Rain forced the abandonment of the final day's play in the first cricket Test between New Zealand and the West Indies Monday, leaving the first of two matches to end in a draw. The second Test at McLean Park in Napier begins on Friday. New Zealand was due to resume its second innings at 44 for 2 Monday, leading overall by 69 runs after dismissing the West Indies for 340 in reply to its first innings of 365. Light rain began to fall about an hour before the scheduled start and continued through the morning, forcing umpires Mark Benson of England and Ameish Saheba of India to abandon play about 2 P.M. local time (0100 GMT). Only one of the five days of the match was unaffected by weather or bad light. Play was curtailed by poor light on the first day, the second day was entirely lost to rain and damp ground conditions ruled out play in the first session of the third day. The highlight was a maiden Test century on day four by West Indies fast bowler Jerome Taylor. Taylor eclipsed his previous highest Test score of 31 and highest first-class score of 41 to reach his century from 97 deliveries. He was eventually out for 106 from 107 balls, after hitting 17 fours and three sixes. New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori finished with his 18th five-wicket haul in a test innings, taking six for 56. The top scorers in New Zealand's first innings were Daniel Flynn with 95 and Jesse Ryder with 89. The match was also notable for the continued trial of the Umpire Referral System, under which umpires decisions can be scrutinized through television replays at the request of the bowling or batting team. Six decisions were referred to television umpire Rudi Koertzen during the truncated match and two umpire's decisions, both for lbw, were overturned. Scores: New Zealand 365 (D.Flynn 95, J.Ryder 89, C.Gayle 3-42) and 44-2. West Indies 340 (J.Taylor 106, S.Chanderpaul 76, Gayle 74).
