West Indies v New Zealand – 1st ODI – Match preview
After a comprehensive 2-0 T20I win against New Zealand in Florida, the West Indies will be chasing an ODI series win against a Test-level team (with the exception of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Bangladesh-c747 and Zimbabwe) that has eluded them for the past four years as they prepare to go into the first one-day of their 5-match series against the Kiwis at Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica today on July 5.
Both teams are currently floundering near the bottom of the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Zimbabwe-c3045), the West Indies have shown a recent upward trend in terms of performance.
Along with having tied a home ODI series against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/LRPL-Taylor-c1849 and Brendon McCullum, suggest that the odds are stacked against the Kiwis.
Going into the series without captain http://www.senore.com/Cricket/KS-Williamson-c1813 – the fourth youngest captain in ODI history, and New Zealand’s youngest captain yet.
With Taylor and http://www.senore.com/Cricket/BB-McCullum-c1129 absent from the line-up, the batting order is considerably weakened. The Kiwi batsmen struggled against the Windies bowlers on the slow, low pitches of Florida, and the surfaces in the Caribbean are likely to be very similar.
The familiar duo of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Dean-Brownlie-c1349, hailed by Taylor as a competent player of spin, will need to up his game after disappointing showings during the T20 series (with scores of 0 and 1). The Black Caps will also be choosing between Tom Latham and BJ Watling for the spot of wicketkeeper, while all-rounder Jacob Oram will be returning to the side after recovering from a knee strain, rounding off a batting order which appears slightly shaky.
The Windies, however, led by skipper Darren Sammy, boast a formidable batting line-up, bolstered by the presence of big hitters Chris Gayle and Dwayne http://www.senore.com/Cricket/KA-Pollard-c1754 (who scored 23* and 63* during the T20s) also provide an element of solidity to the middle order.
As far as the teams’ respective bowling attacks are concerned, the visitors’ possess a fairly balanced mix. The pace attack contains Tim Southee and Kyle Mills, while the spin department (all-important on Caribbean pitches) contains http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Doug-Bracewell-c1394 with leg-spinner Tarun Nethula.
However, in answer, the West Indies bowling attack boasts the intimidating Sunil Narine, who claimed a total of 7 wickets during the T20s – after an impressive debut, followed by a successful stint in the IPL, Narine’s form slumped during the tour of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/England-c56013, but a return to familiar pitches has brought out his best form, and the 24-year-old is expected to be absolutely deadly. Samuels, who claimed 2 for 25 in the last T20, is also a viable spin option for the Windies.
The spinners also have able support in pacers Tino Best, Ravi Rampaul, and Dwayne Bravo, and this completes the Windies’ intense bowling attack, which, on paper, is definitely a notch above New Zealand’s.
The temperature at Sabina Park is expected to be around 26 - 31° C, with a weather forecast for scattered thunderstorms.
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/West-Indies-c760 playing XI (probable):
1 http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sunil-Philip-Narine-c91869
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-Zealand-c754 playing XI (probable):
1 http://www.senore.com/Cricket/KD-Mills-c1781
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