Justin Greaves produced an epic unbeaten 202 in a remarkable fourth innings display to help West Indies thwart an injury-depleted New Zealand attack and snatch a thrilling draw in the opening Test in Christchurch on Saturday.

Chasing an improbable 531, West Indies, who were bundled out for 167 in their first innings, displayed remarkable character to reach 457-6, the second highest fourth-innings total in Test match history, when players shook hands at Hagley Oval.

Player-of-the-match Greaves led their remarkable fightback first with a 196-run stand with Shai Hope (140) and then a 180-run partnership for the unbroken seventh wicket with Kemar Roach, who made 58 not out.

“Obviously, a Herculean effort by Justin Greaves,” West Indies captain Roston Chase said. “He’s someone that I grew up playing cricket with, so I’m very proud for this moment, for him, and obviously for Kemar Roach … He’s a modern day legend, and I’m happy for these guys, and happy that we could achieve what we did.”

Having set West Indies a mammoth victory target, New Zealand would have been justified in believing their victory was just a matter of time but they could not get the job done with their thin bowling resources.

Having lost the services of Nathan Smith (side strain) and Matt Henry (calf) through mid-match injuries, they relied heavily on the part-time spin of Michael Bracewell and Rachin Ravindra but it could not compensate for the absence of two frontline bowlers.

To make things worse, New Zealand ran out of reviews and could not challenge a couple of close calls that went against them on the final day.

After West Indies resumed on 212-4, New Zealand prised out two wickets in the morning session to stay in the hunt for a victory.

Jacob Duffy, who bowled 60 overs in the match, ended Hope’s stellar knock when he bounced out the batter, and Zak Foulkes dismissed Tevin Imlach for four.

Greaves and Roach batted resolutely to deny New Zealand any wicket in the second session, and continued their fightback after the tea break.

Greaves looked rock solid while Roach had an eventful stay at the other end, where the lower-order batter survived two dropped catches, one run out chance and a couple of strong lbw calls.

Greaves hit Duffy for a four to bring up his maiden Test double hundred.

“It was a Test match that had it all,” New Zealand captain Tom Latham said.

“It was a great Test match to be involved in, but unfortunately, we weren’t able to get the breakthroughs that we wanted to put some pressure on that lower order.

“When you have two of your seamers go down during a test match, it’s never ideal.”

The second Test is scheduled in Wellington from Tuesday.

An epic 202 not out by Justin Greaves and a stubborn support role by Kemar Roach saw the West Indies salvage a valiant draw in the first Test against New Zealand in Christchurch on Saturday.

Set a colossal target of 531, 113 more than the current record for a successful fourth-innings chase, the West Indies were 457-6 at the end, the second-highest Test fourth innings.

Greaves battled for almost 10 hours and faced 388 deliveries, bringing up his maiden double century in the penultimate over.

Roach was unbeaten on his Test best of 58 which included facing 72 dot balls when he was on 53. The pair put on a gutsy 180 for the seventh wicket.

“Kemar, the senior pro, guided me all the way,” said man-of-the-match Greaves. “Coach told me once you get in, stay in. To be a part of history is exciting, but for me, it’s one day at a time.

“For us, it was just about getting into the last session.”

Given the magnitude of the chase, the West Indies saw the draw as a win while New Zealand felt they had lost.

“I’d say it feels like a win. The guys are proud,” West Indies captain Roston Chase said, adding they felt they the game was theirs going into the final session.

“But it didn’t quite work out that way that they (Greaves and Roach) wanted so when it came to the last hour we had a discussion and they said they would just play it out.”

However, the mood was not buoyant in the New Zealand camp.

“When you have a draw in that fashion where you know you’re so close to winning it does have that (losing) feeling,” captain Tom Latham said.

A draw seemed a distant prospect for the tourists when the top order failed to fire yet again and they slumped to 72-4.

But New Zealand were down on fire power as injuries to Matt Henry and Nathan Smith reduced their pace attack in the second innings to just Jacob Duffy and Zak Foulkes. Both were playing only their second Test.

The placid pitch was also of little assistance to the spinners, allowing Shai Hope and Greaves to cash in for the fifth wicket amassing 196 runs in a 64-over stand.

The West Indies resumed the final day at 212-4 with a confident Hope and Greaves adding 23 in six overs of spin before blunting the new-ball attack for more than 12 overs, before Hope was dismissed for 140.

A short ball from Duffy outside the leg stump tempted Hope to hook but the ball climbed, grazed the glove and a diving Tom Latham took a stunning one-handed catch to complete the dismissal.

Tevin Imlach came and went quickly, lbw to Foulkes for four, and New Zealand felt the initiative had swung their way again with the West Indies 277-6.

But when Roach joined Greaves the pendulum swung back the other way as West Indies reached 399-6 at tea, needing a further 132 with four wickets remaining if they were to achieve a historic victory in the final session.

Luck was with Roach, who received five lives. He was dropped on 30 and 47 and survived a run-out when the throw went wide of the stumps.

He was given not out to an lbw appeal and again for a caught behind, both off Michael Bracewell, when television replays showed he was out both times.

Duffy was New Zealand’s most successful bowler with 3-122 to go with his five wickets in the first Test. The second Test starts in Wellington on Wednesday.

The 2026 World Cup will kick off on June 11 with joint-hosts Mexico playing South Africa at the Azteca Stadium — venue of the 1970 and 1986 finals — followed by South Korea against a playoff winner after the draw was made on Friday.

South Africa are appearing for the first time since 2010, when they drew with Mexico in the opening match but failed to reach the knockout stage.

Fellow hosts the United States and Canada will join the party the next day, against Paraguay and a playoff winner — possibly Italy — respectively in Los Angeles and Toronto.

Defending champions Argentina were grouped with Algeria, Austria and Jordan, while five-times winners Brazil will play Morocco — semi-finalists in 2022 — Haiti and Scotland.

The Scots are appearing in the finals for the first time since 1998, when they lost to Brazil in the opening game.

France’s first game will be against Senegal in a repeat of one of the biggest tournament upsets, when the Africans stunned the then-holders in their first game of the 2002 tournament.

England will start against Croatia, who beat them in the 2018 semi-finals, and also face Panama, who they beat 6-1 in the group stage in the same tournament.

The teams outside the hosts’ groups will have to wait until Saturday to find out the venues and kickoff times for their games after FIFA attempts to optimise venues and kickoff times relating to the various worldwide TV markets.

A newly introduced seeding system ensures that the current top four in the world — Spain, holders Argentina, 2022 runners-up France and England — cannot meet until the semi-final stage if they win their groups.

The 48 teams — including six still-to-be-decided playoff winners — were divided into 12 groups of four to produce a mammoth 104-match schedule across 16 cities in the U.S., Canada and Mexico, culminating in the final in New Jersey on July 19.

Venues and kickoff times will be announced in another globally broadcast event on Saturday, though even that is subject to adjustment in March once the six playoff qualification spots have been filled.