Tom Latham fumed at Alex Wharf as West Indies batted out for a draw on the final day in Christchurch, after the umpire failed to raise his finger for two dismissals with New Zealand out of reviews.
West Indies batted out for almost two days to secure a record-breaking draw in Christchurch, finishing on 457-6 – the highest fourth-innings total in a non-timeless Test. Justin Greaves scored a memorable double-century, and Kemar Roach faced 233 balls – a record for a No.8 batter in the fourth innings – to score his highest first-class score.
However, Roach's stoic effort was aided by two incorrect decisions from umpire Wharf. In the final session of the day, Roach was struck on the pad by a ball that drifted in from Michael Bracewell. The BlackCap fielders went up in appeal but Wharf did not raise his finger. New Zealand were out of reviews having burned through them earlier in the innings. Ball tracking showed that the ball was going on to smash into leg stump.
Eight overs later, Bracewell again went up in appeal after sliding one past Roach's outside edge, convinced there was a noise as the ball went past the bat. Wharf was once again unmoved. However, replays of the dismissal showed a small spike on Snicko as the ball passed the outside edge of the bat.
Latham was audibly unimpressed with the decision from Wharf, and at the end of the over he vented his frustrations. As he changed ends behind the stumps he said to Wharf: "Come on Wharfy, get your bloody finger up mate!"
Wharf was also heard over the stump mic apologising to Latham for missing the noise. Roach batted out another 21 overs to secure the draw.
Injury crisis and burned reviews hamper New Zealand's final day efforts
Latham had to manage his troops through an injury crisis during most of the game. He was standing in for Tom Blundell with the gloves after Blundell suffered an injury while batting on day one. Two Black Caps pacers, Nathan Smith and Matt Henry also went down during the game, meaning Latham had only Jacob Duffy and Zak Foulkes to shoulder the pace burden on the final day of play.
Nevertheless, New Zealand burnt through their reviews early. One of their incorrect referrals included an appeal for a catch, which missed Tevin Imlach's bat by miles and hit him in the middle of his chest before ricocheting to point. Another was an lbw referral against Roach, which was comfortably going down leg.
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