West Indies batsmen Kyle Mayers and Sharmarh Brooks each scored a century to secure a 20-run win over The Netherlands and complete a 3-0 series whitewash in Amstelveen on Saturday.

After winning the toss and choosing to bat first, for the first time all series, the Caribbean team posted 308 for 5 in their 50 overs at the crease.  The Windies had lost opener Shai Hope with 58 runs on the board after he was caught by Vivian Kingma off the bowling of Ryan Klein.

Mayers and Brooks, however, came together for a damaging 184-run partnership that powered the regional team to a comfortable 242 before Mayers was dismissed by Ryan Klein.  From there the team would suffer a mini-collapse of sorts with captain Nicholas Pooran (7), and Brandon King (10) both going cheaply.

In response, Vikramjit Singh and Max O'Dowd each put on a half-century to open the innings as the team got to 97 with loss before Mayers struck to remove Singh.  O'Dowd went on to put 89 on the board,  forming the backbone of the innings but The Netherlands continued to lose wickets at regular intervals and ended all-out at 288.

 Shermon Lewis was the pick of the Windies bowlers after taking 3 for 36, while Akeal Hosein and Hayden Walsh each took two wickets.

Joe Root and Ben Stokes put on a 90-run partnership on a gripping third day at Lord's to give England hope of pulling off a huge victory in their first Test with New Zealand.

England were set a target of 277 for victory on Saturday and reached 216-5, helped by Root (77 not out) and Stokes (54), to leave them needing 61 runs on Sunday.

Stuart Broad helped spark England's fightback in the opening session, which was delayed by 30 minutes by rain, with the hosts taking three wickets in three balls. 

Daryl Mitchell (108) was dismissed by Broad, shortly after reaching his second Test century, before Colin de Grandhomme and Kyle Jamieson both went for golden ducks.

Tim Southee looked to keep the runs ticking over for New Zealand, but Tom Blundell was pinned lbw by James Anderson just four runs short of a century.

England maintained that momentum thanks to debutants Matt Potts and Matt Parkinson, who trapped Ajaz Patel (four) and caught Southee (21) at slip respectively.

That left England chasing a target of 277, but they were 99-4 at tea after losing Alex Lees (20), Zak Crawley (nine), Ollie Pope (10) and Jonny Bairstow (16) cheaply.

Jamieson was responsible for the quick wickets of Lees and Crawley, with the openers only able to put up a 31-run stand as the contest again swung back in the Kiwis' favour.

Pope, promoted to number three, was unable to make any significant inroads before being bowled by a Trent Boult beauty, with Bairstow next to fall to Jamieson.

That put the onus firmly on Root and Stokes, who did a good job of keeping New Zealand's bowlers at bay.

The resolve of Stokes, who was saved by a no-ball after chopping on to his own stumps from De Grandhomme on one run, eventually ended when snaffled by Blundell.

Root made it to 77 alongside Ben Foakes (nine) come the end of play, though, meaning England are still in with a big shot of victory heading into day four.

Kiwis collapse at Lord's

Blundell and Mitchell put on a 195-run partnership for New Zealand's fifth wicket. Either side of that, the tourists scored just 191 for 16.

The Kiwis lost their last six wickets for just 35 runs, in fact, opening the door for England to pounce.

Root on verge of milestone

Not for the first time, England's hopes of claiming victory on Sunday will likely come down to Root, who added 43 runs from 42 balls after the dismissal of Stokes.

He is now just 23 runs short of becoming the second England player after Alastair Cook to reach 10,000 and the 14th player overall in men's Tests.

Daryl Mitchell and Tom Blundell combined to put New Zealand in the ascendancy at 236-4 at stumps on day two of the first Test, leading England by 227 runs.

England added just 25 to their overnight score as they were dismissed for 141, a lead of nine, as both teams were bowled at Lord's in a Test match first innings for less than 150 for the first time since 1954.

Tim Southee (4-55) accounted for Stuart Broad (nine) and Ben Foakes (seven), while Trent Boult (3-21) removed Matt Parkinson – playing his first Test as a concussion sub for Jack Leach – for eight.

