Now it's a matter of if we can take advantage with the bat..shame about Gayle but the guy is coming to the end now. Honestly i knew Kraigg would be the more solid one of the two in this situation.
I thought exactly the same. Boult was always going to be a massive threat in that 25 minute session, that is about as tough as it gets in terms of opening batsmanship. Gayle looked like a walking wicket in those circumstances and you could see Boult knew exactly how to get him. Kraigg on the other hand looked calm, competent and pretty much untroubled. I'm already glad he's playing instead of Powell and it has only been 6 overs.
I think the time might well be coming where Gayle either has to bat at 6 or retire from tests. I'll be delighted to be proved wrong and no doubt he could still smash a double century on a road but in these conditions he was never making a significant contribution.
As for our bowling, I think WW pretty much summed it up. JT was immense, Roach improved and Benn was solid (would still pick Shilly or Narine any day but he is a very useful spinner to have in the squad). Gabriel still looks awful to me and lacks fast bowling basics but at the end of the day he took 2 pretty cheap wickets so can't complain. I must confess I was fearing the worst after the 1st session.
Tomorrow will be tricky, I'm hoping for some application from the batsman in the face of what will no doubt be an excellent opening burst from Southee and Boult. If we end tomorrow having seen a solid Kraigg Innings and a Blackwood special on debut, I'll be a happy fella.
PS, a couple of asides.
1) Did anyone notice just how fast Blackwood is across the ground? Absolutely ludicrous pace. What do they feed them in Jamaica?
2) Am I the only one who thought that was one of the worst Ross Taylor innings they've seen? Looked like getting out any second for it's entirety, gave chances galore, failed to protect the tail too. Very strange to see him bat like that given the way he scored runs a few months ago. Still, he ended up not out I guess.