Both New Zealand and West Indies players wore black armbands to honor Roach's father.
The West Indies got the early wicket of debutant Will Young for 5 runs, but then Tom Latham and Kane Williamson added 154 for the second wicket, with Latham making 86 with 12 fours and 1 six, before falling to Kemar Roach.
Kane Williamson ended the day on 97* with 16 fours and Ross Taylor (31*) for the company as New Zealand made 243/2 at the end of the day’s play.
NZ v WI 2020: New Zealand in command after Day 1 as Williamson, Latham keep West Indies at bay
West Indies pacer Kemar Roach showed great courage to play in the Test match, as he had received the news of the death of his father, Andrew Smith while preparing for the match. Both the teams wore black armbands to honor Roach’s father on the opening day of the first Test.
Before the start of the Test, Williamson was seen hugging Roach, a gesture that won the hearts of cricket fans all over the world. Williamson is known to be one of the greatest guys off the field as well and is very down to earth.
Williamson hugging Kemar Roach to condole his father’s demise was seen as one of the most heartwarming gestures by fans as well, who lauded the NZ skipper on social media.