That called James Anderson (1-49) and Broad (1-47) back into action far sooner than they may have expected at Lord's, and the former soon dismissed Will Young for only one in the third over.

Matthew Potts (2-50) then claimed the wicket of captain Kane Williamson (15) for the second time in the match, before Tom Latham (14) edged the Durham quick behind to leave New Zealand 38-3 at lunch.

Devon Conway, on 13, feathered a short Broad ball behind to Foakes to start the second session, but Mitchell and Blundell steadied the ship to reach tea at 128-4.

Ben Stokes and Potts opted to employ the short-ball tactic in the final session, but to no avail as Blundell posted his fifth half-century, with Mitchell following his partner to the landmark shortly after. 

Mitchell (97) and Blundell (90), who remain unbeaten in their 180-run partnership, will eye their second and third Test match hundreds respectively as New Zealand look to build their sizeable lead on day three.

Brilliant Broad blunted

Australian opener David Warner joked on Instagram "Conway, I feel your pain" after seeing the New Zealand left-hander dismissed in familiar fashion by Broad around the wicket in the first innings.

Broad's second removal of Conway came from an alternate, shorter line, but despite his brilliant bowling, he ultimately left with no additional reward after the important knocks by Mitchell and Blundell.

Young must learn to leave

Young came into this series after a strong County Championship outing with Northamptonshire, racking up 331 runs at an average of 55.2 for the Division One side across his first four matches.

But the New Zealand opener must adapt after twice being exposed by Anderson's new-ball expertise, having been dismissed in almost identical fashion in both innings on one when nicking through to Foakes.

Cricket West Indies (CWI) on Friday confirmed that Rovman Powell and Romario Shepherd are unable to take part in the ongoing One-Day International Series (ODI) against the Netherlands due to visa delays.

They travelled to London immediately following their participation in the Indian Premier League (IPL), as their visa interviews could not have taken place in India due to the IPL bio-secure protocols. Despite having the interviews the day after their arrival, they are both still in London awaiting the appropriate visas to be able to travel to the Netherlands.

With the final match to be played at the VRA Cricket Ground, Amstelveen on Saturday, Shepherd and Powell will now fly directly to Pakistan to join the ODI squad for the three-match series.

 West Indies have an unassailable 2-0 lead following wins by seven wickets on Tuesday and by five wickets on Thursday. The West Indies had 13 players available for the first two matches and will have the same squad now for the final contest.

The West Indies Squad will travel from Amsterdam to Pakistan on Sunday for matches at the Multan Cricket Stadium on June 8, 10 and 12.

West Indies captain Nicholas Pooran has praised the team for doing a lot of the right things on the current tour of The Netherlands after securing an unassailable 2-0 series lead on Thursday.

On the back of another strong performance from Brandon King, who scored an unbeaten 91, led the Windies to a 5 wicket win at Amstelveen.  For the second game in a row the regional team chased down a figure just above 200, but the pursuit was not without its difficulties.

Also, for the second game in a row, the top order suffered somewhat of a collapse as the team lost its first three wickets for 48 runs.

“We came to Amsterdam to get victories and to be successful and I feel like we are doing a lot of the right things,” Pooran said following the match.

“Obviously, it’s a game of cricket and you can’t have the perfect game all the time…I saw with the batting that we had a bit of a collapse but then a wonderful partnership at the end and that is what we want as a team.”

The third and final match between the teams takes place on Saturday.

West Indies batsman Brandon King insists he is simply looking to cash in on his recent purple patch after scoring another half-century against New Zealand on Thursday.

After entering the batting line-up at six, with the team struggling at 4 for 60, King made a valuable 91 not out to guide the Windies to a 5 wicket win at Amstelveen.

The half-century was King’s second of the series, having scored 58 in the first match.  Overall, in the last nine matches, King has averaged 41.57 and hopes to keep accumulating high scores.

“As cricketers when times are good you have to try and cash in and score as many runs as possible,” King said following the match.

“I feel good out there so I’m trying to capitalize on that good form,” he added.

