Justin Greaves is still catching his breath after the marathon effort in Christchurch, where his unbeaten 202 carried West Indies from 72 for 4 to a hard-earned draw against New Zealand. The 31-year-old all-rounder – a player who balances batting and medium-pace bowling – occupied the crease for nine-and-a-half hours and faced 388 deliveries, a personal best and one that, for now, keeps the three-match series level at 0-0.
“It [Test cricket] is a massive step up from first-class cricket in the Caribbean,” Greaves said. “It’s a lot more demanding both physically and mentally. This is where I always wanted to be – so I had to change the way I train, both strength-and-conditioning and skill-wise. Enjoying it, learning as I go along.”
That blend of enjoyment and education has been essential. Greaves has toured Australia, Pakistan and now New Zealand in the last two years, chalking up 12 Tests since his debut. Conditions have rarely felt familiar. Christchurch offered colder air and a pitch with a touch more lateral movement than he sees at home; Perth and Karachi posed their own puzzles. The variety, he admits, forced a rethink of almost everything.
“Everything had to change because it’s not easy being on the road [in] different conditions,” Greaves said. “When you’re at home, it’s pretty easy because you know pretty much all the conditions in the Caribbean, and then, coming overseas, playing cricket in Australia and then to Pakistan, and here now, in New Zealand, everything is different.”
The changes started in the gym. More weights, an adjusted diet, and a focus on stamina – the kind that allows a player to bowl 15 overs and then strap the pads back on an hour later. The West Indies support staff report a modest increase in muscle mass and, perhaps more importantly, a calmer mindset at the crease.
“Adapting to that in the gym, getting stronger, eating better in terms of food, putting on a bit more muscle as well, and being a bit stronger; skill-wise, adding a bit more to my game; [while] batting – being a bit more patient because at this level, everything is not given to you. Bowling-wise, being the allrounder in the team, you can be bowling, and within an hour or two, you could be batting again. So, you’re putting your mind to it, and adapting to change.”
Greaves has not worked it out alone. During T20 windows he leans heavily on fellow Barbadian and former Test captain Jason Holder. “If I can pick up some tips from the other successful allrounders around the world when we play against them, I pretty much do that. I lean on Jason Holder, who’s been around with the T20 squad when I’m here. I’ve dropped him a few messages in terms of finding out what he’s done to have the career he’s had in Test cricket so far.”
Holder’s guidance centres on patience – waiting an extra over for the right ball to drive, holding a consistent line with the ball even when wickets feel distant. Those lessons were clear during that Christchurch epic: Greaves scored slowly at first, 18 from his opening 100 balls, before expanding once the new ball softened.
West Indies head coach Andre Coley called the knock “a blueprint for batting time”. The description feels fair. Nearly 164 overs is the longest the side have survived in the fourth innings since the famous Antigua rearguard of 2005, and it arrived when many expected a straightforward New Zealand win.
There is, of course, another Test around the corner. The Basin Reserve in Wellington can be windy, the surface less abrasive than Hagley Oval but still offering seam. Greaves, asked if he can find the reserves to go again, shrugged. “That’s the job,” he said quietly on the team balcony. The squad travel south tomorrow; training resumes the day after. A win would brighten the mood, but a draw accompanied by more evidence of resilience would be no bad thing.
Either way, Greaves has already shown he belongs at this level. The challenge now is to do it again, preferably without needing quite so many hours at the crease.
