Category: Sport

Source: Radio New Zealand

The country’s biggest sports teams delivered everything from turmoil to triumph in 2025, with a mixed bag of results across rugby, league, netball and cricket, and off-field drama often dominating headlines.

For a country that breathes sport as deeply as it breathes air, 2025 has offered both triumphant exhilaration and heartbreaking exasperation.

The past year has reminded Kiwi fans that dominance is never guaranteed, and that rebuilding, resetting and resilience will be themes across many of the nation’s sporting codes, namely rugby, league, netball, football and cricket.

Sports commentator and journalist Rikki Swannell breaks down the highs and lows – on and off the field – for The Detail.

“I would probably say inconsistent, that’s the word that comes to mind,” Swannell replied, after being asked to sum up the sporting year. “It’s been a little bit inconsistent and perhaps, at times, a little unconvincing.”

Let’s start with the All Blacks.

The side endured another uneven year, showing moments of brilliance – think lock Fabian Holland (just named World Rugby Breakthrough Player of the Year), halfback Cam Roigard and loose forward Ardie Savea – but they also struggled for consistency, as their rebuild continued under intense public scrutiny.

“They lose [to England], there’s no Grand Slam, and then you look at a year where they suffered a record defeat to South Africa at home and then they were beaten by Argentina for the first time ever away,” Swannell says.

“I would say inconsistent and the other word, though, too… is unconvincing. We are year two into Scott Robertson’s reign as coach and it doesn’t feel like they’ve progressed.

“There’s probably – and I know I have seen the word bandied around a little bit – stagnation. They haven’t really gone forward.

“Yes, injuries are a part of that as well, but it’s hard to almost see where they are going at the moment and that’s probably the concerning factor for any All Blacks fan.

“Even some of those wins that they had weren’t thoroughly convincing and it’s hard to see exactly where they are heading.”

Is Robertson the right man for the top coaching job?

“He’s the man for the job, whether he’s the right man for the job… I would be very surprised if he’s not the retained All Black coach, though, until the next World Cup. It’s just not the New Zealand way to do that, they will back him.”

Will Scott Barrett remain the All Blacks captain?

“That might be Scott Robertson’s biggest decision… the fact of the matter is, when Ardie Savea has worn that captain’s armband, the All Blacks have been a better side.”

She says the All Blacks’ upside is that a core of younger players have emerged as genuine long-term leaders.

The challenge? Converting potential into consistency.

If the All Blacks’ troubles were on the field, the Silver Ferns’ drama was almost entirely off it.

The ongoing coaching saga – standing down Dame Noeline Taurua for more than 50 days, then re-instating her last month – became one of the year’s biggest sporting stories, raising uncomfortable questions about leadership, communication and the direction of the netball programme.

“Massively damaging,” says Swannell, who has covered netball as a journalist or commentator for more than 20 years. “Every sport has their dramas, but this one for netball, on the back of what hasn’t been a great year anyway.

“There’s been issues around their broadcast deal, uncertainty around their competition and clearly some not great morale going on at headquarters, with a high turnover of staff as well.

“Then you add this on top of it and the handling of the situation, and it all adds up to a pretty grim year for Netball New Zealand, saved by their players.”

The women in black enjoyed a 2-1 series win over England, thrashed South Africa 3-0, beat the Scottish Thistles twice and secured two wins over Australia, only to lose the Constellation Cup by one goal in series-decider time.

When they take to the court again next year, will Dame Noeline Taurua be front and centre?

“The path forward, to me, is really still very murky and there’s still a lot that has to change for her to come back in.”

Another code courting off-field headlines and drama this year – cricket.

NZ cricket chief executive Scott Weenink faces allegations of working to “actively undermine” a bid by a private consortium to establish a new T20 franchise competition.

An open letter, signed by several former Black Caps test and one-day players, has also just been shared, detailing concerns around the proposed league.

“I have a feeling we are probably going to end up talking about cricket off the field, just like we have with netball this season, and I think Netball New Zealand are going to be the happiest people going about it,” Swannell says with a laugh. “Someone else taking the spotlight, hey, hold my beer.

“It’s not necessarily the sort of thing that will affect the team on the field, in the way that the Netball New Zealand thing has – that direct impact of coaching.”

