Jacob Duffy took 5/42 as New Zealand bowled out the West Indies for 138 on a deteriorating fifth-day pitch on Monday.
The fast bowler surpassed Richard Hadlee’s New Zealand record of 80 wickets in a calendar year and finished the series with 23 wickets at an average of 15.4, including three five-wicket hauls. He bowled more than 154 overs as the workhorse of the New Zealand attack in the three Tests.
“I saw that list at lunchtime and there were some cool names on there, so to be up there on any sort of list with those sort of names was special,” Duffy, who was voted Player of the Series, said.
“I think when you bowl so many overs you get them eventually. It’s just about playing simple cricket.”
New Zealand’s win ended a series in which both teams had to cope with significantly depleted pace attacks.
The third Test was a feast for statisticians.
Devon Conway made 227 and Tom Latham 137 in a 323-run opening stand in New Zealand’s first innings of 575/8 declared. Conway then made 100 and Latham 101 in a partnership of 192 in the second innings, the first instance when the openers had
scored centuries in both innings of a Test.
“I don’t think it’s sunk in yet. It will take some time for me to get my head around what happened in this Test match,” Conway said, “but I’m really glad we got the win.”