescue New Zealand:

5 – New Zealand’s first innings had as many as five 50+ partnerships; all of them for 4th and lower wicket. This is the first time in Test cricket where New Zealand had five or more 50+ stands in an innings for the 4th and lower wicket. This is the 10th such instance in Test history and the first since South Africa against Pakistan during the 2010 Abu Dhabi Test.

460 – New Zealand’s total of 460 is now their 2nd highest total in Test cricket without a century partnership. Their highest Test total without a century stand was 484 against England in the 1949 Lord’s Test.

It is also their 2nd lowest all-out total to involve five 50+ partnerships in Test cricket. They were bowled out for only 387 in the 1930 Auckland Test against England despite five 50+ stands.