This year, the Warriors flirted with the top four, but ultimately couldn’t cling on. While fans appreciated the fight and the flashes of brilliance, the campaign left the club sitting in that awkward space between promise and payoff.

Swannell says “a couple of massive injuries” and inconsistency contributed to an ultimately frustrating campaign.

So, is a title window emerging? Possibly, but unlikely for now – “but they still have the capacity to surprise”.

The Black Ferns missed the Rugby World Cup final, falling short against an increasingly competitive international field.

The semi-final loss to Canada stung, not just because New Zealand wanted to win, but because the side had become a symbol of how inspirational women’s sport could be.

“I hope it’s a really good wake-up call for New Zealand Rugby about the level of planning and resources, and everything that goes into these World Cup campaigns, and what other squads and nations are doing.

“You only have to look at England, because they are miles in front with their resourcing of the women’s game, of where we need to be, and what the Black Ferns need to do to grow and be back to the top of the world.”

Amid the turbulence, the New Zealand Sevens sides – men and women – delivered a late-year lift, with standout wins in Dubai last weekend.

It wasn’t just a result – it was a reminder of the code’s ability to fuse speed, skill and composure under pressure.

“[Black Ferns Sevens vice-captain] Jorja Miller is just on a whole different stratosphere than any other sevens player and probably any other female rugby player in the world with some of the things she does.”

In March, the All Whites sealed direct qualification for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and it’s just been confirmed that the team will play two matches here next March, as part of a four-team international tournament.

All the games will be staged in Auckland.

“There’s nothing like seeing New Zealand football playing on that stage.”

While he’s not in a Kiwi team or playing a Kiwi code, it would be remiss not to mention Formula One star Liam Lawson, who will remain on the Formula One grid in 2026, Red Bull confirmed this week.

“He’s probably the most talked-about Kiwi athlete anywhere in the world this year.”

Taken together, 2025 was not a year of dominance for our sports teams – it was a year of discovery.

New Zealand’s biggest teams were pushed by stronger global competition, deeper professionalisation across rival nations and scrutiny from a public accustomed to winning.

In every patch of turbulence, there were glimpses of what might come next.

Check out how to listen to and follow The Detail here.

You can also stay up-to-date by liking us on Facebook or following us on Twitter.

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

The country’s biggest indoor sport and aquatic centre will open to the public in less than a fortnight.

Parakiore – central Christchurch’s long-delayed $500 million multisport aquatic complex – has a 50-metre competition pool, a dive pool, five hydroslides, a large recreational pool and a sensory aqua centre, as well as nine courts and a High Performance Sport New Zealand training base.

Before Parakiore opens to the public on 17 December, it will host swimming and basketball for the Special Olympics National Summer Games from 10-14 December.

Christchurch City Council head of recreation, sports, and events Nigel Cox said the Special Olympics was a fitting first use of the building.

“They’ve got their swimming competition and basketball to be played out of here, with some demonstration sports as well,” he said. “We’re expecting all their people will come here to watch and it’ll be an amazing amount of spectators.”

Although Parakiore had taken years to build, Cox said the wait was worth it.

“Come to the opening day and you’re going to be amazed,” he said. “All that stuff will be forgotten, because this is just the best thing that’s going to happen to Christchurch.

“This is a world class fantastic facility – 32,000 square metres of building. There’s something for everyone, from the hydroslides to the community courts.”

The complex also has a three-court space with retractable grandstands, as well fitness studios and a circus studio.

Cox said staff were stoked with the new centre.

“When we brought the staff in and welcomed them to start doing the testing, a lot of them were overcome,” he said. “You’ve had those that knew before the earthquake the previous QEII, through to staff that have never known that, but just as they came into the space, it was so big and just going wow, this is so much bigger than they thought it was going to be.”

High Performance Sport New Zealand South Island manager Andrew Ellis said he was excited.

“I sort of grew up in Christchurch, with QEII as an asset – a jewell in the crown of our sporting world,” he said. “That’s been missing for a long time, so to have that integrated approach to sport and recreation in this city, where everyone’s going to be in the same place connecting, it’s just going to be a gamechanger.

“We’ve got a specifically designed facility for around our business, so a high performance gym, running track and indoor throws cage, coupled with the integrated meeting spaces and office spaces, where our high performance sport providers can work tightly with those coaches and athletes on a daily basis.

