5 Talking points from New Zealand's innings win over West Indies

Maiden Test centuries from Colin de Grandhomme and debutant Tom Blundell coupled with Neil Wagner's fiery first innings helped New Zealand beat West Indies by an innings and 67 runs on day four of the first Test at the Basin Reserve in Wellington.

Wagner's seven-for on day one but the hosts in command of the game and that was only strengthened after some stoic resistance from the lower middle-order, which helped the Black Caps cross 500. A massive deficit was simply too much for the West Indies, who were bowled out for 319 on day four and succumbed to another innings defeat.

Here are the major talking points from the first Test:

West Indies' collapse costs them

Losing the toss and being asked to bat is never easy, especially in New Zealand when the ball does a fair bit early in the day. But, the visitors got lucky as the ball wasn't doing anything for either Trent Boult or Matt Henry. Such was the conditions that the Windies openers quickly put on a fifty partnership.

But things began to unravel quickly after that. Kraigg Brathwaite departed with the score on 59 and then from 75/1, the visitors collapsed to 105/9 losing eight wickets for just 30 runs as they were the latest to fall victim to Wagner's bouncers. However, they didn't help their own cause by getting hit-wicket and losing the plot on a pitch that was still very good for batting.

Only 29-run partnership for the last wicket helped them inch closer to 150 but that was never going to be enough and so it proved.

We need to talk about Wagner

Windies bore the full brunt of Wagner's wrath on day one

When you think about the New Zealand pace attack, you immediately talk about Tim Southee and Trent Boult. However, the only Kiwi bowler in the top ten of the ICC Test rankings is Neil Wagner, who occupies ninth place.

On day one of this Test, Wagner showed just why he is statistically the best Kiwi bowler at the moment as he almost single-handedly bundled the visitors out with a barrage of bouncers. On a good batting wicket which didn't have a great deal of seam or swing, the left-arm pacer bowled with fire and brimstone and put the hosts in command just before tea.

His figures of 7/39 was his career-best Test figures and the second-best strike rate by a Kiwi bowler in a seven-wicket haul as he took a wicket every 12.5 balls. That set up the match for the hosts who went on to complete an innings victory.

If anything, this showed just why Wagner is fast becoming an integral part of the Kiwi attack irrespective of conditions and why need to talk about Wagner.

Replacements work wonders for the hosts

Henry proved to be a valuable addition to the pace attack

Coming into the first Test of the home summer, New Zealand were rocked by injuries to a couple of their key players. Tim Southee, the leader of the bowling attack was ruled out due to injury while BJ Watling wasn't fit to take part either. In their place came Matt Henry and Tom Blundell and both players played their part in ensuring a comfortable victory for the Black Caps to kickstart their summer.

Although Henry went wicketless in the first innings when Wagner wreaked havoc, he came back with a bang in the second innings. Not only did he break the crucial opening partnership but also got rid of the well-set Shimron Hetmyer and the dangerous Roston Chase.

The 27-year-old wicketkeeper, Tom Blundell walked out to bat when New Zealand were already in a strong position. By the time he finished, not only did he help the hosts take a massive lead but also became the first NZ keeper to score a century on Test debut. The resilience and determination he showed while getting close to his hundred and the attacking intent he showed earlier in the innings certainly bodes well for the hosts.

Colin proves his worth

Colin de Grandhomme contributed with the bat and ball

In the absence of BJ Watling, there was an added responsibility on Colin de Grandhomme's shoulders to provide some runs in the lower middle-order and ensure that New Zealand's tactics of going in with just three front-line bowlers didn't backfire.

His maiden Test century, which came off 71 balls and was the fastest against the Windies in Tests, second-fastest by a Kiwi batsman and the 10th fastest in Test history, put New Zealand in complete command of the game. He came in with the score at 272/5 and left when the lead was almost 300.

He also picked up a couple of handy wickets on day four as the hosts wrapped up a comfortable innings victory, underlining his importanceto the side.

West Indies' brief resistance offers hope

Kraigg Brathwaite offers the visitors a glimpse of hope

After being on the field for nearly 150 overs, West Indies hearts might have sunk, especially after being bowled out for 134 in the first innings. But the visitors showed plenty of resilience on day four when they lost just two wickets in the entire day and finished with just under 200 and with eight wickets.

The performance of the openers in both innings will be something that offers a crumb of comfort for the Windies camp. As will the performance of Shimron Hetmyer, who scored a brilliant half century and survived a fierce spell of fast bowling from the Kiwi pace attack.

While the collapse, which was inevitable finally came through, the visitors still have a silver lining to take from an innings defeat.