New Zealand opener Tom Latham lauds WI bowlers for bowling well periodically on Day 1

New Zealand opener Tom Latham said that West Indies bowled well in periods but could not stick to those lengths for long which allowed the hosts to score runs after the end of play on Day 1 in the first Test at the Seddon Park, Hamilton on Thursday.  
Even though West Indies skipper Jason Holder won the toss and decided to bowl first, it was total dominance from the Kiwi batsmen who made merry of the home conditions despite losing the toss.

'They obviously bowled well in periods': Tom Latham

"The danger for me was driving the ball on the up and bring the slips into play. They obviously bowled well in periods and bowled a lot of dots to me and Kane but it was nice to try and overcome those periods and seek some little rewards after that," Latham told the host broadcaster after the day's play.

"There was probably a little bit more grass on this Hamilton wicket than we have traditionally seen in the past. Probably had a little bit more pace as well than we are used to seeing here. I think initially it [the pitch] was probably a little bit slower. Sometimes when it's a little bit softer, it tends to hold in the wicket a little bit more. But it did dry up a little bit and quickened up but I think West Indies bowled a little bit short, which allowed us to leave a lot of balls on length early on to get ourselves in," he added.

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Latham, Williamson help NZ dominate on Day 1

The start of play was delayed for a while due to rain but when it got underway, the Windies got the wicket of opener Will Young early on. However, that was the only silver lining in the dark cloud for them after which they were made to toil by Latham and skipper Kane Williamson who added 154 runs for the second-wicket stand before the former was dismissed just 14 short of what would have been a well-deserved century.

The southpaw was castled for 86 by Kemar Roach. The wicket-keeper batsman looked to defend a length delivery but it ended up shattering his stumps after taking the inside edge of the bat. The visitors might have hoped for a revival in fortunes once Latham walked back but it was not to be as Williamson took matters into his hands and hit them to all corners of the ground. The elegant batsman also got company in the form of veteran Ross Taylor who also made his bat do the talking. The duo has registered a 75-run stand for the third-wicket and will be hoping to add more in their tally on Day 2. 

Kane is unbeaten on 97 while Taylor is well-set at 31 as the hosts are 243/2 at stumps.  Meanwhile, it remains to be seen whether Kane Williamson would be able to add three more runs to his overnight score and end up registering his 22nd century in the longest format. 

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(With ANI Inputs)