WELLINGTON, DEC 28: New Zealand's miserable international sports year seems set to end on a high note after the Black Caps put the West Indies on the rack here on the third day of the second Test. New Zealand already have a 1-0 lead in the two-Test series and while there is a hint of a cyclone in the Coral Sea way to the North, nothing short of a miracle is going to save the tourists now. West Indies cricket captain Brian Lara provided a glimpse of his magic but even he could not stop his team's slide towards defeat. Lara's 67 and another dour effort from opener Adrian Griffith for the same score were the only positives in another forgettable day for the tourists.They lost four wickets for five runs after being 141 for four to total just 179 in their first innings in reply to New Zealand's 518 for nine declared. At stumps on day three the West Indies were two without loss, following on and staring at a 2-0 series loss with two days remaining. Chris Cairns charged in and cleaned up the tail to claim fivefor 44, his second successive five-wicket bag and the ninth of his test career. Coming hot on the heels of his 7-27 in the first Test - the third-best performance by a New Zealand bowler of all time - Cairns haul means he has now taken 15 wickets for 89 in this series. It was a tediously slow day for the 6,000 crowd, brightened only by a brief after-lunch exhibition by Lara and the late flurry of wickets. Lara and Griffith added 70 runs in the first hour after lunch as Lara moved from seven to 67 but the other hours of play saw only 19, 20, 23, 26 and 23 runs scored. Lara had threatened to dominate in the way double-century maker Mathew Sinclair had in the first two days, but when he was out after 167 minutes the West Indies' hopes of saving the match nose-dived. The day started in similar fashion to the West Indies' fourth day collapse in Hamilton, with Cairns adding Nehemiah Perry and Shivnarine Chanderpaul to the scalp of Sherwin Campbell he claimed last night. Chanderpaul, on five, gloved a shortfireball from Cairns to wicketkeeper Adam Parore for his third successive failure in the series after his 216 not out in the tour opener in Taupo. Lara entered at 17 for three and, living up to a pre-match promise, there was no hint of the recklessness he displayed in the first Test. He was seven not out at lunch after 73 minutes at the crease, but after lunch started to ominously launch into his vintage drives through the off-side. He moved to his 28th Test 50 in 112 minutes off 103 balls after punishing some overpitched Daniel Vettori bowling. Vettori had none for eight off 11 overs at lunch but his next five went for 32 runs. But the spinner came back, tied Lara down and finally got through a half-hearted defensive shot to bowl him. That set New Zealand on their way, Vettori removed Jimmy Adams for eight with a sharp Gary Stead bat-pad catch and Nash at last got rid of Griffith with his innings 15 minutes short of six hours. When Griffith departed with the score at 174 the West Indies inningsimploded. Cairns removed Franklyn Rose then Courtney Walsh for his 34th Test duck, and Reon King was run out off a no-ball by a Vettori direct hit as Ridley Jacobs watched helplessly from the other end. Vettori ended with two for 69 off 31 overs and had Lara's wicket for the second time in consecutive tests. The innings ended 20 minutes before stumps and Campbell and Griffith negotiated three overs for no further loss. Griffith had a prolonged battle with Nash, who was typically abrasive and had to be calmed down by Zimbabwean umpire Russell Tiffin. Match referee Raman Subba Row said there was no further action taken because there was a policy of an umpire giving one warning before the match referee became involved. SCOREBOARD :New Zealand (1st innings): 518 for nine decl.West Indies (1st innings; overnight 5-1): A Griffith c Fleming b Nash 67, S Campbell lbw Cairns 0, N Perry c Parore b Cairns 3, S Chanderpaul c Parore b Cairns 5, B Lara b Vettori 67, J Adams c Stead b Vettori 8, RJacobs not out 19, F Rose c Parore b Cairns 0, R King run out 0, C Walsh b Cairns 0; Extras: (lb2, b4, w2, nb2) 10. Total: (for nine wickets, 91 overs) 179Did not bat: D GangaFall of wickets: 1-1, 2-5, 3-7, 4-129, 5-141, 6-174, 7-175, 8-176, 9-179Bowling: Cairns 19-5-44-5, Nash 18-8-23-1, Vettori 31-10-69-2, O'Connor 19-8-25-0, Astle 4-1-12-0.West Indies (2nd innings): A Griffith batting 0, Sherwin Campbell batting 2; Total (for no loss in 3 overs) 2Bowling: O'Connor 2-1-1-0, Vettori 1-0-1-0.
