We have had the white ball leg of the West Indies tour of New Zealand and now it is time for the red ball stuff where we have a three-match Test series which is a rarity when there isn’t one of the big four nations involved.
New Zealand won both of those white ball series and they would be considered much the stronger in the red ball game and therefore will be expected to win this opening match in Christchurch as a result. West Indies will be looking to pull off the upset.
New Zealand
New Zealand get their latest World Test Championship challenge underway here but they do so knowing that they have only won two of their last seven series on home soil so they will be keen to get the job done over the course of these three matches. It hasn’t been easy for New Zealand in this format of the game when they have been reduced to a number of two-match series at home unless the truly big guns have been touring. This is a welcome three-match series in which they are heavy favourites.
You can always tell where a series is on the priority list by the strength of the squad that is named for it so it is very encouraging for New Zealand fans that their team has named the strongest squad that they could. New Zealand are known for delivering good red ball bowling attacks whatever the conditions are and you would imagine there will be a bit in the wickets to help those bowlers given that they will be wanting three results, therefore eyes will be on the batters to see if they deliver the goods.
West Indies
After a white ball leg of the tour where they offered a little bit more than they got in terms of results, West Indies will be keen to match the performances and the results up in the red ball sphere. This isn’t the format that they are renowned for being the best in but it wasn’t too long ago they put up a competitive showing against Australia back in the Caribbean and they will be out to show that level here and look to pull off what would be considered an upset.
If there is something in the pitches for the bowlers here then the tourists will feel that they have enough artillery of their own with the ball to get right in amongst it here, especially if they go in with an all-seam attack and ask Roston Chase to do the spin bowling when it is needed. West Indies have the technical ability with the bat but putting partnerships together to create big totals is something they don’t always offer but will need to here.
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Team News
New Zealand fans aren’t getting to see as much of Kane Williamson as they would like these days but he is in the squad for this series which means their only real selection issue is whether to play Devon Conway or Will Young at the top of the order.
West Indies have a few issues to resolve. Brandon King is a candidate to come into their batting order and then they need to sort out the makeup of their bowling unit but Kemar Roach and Jayden Seales look set to get the new ball.
Betting
These matches aren’t always the easiest to bet on because there is a good chance that New Zealand will dominate the contest but the odds on that is plenty short enough and finding a market where we can attack the home side on isn’t easy as a result of that. I don’t really want to be on anything where we need West Indies to contribute because they can flatter to deceive at the best of times so I’ll go with a top New Zealand bowler bet for this one.
Matt Henry took four wickets in the last of the ODI matches last month and that bodes well when you consider the excellent record he has on this ground. This is his home ground and he has 36 wickets in seven matches and when you consider he wouldn’t have had the new ball for some of those outings, that is a very solid record. He will get the new ball here and although New Zealand are doing good work rebuilding their bowling attack, Henry will be the leader and the one thrown the ball should Tom Latham need a wicket. At 5/2 he feels like a solid top bowler play.
Tips
Back M.Henry Top New Zealand 1st Innings Bowler for a 2/10 stake at 3.50 with Sky Bet
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