Over the past several series, King has shifted places in the team’s batting line-up, batting at 5 against The Neverlands, 2 in the previous series against India, and 4 against Ireland.  Despite having success down the order in the ongoing series, King believes that versatility is one of his strengths.”

“A part of my strength is adapting and doing what is needed for the team.  I can bat anywhere in the top 6.  This was a new role given to me but it’s not unfamiliar I am a middle-order batsman first and foremost.”

Matthew Potts says his England Test debut could hardly have gone any better after picking up four wickets in the first match of the new Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum era.

Potts ended the opening day of the Lord's Test 4-13, with only a bout of cramp denying him a five-for against New Zealand on Thursday.

But after bowling the tourists out for just 132, England were plagued by familiar problems with the bat, being reduced to 116-7 after losing five wickets for just eight runs towards the end of the day.

Earlier on, Potts had needed just five deliveries to dismiss New Zealand captain Kane Williamson before going on to remove Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell, and Ajaz Patel.

Potts, speaking to Sky Sports after the close of play, said his debut had been close to perfect, admitting Williamson's decision to bat first allowed him to avoid working up any nervousness before his first delivery.

"It was a great debut, great to get some wickets early on just to settle the nerves," Potts told Sky Sports.

"I think we bowled aggressive, we pitched it up there and we tried to take wickets, which has been one of our goals.

"Honestly I think it's the best way it could've worked out, rather than building up the nerves watching us bat and then not knowing how it's going to go.

"It's best to get it out of the way, get the nerves out of the body really early. It was probably the best way it could've happened.

"Once that first ball was down and in, there's no going back on that moment, so it was into my work and away we went!"

Meanwhile, Durham paceman Potts admitted to having had "a tear in the eye" prior to stepping for his first red-ball appearance at Lord's.

"It was a great achievement, I'm really over the moon with it," he said of his maiden Test display.

"[There was] a little bit of a tear in the eye this morning, and I can imagine my mum and dad will have had a tear in theirs as well!

"It's a massive thing. A lot of my hard work is down to my family, it's a testament to their hard work as well as mine."

England bowled New Zealand out for 132 within two sessions of Ben Stokes' first Test as captain, but the match was back in the balance at the end of day one after yet another batting collapse.

Winless in nine Tests – their worst run in eight years – England's inability to score big dogged them in the final days of Joe Root's leadership.

Perhaps then the Lord's crowd should have known this was too good to be true when Stokes' side followed up a stunning bowling display with a steady start with the bat.

An opening partnership of 59 between Alex Lees (25) and Zak Crawley (43) hinted at a one-sided series opener, only for those old England issues to rear their ugly head.

Root and Stokes were among the wickets to follow in quick succession as a team now overseen by New Zealand great Brendon McCullum bowed under the pressure of the Black Caps attack.

England were 116-7 at stumps, with the final departure of the third session that of Matthew Potts – an improbably miserable ending to a day the Durham bowler will never forget.

In for his debut, Potts had played a starring role in England's fine early work with the ball, requiring just five deliveries to get New Zealand captain Kane Williamson before finishing with figures of 4-13. Only an apparent bout of cramp denied him a shot at a Lord's five-for.

James Anderson and Stuart Broad – two other newsworthy inclusions – also contributed handily, as the returning old-timers got England going with the first three wickets thanks to a trio of fine Jonny Bairstow catches.

Anderson added two more almost identical dismissals – both caught by Potts at the boundary as the Black Caps sought to counter – to finish with 4-66, but he is now set to be back out in the middle with the bat far sooner than he might have imagined, with England still 16 behind.

Anderson at it from the off

Anderson was overshadowed first by Potts and then by his New Zealand counterparts, but he first made sure to provide a reminder of his immense talents with the ball.

New Zealand were 2-2 when Will Young and Tom Latham each departed to Anderson inside five overs, meaning the England great has now dismissed both opening batsmen in 27 Test innings – ahead of Glenn McGrath (26) for the most ever.

