The T20 series between New Zealand and West Indies is being played at quite a pace and it continues on Monday when the two sides remain in Nelson to play out the fourth game of the schedule five, one which offers the hosts the chance to secure the spoils.
New Zealand went 2-1 up in the series with a win here on Sunday and another on Monday will guarantee them the series. New Zealand have now won the last two matches and West Indies have to do the same if they are to leave with the series win.
New Zealand
This has been a really competitive series in the last couple of matches and to be fair to New Zealand they have come out on top on both occasions. They have had to withstand some late pressure but they have got the job done both times and if they can find a third straight win then the series will be theirs here in Nelson. You would imagine they would like their batting order to fire a little better here to make things easier for themselves at the back end of the game.
It probably isn’t a bad thing for New Zealand long-term that they are being pushed in this series because you would think they will be involved in some close matches at the T20 World Cup, which ultimately is what this series is preparation for. I would imagine that at some point New Zealand will be keen to prove that they can win a match when they chase a score down but they might wait until the series is won before they worry about that situation.
West Indies
West Indies will probably be going into this fourth match wondering how they are not ahead in the series at the very least and potentially having not yet won it. They did well to defend an average score in the opening match of the series and then almost rescued the following two matches from the dead but couldn’t quite get over the line when it mattered. That will be their aim here in order to send the series to a deciding match, which probably is the least that they deserve.
If that is going to happen much easier than the battles that they have been involved with in the last two games then they need to find someone at the top of the order who can manage the innings into the latter stages and set it up for their power down the order to have more favourable positions to launch from or into. The good thing is that in the main West Indies have bowled well in this series and if that can continue they have enough in their batting to come good.
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Team News
New Zealand made a few changes for the previous match and have now used everyone in their squad bar Nathan Smith. He could get a go here if one of the seamers need a rest after matches in successive days.
West Indies made changes for the last game too but with Akeal Hosein having not really had much joy in the series so far he could be vulnerable to Roston Chase returning given the number of left-handers in this New Zealand side.
Betting
New Zealand might be 2-1 up in the series but it is West Indies who are 3-0 up on the sixes hit battle and there is nothing to suggest that they can’t win that market for a fourth time and given that they are just under even money to do it then it makes sense to have that as the bet for this match. We saw in the last game just how deep West Indies bat. Akeal Hosein has a First-class hundred and he came in at number 11 in that match.
The other thing we know about West Indies batters is they can all hit sixes. Shamar Springer came in at number 10 on Sunday and clobbered three sixes so at no stage would West Indies be out of a sixes battle while there are men at the crease. That isn’t really the case for New Zealand. Michael Bracewell seems to be making his way up the order and went in at five on Sunday with all-rounders below him so there is much more depth to the West Indies batting and a whole lot more power and at just under evens they look good to win the sixes hitting here.
Tips
Back West Indies Most 6s for a 3/10 stake at 1.95 with Bet365
