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Cricket: Williamson lauds record-equalling Taylor as Kiwis celebrate series win

Williamson lauds record-equalling Taylor as Kiwis celebrate series win

Williamson lauds record-equalling Taylor as Kiwis celebrate series win

New Zealand captain Kane Williamson singled out Ross Taylor for praise after the batsman's historic 17th Test ton inspired the Black Caps to a series sweep against West Indies.

Taylor was named man-of-the-match after his record-equalling century guided New Zealand to a 240-run win over the Windies in the second and final Test in Hamilton on Tuesday.

The 33-year-old joined Martin Crowe and skipper Williamson atop the country's list for Test hundreds after finishing 107 not out on day three.

Speaking after the Kiwis bowled out West Indies for 203 on the fourth day, Williamson said: "Ross's ton was a special moment for him, he's a world class player.

"To get us to get us to a good score and set up a declaration, it was a considerable knock from a lot of angles."

Williamson added: "This was a good Test wicket, there was little bit off the deck. We saw how it played out.

"Fortunate to be on the right side of the result and yet learn a lot. Not a huge amount of Test cricket this year, but in terms of how we wanted to execute, we were superb."

Taylor said: "It's been nice to get there, but the main thing is if you get a hundred and the team wins, there's nothing better than that.

"It was nice to have some throwdowns in the morning and change a couple of little things which worked.

"We came here wanting to win the series, West Indies put us under pressure at different times but we were able to ride that.

"With a lot of big names coming in for West Indies, the one-day series will be competitive."

Stand-in captain Kraigg Brathwaite, who deputised for banned skipper Jason Holder, lamented West Indies' batting as the Caribbean tourists failed in their pursuit of 444 for victory.

"They did a great job. For us, we didn't really bat well, especially in the first innings. I thought the bowlers did a magnificent job, obviously it was tough on their bodies. Kemar Roach struggled a bit," he said.

"I did enjoy the captaincy, it was a good experience. The guys gave me a lot of support, but Holder will be back and we're all looking forward to welcoming him back. This was a tough loss, we've to be better with our shot selection."