New captain, same problems

England did not score 300 once in their dismal away Ashes series that represented the nadir of the Root era, and they will almost certainly fall well short of that mark again in this Test.

Of course, Stokes' side did not even need to reach that total to maintain control of this match, but England struggled just to make three figures on a day for the bowlers on both teams.

Brandon King and Akeal Hosein were the standouts as the West Indies defeated the Netherlands by five wickets and with it take an unassailable 2-0 lead in their three-match series at Amstelveen on Thursday.

The hosts were restricted to 214 all out off 42.4 overs after winning the toss and batting first.

Scott Edwards (68), Max O’Dowd (51) and Vikramjit Singh (46) were the main run getters as Hosein ripped through the Dutch batting line-up with 4-39 off his 10 overs. Alzarri Joseph provided good support with 2-30 from eight overs.

In their chase, the West Indies found themselves in trouble at 99-5 after 23.2 overs before a match-winning and unbroken 118-run partnership between Brandon King and Keacy Carty steered the visitors to a comfortable victory.

The tourists ended up 217-5 with King getting a classy 90-ball 91 that included nine fours and three sixes. Carty was unbeaten on 43 not out off 66 balls. He hit two fours and a massive six that brought an end to the match.

Bas De Leede was the best Dutch bowler on the day with 2-46 from eight overs.

The third and final ODI will be played on Saturday.

A staunch unbeaten century from middle-order batsman Paul Palmer Jr anchored the Jamaica Scorpions against the Leeward Island Hurricanes on day one of the West Indies Championship at Tarouba.

At the close of play, the Scorpions were 302 all-out, after being put in to bat by the Leewards who won the toss.  Initially, the decision to field first had looked to be a wise one, as Kirk Mckenzie (3), Jermaine Blackwood (3), and John Campbell (2) were all back in the Pavillion with just 10 runs on the board.

Palmer would, however, stand firm at the crease, and ensure that the Scorpions did not collapse, courtesy of a string of partnerships carefully constructed throughout the innings.  The batsman first put on, 44 with Alwyn Williams for the fourth wicket to stop the rot, before featuring in an innings changing 102 with Jamie Merchant for the 7^th wicket.  Later on, he paired with Nicholson Gordon to add 60 for the 9^th wicket and push the Scorpions closer to 300 runs.  Paul ended unbeaten with 144 from 233 balls, while Merchant added 55 from 60.

 For the Hurricanes, Colin Archibald, Rahkeem Cornwall, Sheeno Berridge took two wickets each.

A five-for from pace bowler Keemo Paul pushed the Trinidad and Tobago Red Force to a late evening collapse and handed the momentum to the Guyana Harpy Eagles, on day one of the West Indies Championship, at Port of Spain.

At the close of play, the Red Force were left on 203 for 9, after winning the toss and choosing to bat first.  Midway through the innings, things had, however, looked far more promising for the Trinidad and Tobago franchise.

The batting pair of Jason Mohammed and Jeremy Solozano had come together to put a 116-run partnership on the board for the third wicket, largely repairing the damage the team suffered from the early losses of Keagan Simmons (3) and Isaiah Rajah (26).

With the team coasting at 178 for 3, however, things took a turn for the worse when Mohammed went for 68.  The batsman was caught at slip after edging to Leon Johnson, off the bowling of Demetri Cameron.  Solozano, who was on 72, did not last long after that as he was out caught and bowled by Gudakesh Motie five overs later.

Yannic Cariah (3), Joshua Da Silva (2), Imran Khan (2), Bryan Charles (0), and Uthman Muhammad (0) all failed to reach five runs in subsequent stints at the crease, with the combination of Motie and Paul causing a devastating collapse.  In total, the team lost its last five wickets for just seven runs. 

Paul ended with figures of 5 for 41, while Motie took 2 for 35.  At the close of play, Terrance Hinds (9) and Shannon Gabriel (4) were the not-out batsmen at the crease for the Red Force.

Ben Stokes' first major selection calls all looked to have gone to plan by lunch on day one of the first Test against New Zealand, who stumbled through to the end of the first session on 39-6.

