{"id":192022,"date":"2025-12-19T16:34:09","date_gmt":"2025-12-19T16:34:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/192022\/"},"modified":"2025-12-19T16:34:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T16:34:09","slug":"black-caps-v-west-indies-ajaz-patel-firms-as-new-zealands-weapon-in-hunt-for-victory","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/192022\/","title":{"rendered":"Black Caps v West Indies: Ajaz Patel firms as New Zealand\u2019s weapon in hunt for victory"},"content":{"rendered":"

Tauranga\u2019s warmer, dryer climate has seen Tauranga wickets tend to favour spin at first-class level, with hopes that will be replicated in the third test. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s why Patel was picked for his first home test since 2020, rather than see the Black Caps hand a debut to seamer Kristian Clarke<\/a>, on one of his Northern Districts home grounds. <\/p>\n

For the most part, Patel has found himself as an overseas specialist, playing just four tests on Kiwi soil, without taking a wicket. In that time, he\u2019s taken 85 wickets overseas, including a history-making haul of 10-119 against India<\/a> in Mumbai, the best figures by a New Zealander.<\/p>\n

But this Black Caps side will attack as a unit. And, as explained by Rachin Ravindra, it\u2019s up to all the bowlers to contribute, not just Patel.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got a bowling attack which is a team, everyone has a role to play,\u201d he explained. \u201cI don\u2019t think it\u2019s the Kiwi way to put the onus on one guy. It\u2019s about little individual contributions.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt might not be about him taking the wickets, it could be the pressure he creates at the other end. I\u2019m sure he\u2019ll be great, and his consistency will be there.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut for us, it\u2019s about chipping in and staying there.\u201d<\/p>\n

The West Indies, meanwhile, don\u2019t share that view. The tourists know the quality that Patel possesses, and the fact his selection in this test has solely been to secure victory in the final innings.<\/p>\n

After trips to India and Bangladesh before arriving in New Zealand, the West Indies are no strangers to facing quality spin bowling.<\/p>\n

\"AjazAjaz Patel celebrated the wicket of Virat Kohli. Photo \/ Photosport<\/p>\n

Already in their first innings, Patel has sent down four overs for nine runs, without really threatening. <\/p>\n

And, off the back of saving the first test in Christchurch with a marathon fourth innings, they know they have the skills to take this game deep, and push New Zealand all the way once more.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne ball at a time,\u201d Justin Greaves said of the West Indies\u2019 plans to play Patel out. \u201cWe\u2019ve been batting well in patches. It\u2019s about being as consistent as a group as possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe will be the main threat, yes. But we\u2019ve been batting [against] spin pretty well in the last couple of months, and the last couple of series.<\/p>\n

\u201cLong may it continue.\u201d <\/p>\n

Relying on spin to win a home test, is unique in New Zealand. While the Black Caps have done well to claim overseas series with slow bowling – seen against Pakistan in the UAE in 2018, and a famous 3-0 sweep of India last year – the lack of home opportunity does not correlate to a lack of ability on the spinners\u2019 part.<\/p>\n

Patel will be accompanied by Glenn Phillips, and possibly even Ravindra himself if required.<\/p>\n

And with vital World Test Championship points on the line, Ravindra believes being tested like this in home conditions is exactly what the Black Caps need. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s certainly strange,\u201d he added. \u201cYou don\u2019t see it too often, so it\u2019s a great little refresh.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s great for us being adaptable and changing our games a little bit. It\u2019s cool to have two spinners that can hopefully bowl us to a win.\u201d <\/p>\n

Alex Powell<\/a> is a sports journalist for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tauranga\u2019s warmer, dryer climate has seen Tauranga wickets tend to favour spin at first-class level, with hopes that…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":192023,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[21693,118296,806,7022,42574,2046,25337,2082,10937,78,28523,1019,117,111,43,139,69,95022,8982,16963,3807,2963],"class_list":["post-192022","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-zealand","tag-achieved","tag-ajaz","tag-as","tag-black","tag-caps","tag-career","tag-firms","tag-for","tag-hunt","tag-in","tag-indies","tag-international","tag-new","tag-new-zealand","tag-news","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-patel","tag-victory","tag-weapon","tag-west","tag-zealands"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192022","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=192022"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/192022\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/192023"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=192022"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=192022"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=192022"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}