“We have a legacy in Christchurch and Canterbury of producing some fantastic performers on the world stage. This is the next step of producing those athletes towards LA 2028 [Olympics], Brisbane 2032 and beyond.”

Parakiore was built by Crown Infrastructure Delivery, and is now owned and operated by the council.

The project was expected to cost about $500m, more than double the original budget.

The city council’s contribution to the project was capped at $147m.

Construction began in 2018.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

The Black Caps are being made to toil for a first test win against the West indies in Christchurch.

After setting the visitors a daunting total, the Windies have offered plenty of resistance to leave the Black Caps needing six wickets on the final day for victory

The Kiwis opted to bat on this morning, as Kemar Roach cleaned up the tail to claim five wickets with neither Nathan Smith nor Tom Blundell fit enough to pad up.

Zac Foulks finished unbeaten on 11 as New Zealand finally declared on 466/8, a mammoth lead of 530.

The Windies survived a tricky period before lunch at 20 without loss, however, John Campbell and Tagenarine Chanderpaul were quickly back in the pavilion as Duffy sneered both openers shortly after the resumption.

Alick Athanaze came and went for just five when he skied a poor Michael Bracewell delivery which Foulks pouched before a Matt Henry peach had Roston Chase caught behind for four.

Shai Hope notched his half-century off 70 balls and alongside Justin Greaves survived until tea at 107/4, the pair then taking their partnership past fifty.

They would grind the Kiwis further into the dirt in the final session, Hope bringing up his century while Justin Greaves chipped in with 50.

Play resumes at 11am.

Follow the action as it happened on day four

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Follow all the action as the second in the five-test series between arch rivals Australia and England continues at the Gabba in Brisbane.

Australia lead the five-test series 1-0 and have not lost to England at the Gabba since 1986.

First ball on day two is at 5pm NZT.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Auckland FC v Wellington Phoenix

Saturday, 6 December

Kick-off: 5pm

Mt Smart Stadium, Auckland

Live blog updates on RNZ

Auckland FC may be the most vulnerable they have ever been ahead of a New Zealand derby game in the A-League.

Saturday’s fifth edition of the derby with the Wellington Phoenix is the only one of this season’s three head-to-heads that will be played in Auckland.

Auckland have dominated the previous four derby games, over two seasons, including a 2-1 win in November in the first clash this season.

But the Phoenix come into the round seven game with momentum on their side. While the Phoenix upset Adelaide United 2-1 in Wellington last week, Auckland lost for this first time this season going down to the Newcastle Jets in heavy rain.

Will the second derby of the season live up to the first?

An opening goal scored less than 30 seconds into the game, red cards and injuries, the first New Zealand derby of the 2025/26 season was a spectacle at Sky Stadium.

Auckland silenced the Yellow Fever fans after just 28 seconds when Sam Cosgrove scored the first of his two goals. The Phoenix levelled the scores through their own import striker, Ifeanyi Eze, in the ninth minute before Cosgrove scored the winner just after the half hour mark.

The second half was punctuated by two red cards for Auckland players – first centreback Dan Hall and then Logan Rogerson – as well as a dislocated shoulder for stand-in skipper Jake Brimmer.

For the Phoenix, it was another painful chapter in the growing rivalry – a night when numerical advantage, home support and near-total dominance could not deliver a first victory against their rivals.

The second derby of the season, just four weeks (or two games) after the first, comes on a big day for New Zealand football.

On Saturday morning the All Whites will find out who they will play at next year’s Football World Cup when the draw for the global tournament is made in Washington DC. Less than 12 hours later potential All Whites team mates will face off, or play alongside each other, at Mt Smart Stadium with their attention needing to be firmly on what is in front of them over the next 90 minutes rather than the next six months.

Will the Phoenix capitalise and end the Auckland dominance on a day when football is a focus in New Zealand?

What they said

Rogerson is good mates with Phoenix captain and fellow All White Alex Rufer, and is a former Phoenix player but said he tried to keep to himself before the derby games.

“It’s hard to not give [Rufer] a little look but by the time we’re in the tunnel all the boys are pretty much in the zone and then once we cross the white line it’s full noise.”

Rogerson’s two match suspension from his red card picked up in the last derby game was his first suspension in his career but it will not change his approach.

“I’m just going to go out there and try and do the same things as I do normally,” Rogerson said.

