West Indies consolidate at lunch on day 3

PORT OF SPAIN: West Indies strengthened their hold on the second Test against New Zealand on Wednesday, reaching lunch at 396 for seven in their first innings on the third day at Queen´s Park Oval in Trinidad.

Having dismissed the tourists for 221 on the opening day, the home side will be pushing to extend their advantage, which now stands at 175 runs, even further when play resumes in the afternoon with debutant Jermaine Blackwood (31 not out) and captain Denesh Ramdin (5 not out) poised to add to the Black Caps´ woes.

New Zealand managed to remove the two overnight batsmen, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and nightwatchman Kemar Roach, in the morning session.

However two dropped catches at short-leg offered by Blackwood and continued expensive bowling by the supporting cast conspired against the efforts of skipper Brendon McCullum to limit the West Indies lead in the morning session.

Despite a relatively quiet start, when frontline seamers Trent Boult and Tim Southee were at their most challenging, the West Indies managed to add 86 runs off 27 overs in the two hours´ play, most of the runs coming off spinners Ish Sodhi and Mark Craig.

Sodhi did have the considerable consolation of having Chanderpaul trapped lbw for 47 just before the interval.

As in the first Test in Jamaica, the experienced left-hander offered no shot to the leg-spinner and was more than a little bemused when the on-field decision of "not out" by standing umpire Ian Gould was overturned by television official Richard Illingworth after McCullum requested a review.

Boult had earlier dispensed with Roach for his third wicket of the innings via a catch at short-midwicket by Jimmy Neesham.

Despite a nervy start, Blackwood got off the mark in Test cricket with an edged boundary through the slips and a commanding six over long-on. He added a second six on the stroke of lunch and could make New Zealand pay heavily for the sharp chances missed by Tom Latham off the suffering Craig.(AFP)