June 25, 2002	Tuesday	Rabi-us-Sani 13, 1423

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BRIDGETOWN, Barbados, June 24: New Zealand took the wicket of opener Wavell Hinds for 34 as the West Indies attempted to chase a daunting target of 474 on the fourth day of the first Test on Monday.

The West Indies were 90 for one after 24 overs of their second innings as openers Chris Gayle and Hinds negotiated their way forward on a difficult wicket that was starting to crack up.

Pace bowlers Shane Bond and Daryl Tuffey struggled to find the best channels, but the batsmen were clearly troubled by the unpredictable bounce.

Hinds was the first to settle and he looked relatively comfortable against the pace bowlers. In the 18th over he drove Tuffey for two successive fours.

Gayle’s tendency to stand up straight and smash through the line made him look more vulnerable on this wicket.

But both batsmen seemed to have learned the lessons of the first three days of the test and treated the pitch with the respect it deserves.

New Zealand’s carefully-constructed innings of 337 and 243 stood in stark contrast to the West Indies’ reckless first innings of 107 all-out on Saturday.

The touring side predictably brought on spinner Daniel Vettori for an early spell. Hinds was deceived by the turn and flicked up a catch for Richardson at short leg.

Ramnerish Sarwan entered the stage and was clearly not traumatised by memories of the horrible swipe that gave him a golden duck in the first innings.

He pulled Ian Butler over midwicket for four soon after taking the crease.

Gayle continued to rely on power more than finesse. His undefeated 39 included seven boundaries.

On Sunday, Pedro Collins took six wickets for the West Indies as New Zealand were bowled out for 243 in the their second innings to set a formidable victory target of 474.

At close of play on the third day West Indies openers Chris Gayle and Wavell Hinds had put on five runs as they begun the long chase.

New Zealand, who scored 337 in their first innings, started the day on four for one after bowling themselves into a commanding position Saturday when they dismissed the hosts for a meagre 107.

Left-arm paceman Collins posted Test best figures of six for 76 with nine maidens although New Zealand remain strong favourites to claim their first ever Test victory in the West Indies.

After removing opener Mark Richardson for a duck Saturday evening, he continued to bowl with determination and claimed his second wicket of the innings early Sunday when he trapped Lou Vincent lbw for two.

The tourists slumped to 69 for our at lunch, but a 76-run partnership between Nathan Astle and Stephen Fleming helped them build an overall lead of 401 at tea.

Astle hit 11 fours before Brian Lara caught him in the slips for 77 from a Collins delivery.

Astle began his innings aggressively, hitting eight fours from three overs by Adam Sanford in which the hapless pace bowler conceded 35 runs.

He redeemed himself somewhat after tea, taking the wickets of Fleming for 34 and Daniel Vettori to finish with figures of two for 60 from 16 overs.

West Indies skipper Carl Hooper did well to slow down Astle, who sped to his 50 off 51 balls in 75 minutes, with some tidy off-spin. Astle was eventually dismissed for 77 after facing 112 balls.

But it was Collins who posed the greatest threat to New Zealand, getting swing and movement across right-handed batsmen Astle and Craig McMillan.

He made an early breakthrough after lunch when McMillan was caught for one by Hooper at second slip and he was unlucky when Robbie Hart edged a ball to Lara who could not get his fingers between the ball and the ground.

Collins wrapped up the innings when he ended some stiff late resistance from the lower order, having Ian Butler caught behind by Jacobs for 26.