“It happened so quick, half a second, like a little brain explosion, so I’ve just got to think about it like that and play more normal game really.”

Auckland FC coach Steve Corica said derby games were “special” and he wanted to keep the dominance going.

“For us it’s about winning at every opportunity and so far we’re doing a great job but that can turn around very quickly if we don’t do the right thing and to make sure that there’s no complacency, there shouldn’t be because we just had a loss last week, and we should be all hungry to want to get back on track and back to winning ways. It’s going to be an important game for both teams,” Corica said.

Phoenix coach Giancarlo Italiano said he was “confident” ahead of this derby game.

“I’ve spoken to the group about evolving and part of that evolution is maturing as a collective and I felt like we were a little but undone the last game when we played Auckland, we played the moment and played 30 minutes like it was the last minute and we’ve addressed that and I think there is a sense of maturity coming within in the group now and I’m really looking forward to the challenge tomorrow.

“Any victory against them would be satisfying… outside of Auckland I think most people are cheering for us. I haven’t heard anyone outside of Auckland say they like Auckland.

“Losing four is probably not a reflection of where both teams are at.”

Squads ins and outs

Auckland captain Hiroki Sakai will miss his second derby in a row as he recovers from a hamstring injury.

The Phoenix have a long injury list including All White Tim Payne as well as Paulo Retre, Hideki Ishige, Nikola Mileisnic, Nathan Walker and Luke Supyk.

Auckland FC: 1. Michael Woud, 3. Jake Girdwood-Reich, 4. Nando Pijnaker, 6. Louis Verstrate, 7. Cameron Howieson, 8. Felipe Gallegos, 9. Sam Cosgrove, 10. Guillermo May, 11. Marlee Francois, 14. Liam Gillion, 15. Francis de Vries, 17. Callan Elliot, 19. Oliver Middleton, 20. Oli Sail, 21. Jesse Randall, 22. Jake Brimmer, 23. Dan Hall, 27. Logan Rogerson, 35. Jonty Bidois, 77. Lachlan Brook.

Wellington Phoenix:1. Josh Oluwayemi, 3. Corban Poper, 4. Manjrekar James, 5. Fin Roa Conchie, 7. Ifeanyi Eze, 11. Carlo Armiento, 12. Dan Edwards, 14. Alex Rufer (c), 15. Isaac Hughes, 17. Gabriel Sloane-Rodrigues, 18. Lukas Kelly-Heald, 20. Ramy Najjarine, 24. Xuan Loke, 25. Kazuki Nagasawa, 27. Matt Sheridan, 29. Luke Brooke-Smith, 30. Alby Kelly-Heald, 37. Anaru Cassidy, 39. Jayden Smith, 40. Eamonn Mccarron.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

The Black Caps are in firm control of the first cricket test against the West Indies after a dominant day three in Christchurch.

Centuries for skipper Tom Latham and number four batter Rachin Ravindra helped New Zealand set a solid foundation to reach 417-4 at stumps with a lead of 481 runs.

Close to half of the Black Caps runs came in boundaries on Thursday.

First ball is at 11am.

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

New Zealand sprinter and national 100m record holder Eddie Osei-Nketia has officially switched allegiances to Australia.

Osei-Nketia broke his dad Gus Nketia’s record at the 2022 World Championships in Eugene, stopping the clock at 10.08 seconds. He came close to breaking the 10 second barrier earlier this year.

The 24-year-old, who is based in the US, is now set to race for Australia.

Governing body Australian Athletics posted on Instagram to announce the news. “Welcome, Edward Osei-Nketia,” the post said.

“He has been lighting up Australian tracks for years but Edward Osei-Nketia is now officially eligible to represent Australia on the world stage, successfully completing his transfer of allegiance from New Zealand.

“The 10.08-second man joins the nation’s rising sprinting stocks. This is going to be fun.”

Osei-Nketia is also the New Zealand 200m record holder, bettering the mark with a 20.24s finish earlier this year at a meet in the US.

He also ran 9.96s over 100m at a college meet in Texas in April although it was wind-assisted.

He last represented New Zealand in 2022 at the World Champs and earlier this year Australian Athletics confirmed he had requested a transfer of allegiance.

Osei-Nketia moved to the US after leaving New Zealand and had a crack at American football in Hawaii, before getting back on the sprinting track for the University of Southern California in 2024.

He has been based in the US since.

– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

Ryan Fox emerged happy from a taxing opening round at the Australian Open in Melbourne, sharing the top of the leaderboard with Australia’s Elvis Smylie and Mexican Carlos Ortiz.

Strong winds at the Royal Melbourne course dominated day one, with world number two Rory McIlroy among those to struggle, finding himself languishing in a share of 57th on one-over.

Fox was more composed, shooting a six-under 65 which featured eight birdies and two bogeys.

The 38-year-old made a rapid start to his round with a tidy approach to the second, an up-and-down at the driveable third and a long putt from off the green at the fourth to complete a hat-trick of birdies.

A smart tee-shot on the seventh had him four-under and while he dropped a shot before the turn, he sandwiched a two-putt gain at the 14th with a pair of smart approaches to share the lead.

A second bogey of the day came on the next but he hit back on the par-five 17th to once again find the summit.

“I would’ve taken even par on Friday,” Fox said.

“This golf course is tricky enough. There’s obviously a lot of trouble, especially with all the crosswinds. It’s pretty wide off the tee for the most part, if you hit the right club, but with all the crosswinds, you can get yourself in a lot of trouble.

“So I was very happy I managed to stay away from all the bad stuff on Friday and holed a couple of putts early and sort of kept me on my way and hung on through the middle, through the really tough stretch of holes there, and then took advantage of the par fives and a couple of good wedge shots coming home.”

Fox won twice on the PGA Tour this year, but following a break did not make the return to the Australasian Tour that he wanted to last week, finishing 12 strokes off the pace in a share of 39th at the Australian PGA Championship in Brisbane.

New Zealander Daniel Hillier, who finished in a share of fifth last week, continued his consistent form with an opening 68 in Melbourne to share seventh.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

2026 FIFA World Cup draw

Washington DC

Saturday 6 December, 6am NZT

Live blog coverage on RNZ

The draw for the 2026 FIFA World Cup will be made in Washington DC on Saturday. So who could the All Whites be grouped with? Here’s everything you need to know.

The 23rd edition of the World Cup will be the first to feature 48 teams and will be hosted by the US, Mexico and Canada. It kicks off on 11 June with the opening two games in Mexico, and finishes on 19 July with the final in New York.

A new rule in the draw aims to maintain competitive balance in the expanded 48-team format. It means the top-ranked team (Spain) and number two (world champions Argentina) are in opposite halves of the bracket, with the same applying to number three (France) and number four (England).

If the top four seeds win their groups, those countries won’t be able to meet until the semi-finals for the first time in the tournament’s history.

The World Cup draw takes place on Saturday morning (6am NZT) in Washington DC, with the updated match schedule, including stadiums and kick-off times, to be released on Sunday morning.

Teams qualified

Hosts: Canada, Mexico, United States

Africa: Algeria, Cape Verde*, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia

Asia: Australia, Iran, Japan, Jordan*, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, Uzbekistan*

Europe: Austria, Belgium, Croatia, England, France, Germany, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Scotland, Spain, Switzerland

Oceania: New Zealand

South America: Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay, Uruguay

North and Central America and the Caribbean: Curacao*, Panama, Haiti

*attending World Cup finals for the first time.

Play-offs

The UEFA play-offs feature 16 teams (four places available) – the 12 group runners-up and four UEFA Nations League group winners: Italy, Poland, Republic of Ireland, Romania, Denmark, Wales, Albania, Sweden, Turkey, Czech Republic, Bosnia-Herzegovina, North Macedonia, Ukraine, Slovakia, Kosovo and Northern Ireland.

There will be six teams in the two inter-confederation paths (Two places available). Iraq and DR Congo will go direct to one of the finals. Bolivia, Jamaica, New Caledonia and Suriname will be drawn into semi-finals.

Pots for draw

Hosts Canada, Mexico and the US are in Pot 1, which includes Spain, Argentina, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium and Germany.

Pot 2 has Croatia, Morocco, Colombia, Uruguay, Switzerland, Japan, Senegal, Iran, South Korea, Ecuador, Austria and Australia.

Pot 3 will include Norway, Panama, Egypt, Algeria, Scotland, Paraguay, Tunisia, Ivory Coast, Uzbekistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and South Africa.

Pot 4 will be Jordan, Cape Verde, Ghana, Curacao, Haiti, New Zealand, and the winners from the European play-off A, B, C and D, and the FIFA Play-Off tournament 1 and 2.

