West Indies v New Zealand – http://www.senore.com/Cricket/New-Zealand-c754 tour of United States of America and West Indies – 1st T20I – Match Preview
In the spirit of promoting the game of cricket in the United States, New Zealand and the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/West-Indies-c760 will be playing a 2-match T20I series at the Central Broward Regional Park Stadium Turf Ground in Lauderhill, Florida (the first of which is scheduled for June 30) before shifting to the West Indies for their ODI and Test series.
The event marks the second T20 series to be played at this venue, following the matches the Kiwis played here against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758 in May 2010. Given the low and slow nature of the pitch (which New Zealand Cricket have attempted to improve by sending their most competent groundsmen to enliven the pitch), many expect the matches to result in dull contests – in their last two games here, the Black Caps managed meagre totals of 120, and 81.
However, despite all this, the series is likely to prove useful as the teams look to identify a winning T20 combination, in order to finalise their squads for the ICC World T20 to be held in September this year.
Given the large ex-pat community in Florida, many of whom hail from the Caribbean, the West Indies are likely to be the favourites, and the crowds are expected to be bigger than the ones that showed up for the cricketing event in 2010.
In addition, the Windies have had a fair amount of practice in the format, having recently played an only T20 against England on June 24, as well as a two-match series played against Australia in March this year. This, in comparison to the Kiwis (who played their last few matches in the format during February this year, first against http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 prior to the current tour.
With the return of veteran T20 batsman http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Smith-c90598 will be used to open, both of whom have had plenty of T20 practice in the Indian Premier League this year.
The line-up also features experienced campaigners http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sunil-Philip-Narine-c91869 emerges as the most exciting prospect – while a Test debut on English pitches did not allow him to perform his best, the slow nature of the track at Lauderhill will not only feel close to home, but also allow him to exploit his spin to the fullest.
Looking to make the maximum use of the surface, the Windies may also allow leg-spinner Samuel Badree (with an economy rate of 4.48 from 41 domestic T20 matches) to make his international debut, in which case Fidel Edwards will be left out of the XI – the only change to an otherwise unaltered side from the one that recently faced http://www.senore.com/Cricket/England-c56013.
The New Zealand line-up, on the other hand, looks considerably less daunting owing to the absence of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/JD-Ryder-c1679. However, Martin Guptill, the ICC’s top T20 batsman, will be opening alongside Rob Nicol, which has proven to be a solid pairing in the past.
The batting order will be bolstered further by skipper http://www.senore.com/Cricket/LRPL-Taylor-c1849, who will be going into the series after a stint with the Delhi Daredevils in the IPL this year. In addition, batsmen such as Kane Williamson and Dean Brownlie have also proven to be "very good players of spin", according to Taylor.
The bowling attack is likely to be spearheaded by off-spinner Nathan McCullum, and left-arm spinner Ronnie Hira – both of whom will be expected to make full use of what the pitch has to offer. Meanwhile, Doug Bracewell (who claimed 3/32 in the only match he played for the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/TG-Southee-c2659 will be adding the pace element to the bowling attack.
The weather at Lauderhill today is expected to be partly cloudy, with temperatures of 25 - 31° C. Past statistics, and the general uncooperative nature of the pitch suggest that a close encounter between the two teams could be in store for spectators.
West Indies playing XI (probable):
1 Chris Gayle, 2 http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Fidel-Henderson-Edwards-c57010
New Zealand playing XI (probable):
1 http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Andrew-McDonald-c1042 Hira
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