West Indies put on a marathon stonewalling with the help of an unlikely eighth-wicket association between Justin Greaves and Kemar Roach to pull off an epic fifth draw in the first Test against New Zealand at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Saturday.
Batting out over 163 overs in total, with a resolute Greaves and Roach warding off 400 deliveries, West Indies left the Kiwis sour in their first match of the 2025-27 ICC World Test Championship cycle.
After being bundled out for a paltry 167 in the second innings, handing the hosts a 64-run lead, New Zealand stubbed Roston Chase’s men on the backfoot with a rapid 466 for eight decl. in the second innings, led by centuries from captain Tom Latham and Rachin Ravindra. Set a gargantuan 531-run target shortly before Lunch on Day 4, West Indies put on a superb rearguard effort on the back of Shai Hope’s classy century.
West Indies’ Historic 4th Innings Resistance
457/7
Highest 4th Innings Total in Five-Day Test | Chasing 531
400
Balls (Greaves-Roach)
Four Major Records Broken
RECORD 1
Highest 4th Innings Total
457/7
Highest in five-day Test history
Previous: England 654/5 (1939 Timeless Test)
RECORD 2
2nd-Longest 4th Innings
163.3
Overs to save Test this century
Only Pakistan 171.4 vs AUS (2022) more
RECORD 3
Greaves’ Unique Double
200*
4th West Indian with 4th innings double
ONLY unbeaten 200 in 4th innings draw
RECORD 4
Roach’s Tail-End Record
58*
233 balls – maiden Test fifty at 37
First tail-ender 200+ balls in 4th innings draw
Indian Express InfoGenIE
Starting the final day at 212 for four with Hope and Greaves at the crease, West Indies lost the former and wicket-keeper Tevin Imlach early in the morning session before the veteran comeback man Roach forged a record partnership with the 31-year-old Greaves to save the Test.
Here’s a look at the major records that were set by West Indies’ superb 4th innings effort in Christchurch:
Highest 4th innings total in a five-day Test
West Indies finished on 457/7 in 163. 3 overs, collectively spending 694 minutes at the crease. The total is the highest-ever fourth innings score in a five-day Test. Only England’s 654/5 against South Africa in 1939 ranks higher, however, it came in over 218 overs of batting in a Timeless Test in Durban.
Second-longest 4th innings to save a Test this century
Batting out 163.3 overs, West Indies marked the second-longest fourth-innings effort to draw a Test this century. Only Pakistan had played more overs in the fourth-innings of a drawn match since 2001, having seen off 171.4 overs during the Karachi Test against Australia in 2022.
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Greaves’ superb double hundred
Greaves became only the fourth West Indian and the seventh overall to record a fourth-innings double century. Interestingly, his is the only unbeaten double century in the fourth innings of a drawn Test.
Roach converts maiden fifty to longest rearguard
Bringing up his maiden Test fifty at 37 in a protracted time of crisis, veteran pacer Kemar Roach became the first tail-ender (No. 8 -11) to play more than 200 balls in the fourth innings to draw a Test. He (58* off 233 balls) eclipsed the effort of former England wicket-keeper Matt Prior who had played 182 deliveries against the Black Caps in Auckland, 2013.
Longest 4th innings stand below 5th wicket
Playing out 409 deliveries, Greaves and Roach recorded the longest partnership below the fifth wicket in the fourth-innings of a drawn Test.