Confederation constraints will apply, with no group having more than one team from the same region except UEFA, which has 16 representatives and can place up to two teams in a group.

The 12 groups at the World Cup will include one team from each of the four pots.

Fifa will start by drawing the teams from pot one.

Once a team is drawn they will go into the first available group.

Who could the All Whites face?

With 48 teams in the draw (50 percent more than the 2022 Qatar World Cup), New Zealand have 36 possible opponents from every FIFA confederation apart from Oceania.

They could face any of the Pot 1 teams of Canada, Mexico, the US, Spain, Argentina, France, England, Brazil, Portugal, Netherlands, Belgium and Germany.

Canada or the US would likely be the All Whites favoured opponent from the seeded pot, but they would both still be very hard to beat.

New Zealand Football boss Andrew Pragnell and All Whites coach Darren Bazeley will be in Washington DC as part of a New Zealand delegation of seven people who will be stateside for the draw.

While the duo will be “ball watching” during the draw to find out which teams the All Whites will be grouped with for New Zealand’s third appearance at a World Cup, that is a passive part of what they are up to.

They have no influence over how the draw plays out, but they can work the room and get themselves and their football wishes in front of some influential people.

New Zealand history at the FIFA World Cup

New Zealand first attempted to qualify for the World Cup finals in 1970, but didn’t achieve their goal until 1982.

In the buildup to that tournament the All Whites went through a gruelling qualification process that involved 15 games, and they had to beat China in a sudden-death play-off in Singapore.

That squad contained many of the greats of New Zealand football, including Wynton Rufer, Steve Sumner, Duncan Cole and Ricki Herbert.

In Spain in 1982 the All Whites lost all three group games – 2-5 to Scotland, 0-3 to Soviet Union and 0-4 to Brazil.

As Oceania champions New Zealand qualified for the 2010 finals by beating Bahrain in a two-legged intercontinental play-off with Rory Fallon scoring the decisive goal in Wellington

The All Whites were the only team to go unbeaten in the 2010 tournament in South Africa although they still failed to get out of their group.

They drew 1-1 with Slovakia, 1-1 with Italy and 0-0 with Paraguay.

Host cities

USA: Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, Los Angeles, Miami, New York/New Jersey, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Seattle.

Mexico: Guadalajara, Mexico City and Monterrey.

Canada: Toronto and Vancouver.

Television coverage

TVNZ will cover the tournament, with all of the All Whites games and some others to be broadcast free-to-air.

A World Cup pass to watch all of the games will be able to be purchased.

Although kick-off times have not been confirmed it is likely that games will be played in the late afternoon and evening because of the heat. That means games are likely to start between 8am and 3pm in New Zealand.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand

Source: Radio New Zealand

The Black Caps are in firm control of the first cricket test against the West Indies after a dominant day three in Christchurch.

Centuries for skipper Tom Latham and number four batter Rachin Ravindra helped New Zealand set a solid foundation to reach 417-4 at stumps with a lead of 481 runs.

Close to half of the Black Caps runs came in boundaries on Thursday.

Openers Latham and Devon Conway resumed in the morning at 32 without loss, taking their partnership to 84 before Conway went for 37.

Kane Williamson joined his skipper but just before lunch would send a feather thin edge behind off Kemar Roach to give the Windies a sniff.

Roach then turned villain when he dropped Ravindra at midwicket as Latham brought up a patient half century from 120 balls.

Ravindra got another reprieve on 13, as 12th man Kavem Hodge put down a regulation chance at slip.

Upping the run rate, Ravindra raced to 50 from only 52 deliveries, as he and Latham took their partnership to three figures.

The New Zealand captain brought up his 14th test century right on the stroke of tea, followed soon by Ravindra who needed just 108 balls for his fourth test ton.

The Black Caps were cruising in the last session of the day before Latham was out for 145 off 250 balls very late in the day.

Latham also passed 6000 test career runs with his captain’s knock on his homeground of Hagley Oval.

Ravindra was eventually dismissed for his second highest test score of 176 when he was bowled by Ojay Shields.

Rather than declare with their healthy lead, New Zealand batted out the day with Will Young (21) and Michael Bracewell (6) at the crease.

The first ball of day four is at 11am.

As it happened:

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand