Mark Craig was brilliant on his debut - Brendon McCullum
Following their first ever Test win in the West Indies since 2002, New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum lavished praises on debutant off-spinner Mark Craig, who picked up 8 wickets in the match – 4 in each innings - against the home team at Kingston, Jamaica, to set up an easy victory for the Kiwis.
Chasing 403 for victory, the Caribbean side was bowled out for 216, with the spinners Craig and Ish Sodhi picking up 7 wickets between them on a wicket that offered considerable assistance for the spinners as the match progressed, on the fourth day of the Test match.
On Craig leading the Kiwis to their second Test win in the West Indies, McCullum said: "He was brilliant and went about his work. He was never fazed at any stage. Obviously the conditions were helpful, but you've still got to be able to apply pressure over a long period of time to be able to get the rewards."
New Zealand are used to having just a single spinner operating in a Test match; the 32-year-old was happy to see his decision to opt for two spinners paying rich dividends. The spin-duo picked up 12 of the 20 Caribbean wickets to fall in the Test match.
He said: "It's a little bit different from our normal game plan to have two spinners operating, and base our last innings around that form of attack. It's pleasing that both those guys, young in experience, were able to succeed in these conditions and ultimately bowl us to a Test win."
McCullum lauded pacer Tim Southee’s efforts, who managed to produce to crucial breakthroughs to end up with an impressive match figures of 6-51, hailing the 25-year-old as the leader of the attack.
He said: "For me, Tim's the leader of the attack. He's not old in years, but he's certainly wise in experience. In conditions which weren't overly helpful for seam bowlers, the spells that he bowled and the rewards he got were testament to how well he bowled."