When the numbers caught Chase

Roston Chase's tour of New Zealand ended on Monday with numbers that offered no escape.

After scoring just seven runs across two innings in the third Test at Mount Maunganui, the West Indies captain finished the year with an average of 13.81 from eight Tests -- the second-lowest by a captain in a calendar year, behind only Bangladesh's Khaled Mahmud Sujon (11.82 in 2003).

In the process, Chase surpassed unwanted marks held by England's Nasser Hussain (15.00 in 2000) and Bangladesh's Mohammad Ashraful (16.00 in 2008).

The personal struggle unfolded against a backdrop of New Zealand's dominance. The hosts crushed West Indies by 323 runs in the third Test to seal a 2-0 series victory, built on monumental batting efforts from Devon Conway and Tom Latham, who both scored centuries in each innings to leave West Indies chasing shadows.

For Chase, the series brought little relief. He managed only 42 runs at an average of seven across three matches, the second-worst figures for a captain dismissed six or more times in a Test series. His final dismissal, caught at slip for five as New Zealand's bowlers completed another ruthless collapse, summed up a tour in which the bat never followed the responsibility.

"I think I had a tough series, very below par for my standards," Chase said. "I didn't really lead from the front on the field.

"Leading in terms of words and encouraging and inspiring the team, that was all good and well, but in terms of going out there and producing for the team, I thought that I let myself down and the team down as well."

The honesty was unmistakable. As New Zealand's batters rewrote records and dictated the series, Chase was left confronting numbers that told a far harsher story than intent ever could.