WEST INDIES v NEW ZEALAND 1984-85

At Georgetown, April 6, 7, 8, 10, 11. Drawn. Batsmen took advantage of a lifeless pitch and a fast outfield to score 1,219 runs for the loss of 22 wickets. Richardson gave a delightful exhibition of off-side strokes, of which the square-drive was the most frequent, on the opening day when he struck 21 4s in an unbeaten 140. He and Haynes added 191 in 3 hours, 35 minutes as West Indies, 271 for two at the close, established the basis of their huge total. Next day, Richardson could not refind his touch, taking another three hours, twenty minutes to add 45 before being run out. His fourth Test century lasted seven and three-quarter hours. It was left to the other West Indian batsmen to accelerate the scoring, Logie and Dujon adding 104 in better than even time.

New Zealand had no alternative but to bat for a draw, and at 98 for four midway through the third afternoon they faced a familiar crisis. But by then Martin Crowe had overcome an uncertain start, and Coney played confidently from the time he came in. The pair carried the total to 230 for four when rain ended play 55 minutes early.

The early dismissal of Coney on the fourth morning, to a slip catch off Holding, ended the fifth-wicket stand at 142, a New Zealand record against West Indies, and it was not until Martin Crowe raised his century and erased the follow-on requirement with the same stroke that New Zealand could breathe more easily. No West Indies bowler, least of all the new off-spinner, Butts, could get any response from the pitch, and Crowe and Smith attacked so effectively that they added 143 in less than three hours for the seventh wicket, another New Zealand record against West Indies. Crowe was last man out, batting for longer than he had ever done before in a first-class match (nine and a half hours), one 6 and 22 4s being his main strokes. The final day amounted to no more than batting practice for West Indies on a pitch that remained ideal for batting to the end.