Ross Taylor is 11 runs shy of scoring three centuries in successive Tests as New Zealand went to lunch on 5-249 on the third day of the third Test against the West Indies in Hamilton.

Taylor, who has only been dismissed once in the series in scoring 451 runs, was unbeaten on 89 as the home side’s batsmen were made to work on a Seddon Park pitch offering plenty of help for the spinners in reply to the West Indies’ 367.

He scored 217 not out in the drawn Dunedin Test and hit 129 in the win at Wellington.

Mark Burgess is the only other New Zealander to score centuries in three successive Test matches spread from 1969-1972.

Taylor and Brendon McCullum resumed the day on 3-156, but his captain added only one run to his overnight score before cutting a ball from dangerman Sunil Narine to Darren Sammy at slip for the West Indies skipper to take his third sharp chance of the innings.

Allrounder Corey Anderson was occasionally at sea against Narine, but mixed aggression with resolute defence to put on 50 with Taylor for the fifth wicket.

He had looked to have got on top of Narine and his variations to hit the off-spinner for three boundaries in an over, but fell to Veerasammy Permaul the very next over.

Narsingh Deonarine took an excellent sprawling catch at deep square leg to end Anderson’s innings on 39 and give the left-arm spinner a deserved first wicket of the innings.

Taylor, who survived a lbw referral on the second day when in single figures, edged a ball from Narine shortly after Anderson departed, but the ball cannoned into wicketkeeper Denesh Ramdin’s pads before he could react.

Sammy opted against taking the new ball when it became due after 80 overs and they had sent down 98 overs by the interval.

Narine, who bowled 22 overs on the trot on the second day, sent down 14 overs unchanged before being replaced by Deonarine. He has figures of 3-81.

New Zealand lead the three-Test series 1-0.