After a horrendous showing in the Test matches, West Indies will be hoping for a better display when they face New Zealand in the first of the five-match ODI series at Eden Park in Auckland. The visitors, who lost the three Test series 0-2, will be looking for improvements while the hosts will be eager to extend their winning run and continue their domination in limited overs.
Talking of hosts New Zealand first they are back home after a difficult stint in Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. The Black Caps have an added incentive to look forward to in this series. If the Kiwis beat West Indies then both teams will swap places in International Cricket Council’s ODI rankings.
The return of Martin Guptill and Jesse Ryder will provide a major boost to the hosts. The latter has enjoyed a decent comeback after that awful assault earlier this year. His return will bring a thrust to the New Zealand batting which after many years look strong on paper.
One the thing the Black Caps will relish is the fact that the conditions won’t resemble those on offer during the tour of sub-continent earleir this year
On to visitors the West Indies now who, on the other hand, are in disarray. Still rocked by Shane Shillingford’s bowling suspensions, and the absence of Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard, Kemar Roach and now Samuels himself, Dwayne Bravo’s men looking threadbare.
Still it will provide a great oppurtunity for the likes of Narsingh Deonarine and Nikita Miller to show what they can do. But proven performers such as Sunil Narine and Test skipper Darren Sammy will have to carry the side if the Windies are going to be competitive.
If morale wasn’t low enough after the Test series, the men from Caribbean have won just seven of their 20 ODIs this season and have lost all five which were contested away from home.
Auckland isn’t exactly a stronghold for New Zealand either. They have won just 10 of the 28 ODIs contested there after the turn of century. The last time the West Indies visited Auckland, the match was rained off after the Kiwis scored 275.
Squads
New Zealand:
Brendon McCullum (capt), Corey Anderson, Martin Guptill, Mitchell McClenaghan, Nathan McCullum, Kyle Mills, Adam Milne, Colin Munro, Jimmy Neesham, Luke Ronchi, Jesse Ryder, Ross Taylor, Kane Williamson.
West Indies:
Dwayne Bravo (capt), Tino Best, Darren Bravo, Johnson Charles, Narsingh Deonarine, Kirk Edwards, Jason Holder, Nikita Miller, Sunil Narine, Kieran Powell, Denesh Ramdin, Ravi Rampaul, Darren Sammy, Marlon Samuels, Lendl Simmons.
Venue: Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand
Date: Thursday, December 26, 2013
Start time: 1 A.M. GMT
TV Information: Neo Prime