In England's first Test since naming Stokes as captain and appointing Black Caps great Brendon McCullum as coach, New Zealand won the toss and had the opportunity to apply early pressure.

Instead, recalled veterans James Anderson and Stuart Broad ripped through the top order with the help of Jonny Bairstow.

Bairstow, stationed in a slip cordon that was for so long an issue under Joe Root and Chris Silverwood, took the first three catches, including a sensational effort for the breakthrough wicket of Will Young off the bowling of Anderson.

His impeccable handling, even stooping to catch after juggling Tom Latham off Anderson, stood in stark contrast to what had gone before – England have dropped 70 catches in Tests since the start of 2021, the most of any side.

Bairstow's take from Devon Conway off Broad was far more straightforward between his legs, but New Zealand captain Kane Williamson remained in the middle as Matthew Potts – Stokes' Durham team-mate – took the ball for the first time in his Test debut.

Potts is the leading wicket taker in the County Championship this season, counting 15 top-four batters among his 35 scalps, and he required only five balls to make his mark.

New Zealand came into this match with the best batting strike rate against pace in Test cricket since the start of 2021 (55.3), but Potts' seam delivery teased an outside edge from Williamson, who was caught behind by Ben Foakes.

Potts (3-8) was not done there either, bowling through Daryl Mitchell to scatter his stumps and removing Tom Blundell, too, after earlier being denied by a successful lbw review in a sensational start for the rookie bowler, Stokes and England.

That positivity was only dampened by news of Jack Leach's withdrawal from the Test with concussion symptoms after an awkward fall while chasing a ball in the field.

England spinner Jack Leach had to be withdrawn from the first Test against New Zealand before lunch on day one.

Leach, playing his 23rd Test in England's first match since Ben Stokes was named captain, had not yet had the opportunity to bowl when he set off in pursuit of a Devon Conway drive off Stuart Broad in the sixth over.

The Somerset man did superbly to prevent a boundary with a lunge towards the rope, but he appeared to land awkwardly on his neck as he tumbled forwards.

Leach did not immediately get up and required treatment, exiting the match but able to walk himself back to the dressing room.

An ECB statement soon revealed: "Jack Leach has symptoms of concussion following his head injury whilst fielding.

"As per concussion guidelines, he has been withdrawn from this Test. We will confirm a concussion replacement in due course."

England had already reduced New Zealand to 2-2 at the time of Leach's injury, and the Black Caps were still struggling on 22-4 as news came of his withdrawal.

The Barbados Pride bowling duo of Roston Chase and Ramon Simmonds each claimed 3 wickets to restrict the Windward Islands on day 1 of the West Indies Championship, at the Diego Martin Sports Complex, on Wednesday.

After winning the toss and choosing to bat, the Windwards lost opener Devon Smith (11) with just 28 runs on the board and continued to lose wickets in clusters after that.  Denis Smith, Kavem Hodge (24), Alrick Athanaze (9) all got starts but did not carry on.

Teddy Bishop put up the most resistance with 44 from 61 balls and Larry Edwards added a useful 37 from 70 at the bottom of the innings.  Bishop’s innings came to an end when he was bowled by Miguel Cummins, while Chase accounted for Edwards.  Overall, Chase ended with figures of 3 for 44, while Simmonds had 3 for 27.

In response, Raymond Reifer put together an unbeaten 56, while Kraigg Brathwaite added 39 from 83 to close the day at 109 for 1, 94 runs behind the Windwards' first innings total.  Shane Mosely was the batsman that was out for 7.

Head coach Andrew McDonald will miss the start of Australia's tour of Sri Lanka after testing positive for coronavirus.

McDonald was unable to fly out with the rest of the touring party on Wednesday after returning a positive test on Tuesday.

Michael Di Venuto will coach the Twenty20 team in the absence of McDonald, who must spend a week in isolation.

A three-match T20 series gets under way in Colombo next Tuesday.

Sri Lanka and Australia will then play five ODIs this month before a two-match Test series in Galle.

Australia have not been in action since McDonald was appointed as Justin Langer's successor on a four-year deal.