Taylor ton turns tables on NZ

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DUNEDIN, Dec 14 (Cricinfo): Jerome Taylor was the unlikely hero with the bat as his frenetic century at No. 8 altered the course of the match and upset New Zealand's plans after they held the edge in the morning. Taylor bettered his previous best first-class score of 40, pounded the attack after it drifted into complacency and finally showed glimpses of his potential as a useful lower-order batsman.
He added a priceless 153 for the seventh wicket with Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who scored a workmanlike 76, and the pair took West Indies within 25 of New Zealand's total. They all but extinguished the home team's hopes of victory and with a day remaining a draw loomed as the most likely result.
New Zealand began their second innings confidently with the openers adding 33 but a double-strike by Daren Powell, off successive deliveries, rounded off a poor finish to the day. Jamie How lost his middle stump and the experiment with the nightwatchman failed as Kyle Mills inside-edged on to his stumps.
It completed an eventful day on which a terrific period of scoring by Taylor and Chanderpaul was bookended by disappointing efforts from most of the other batsmen. After West Indies pushed the self-destruct button in the opening session, the second witnessed a fightback by the pair.
Taylor had the license to attack and his body language and willingness to use his feet, particularly against Daniel Vettori, infused much-needed life into the innings, which had meandered after Chris Gayle's half-century earlier in the day. Vettori had led New Zealand well by building the pressure with his accuracy and attacking field settings but after Brendan Nash and Denesh Ramdin departed without offering Chanderpaul much support, Taylor stepped on the gas.
It was Chanderpaul who set the ball rolling with three on-side boundaries in an over from James Franklin, who failed to get his trademark swing going. Taylor immediately launched into Vettori the following over, hitting two fours and a six flush on the sightscreen. He later peppered the midwicket region for two more sixes, the first off Vettori and then off Mills. Those hits helped him outscore his partner, and Chanderpaul was more than happy to play second fiddle.
No bowler was spared and the one who suffered the biggest pasting was Mark Gillespie. In his unusual role as spearhead he endured a torrid time, first against Gayle and then Taylor. Gillespie did not help himself by over-pitching far too often, like his fellow seamers, and Taylor crashed three boundaries off him in one over, which included an elegant square drive past backward point. Taylor's batting was far from fluky: he hit through the line and rarely played a rash stroke.
New Zealand 365 and 44 for 2 (Powell 2-17) lead West Indies 340 (Taylor 106, Chanderpaul 76, Gayle 74) by 69 runs.