New Zealand have the chance to land their ODI series with West Indies on Saturday when the two sides meet in the second game of three in a match which begins in the latter hours of Friday evening for those of us in the UK.
A comfortable win in the opening match means New Zealand will take the series with a match to spare if they can follow that up here. West Indies have to win this match to take the series to a deciding match on Boxing Day.
New Zealand
While there were concerns over the New Zealand side going into the series their impeccable recent home form came to the fore again in the opening match as they gave a performance which laid down a real marker for the remainder both of this series and the T20s which follow which should boost their confidence if indeed it needed boosting.
New Zealand were impressive with the ball getting a couple of early scalps and then never allowing West Indies to get away from them and then when they batted they got ahead of the rate early on and kept on driving away from the tourists. They will be looking to repeat that performance which should give them every chance of winning the series.
West Indies
The woes of West Indies in this format continued in the first game. Only really Evin Lewis got going with the bat when it mattered and while they huffed and puffed with the ball there was always the feeling that they never had enough runs to defend and so it proved. That is the first thing they will need to address here.
The obvious issue for West Indies when you look at their team on paper is below their top four their batting line up is so light. Jason Holder is probably two places too high at number six in the modern game so they are crying out for proper batsmen although admittedly they were hoping to have Marlon Samuels available here.
Team News
New Zealand have given Kane Williamson and Tim Southee the rest of the series off so Tom Latham will skipper the side. Matt Henry is the favourite to replace Southee while Neil Broom is being touted as Williamson’s replacement.
There is talk that West Indies will change their bowling attack for this match but in my eyes they need to do something with their batting else they will be relying on Gayle, Lewis or Hope to go very big.
Hagley Oval
The remainder of the series takes place at Hagley Oval in Christchurch. There have been 10 previous ODIs on this ground of which New Zealand have been involved in six. They have won the lot too so they will be feeling good arriving here. West Indies have also won their only match on this ground which was against Pakistan in the World Cup.
The wicket is usually good for batting although there is something in it for the bowlers early on but the boundaries here are large so a lot of running between the wickets is needed.
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Betting
It is hard to see how West Indies can win this match with the lack of depth in their batting line up. It would take something special from Chris Gayle, who is a doubt for the match anyway, or Evin Lewis and it is hard to rely on those two against a pretty decent new ball bowling attack.
I expect New Zealand to be comfortable here. They are good in their own conditions and although Southee is being rested Henry is a decent enough replacement. Williamson is a bigger loss but again Neil Broom is a decent player. West Indies lack a plan and are stuck in old times in this format. New Zealand are much more with it and can secure the series with another big win.
Tips
WON – Back New Zealand (-5.5wickets/-35.5 runs) to beat West Indies for a 4/10 stake at 1.83 with Bet365
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