Twitter Reactions: Jeet Raval misses his hundred; Visitors edge ahead on Day 1

The second Test match between New Zealand and West Indies got underway in Hamilton today. West Indies didn’t have their captain Jason Holder available for this game as he was suspended for the slow over rate, so they had to make a forced change in the XI and they went for the left arm seamer Raymon Reifer who became the 314th Cricketer to represent West Indies in Test match Cricket.

Twitter was abuzz with the talks of the debutant. The Twitterati found Reifer’s name quite cool as they went to the extent of saying the 26-year old has got the best name in international Cricket. Also on the occasion of his debut, people remembered his uncle Floyd Reifer who represented West Indies from 1997 to 2009. Floyd was, in fact, the captain of the West Indies team that took part in the ICC Champions Trophy in 2009. Raymon’s father Elvis Reifer also played Cricket, but only at the first class level in the late eighties.

Reifer had a good first day in Test match Cricket as he bowled with a tight line and length and even managed to get his maiden Test wicket in the form of Henry Nicholls who was adjudged leg before wicket off the bowling of the Southpaw at the score of 13.

Another player who remained the talking point on Twitter apart from Reifer was the New Zealand opener Jeet Raval who once again failed to convert his half-century into a century and got dismissed at the score of 84.

The young opener who is of the Indian origin has shown great consistency in the longest format of the game for the Blackcaps as he has been able to register 6 fifty-plus scores in the 14 innings that he has played so far, but a three-figure score is still eluding him. A few of the Raval fans were really annoyed by the fact that the left-hander missed another opportunity of scoring his maiden Test hundred today.

All in all, it was a good day of Test match Cricket where both teams fought hard through the day and kept each other in check. While West Indies managed to get wickets at regular intervals, the Kiwis scored their runs at a fair clip and were close to the 300-run mark when the umpires called stumps. Tom Blundell and Neil Wagner were unbeaten at the crease for the hosts.

Here are a few selected tweets of the day

Congrats! Raymon Reifer gets his first Test cap as WIndies bowl on Day 1 at Seddon Park. @RaymonReifer #NZvWI pic.twitter.com/apuOWy2uNK

— CricketWestIndies (@westindies) December 8, 2017

Raymon Reifer gets his debut for the West Indies…. Best name in cricket?

— John Mckenzie (@Johnmck419) December 8, 2017

Raymon Reifer is the cousin of Floyd Reifer who played for WI between 1997-2009. Raymon's late father Elvis played for Hampshire in 1984

— Rick Eyre on cricket (@rickeyrecricket) December 8, 2017

The only constant in the West Indies cricket team is the impeccable matching of first names to surnames. I have no idea who Miguel Cummins, Royston Chase and Raymon Reifer are, but I’m sure they’re infinitely cooler than me #NZvWI

— Hayden McKertish (@HayMcK95) December 9, 2017

Test debut for @RaymonReifer? It’s Friday! All good things happens on Friday. Wouldn’t mind adding that to the list.

— Jason Greene (@JasonGreene87) December 8, 2017

Congratulations @RaymonReifer on your maiden wicket #WIvsNZ

— anupam basu (@anupambasu1985) December 9, 2017

Raymon Reifer is the icing on the cake in this golden age of international cricketers' names

— Sports Freak (@Sportsfreakconz) December 8, 2017

Come on Raval you are more than due. Was questioning your selection up until now. #NZvsWI

— Michael (@manapouriman) December 9, 2017

Among the big four of this generation, in tests, Smith is scoring like crazy averaging 60 now. Virat is hitting 200s for fun. Root is finding ways to go past 50 every match and then throw his wkt. It’s about time my fav, Williamson scores big too to show he’s the best. #NZVSWI

— Prahalad (@prahaladkobla) December 9, 2017

Both the set batsmen back in the pavilion, but we all know windies will still end up conceding 500+ runs#NZvsWI

— cricket freak (@cricloverakku) December 9, 2017

Reifer a very familiar name in WI cricket, Elvis for @hantscricket Floyd made debut v SL in 97 in the WI #NZVSWI

— Mahendra Ratnaweera (@mahenrr) December 9, 2017

Roache and Reifer in the West Indies side? Cliche much? #NZvWI

— Dale Budge (@playtheballnz) December 8, 2017

More than overjoyed in the strides you’ve made so far bro! I know it’s only the beginning!! ????@Raymonreifer pic.twitter.com/dJA880Kt78

— Kirk Edwards (@Edical30) December 8, 2017

If anyone's wondering about the BDO logo on the back of Jeet Raval's bat, it's a bit of a throwback to an older era.

In the off-season, rather than playing cricket overseas, Raval works as an accountant for BDO.

BDO are an understanding employer, but get a bat sticker in return

— Michael Wagener (@Mykuhl) December 8, 2017

Why does Jeet Raval refuse to score 100? #NZvWI

— Stephen W T Gallagher (@SWTGallagher) December 9, 2017

Regardless of if he gets to a maiden Test century today… I'll have a column coming out later on that has the headline: "Jeet Raval: The Find That New Zealand Were So Desperate For". Classy, legit Test opener for @BLACKCAPS

— Michael Pulman (@realmikepulman) December 9, 2017

Six fifties in 14 innings for Jeet Raval. Stat that brings relevance to mundane country-side park cricket masqueraded as a Test match. #NZvWI

— Kislaya Srivastava (@KislayaS) December 9, 2017

All I want for Xmas is for Jeet Raval to score a ton. #NZvWI @BLACKCAPS

— Bevan Sanson (@BevanSanson) December 8, 2017

A Positive Start From Jeet Raval That They Needed ! Hoping NZ Will Post 320+ On Day 1 Before Stumps ! #NZvWI ?

— Phani teja ?? (@phani98495) December 8, 2017

Jeet Raval looks like a good Test Opener for years to come but he will need to convert those 50s to triple figure scores at some point #NZvWI

— scott hunt (@IamNotJonahHill) December 9, 2017