New Zealand v West Indies

Two Test series starting 10th December 2008, 23:00 GMT

Weather

After a pretty humiliating beating at the hands of the Aussies, the Kiwis will be out to try and secure 7th spot in the Test rankings by earning a series victory over the West Indies on home soil.

As favourites for the series New Zealand are in pretty unfamiliar territory in the white clothing but it is up to punters to try and work out whether they are worthy favourites or not. I will try my best to help you out there.

If we try and put the Australia defeat into perspective somewhat, the Kiwis were playing in a country where away teams very rarely win and they were without talisman all rounder Jacob Oram who can bring an extra dimension to the side that lengthens the batting line up. Grant Elliott is a very, very poor alternative to the big guy.

The West Indies are an entirely different prospect. They are a team that has some excellent raw materials but they seem to have a mental fragility and they really struggle to travel well. Shiv Chanderpaul, Chris Gayle and Ramnaresh Sarwan are all world-class batsmen but they all seem to have to fire for the team to have any chance of getting a result because of the lack of class elsewhere in the batting ranks. In the bowling department Jerome Taylor is a dangerous pace man that can be a match-winner on his day and has really become a much more consistent performer in recent times but sadly he is lacking in support - A common theme for the Windies.

With the return to the International set up of James Franklin, the Kiwis have yet another all-rounder in their ranks which strengthens the batting no end (Franklin has a first class double ton to his name) but also they have a left arm seamer of very good quality. Not many batsmen enjoy facing a left armer so this will be a good challenge for the Caribbean cricketers.

Daniel Vettori is going to be the only quality spinner on view and like so many bowlers in New Zealand, he is a terrific batsmen to boot. He could be yet another difference maker.

My problem with the West Indies is that they very rarely win because they rely on big performances from their few big names. It is not wise to expect them all to fire away from home.

This is a series I am very much looking forward to and I will be placing my faith firmly on the Kiwis to bounce back and prove their worth on home soil. If their batting holds up then they should win the game because their bowling is certainly superior to that of their visitors and I haven't even mentioned the explosive pair of Jesse Ryder and Brendon McCullum. Expect fireworks!
   
RECOMMENDATIONS - 4 Points on New Zealand to win Series @ 2.63 (Bluesq , Stan James, 888sport,)
3 Points on Jerome Taylor top West Indies series bowler @ 2.87 (Paddy Power, Bluesq , 888sport) #
1.5 Points on Brendon McCullum top New Zealand series batsmen @ 7 (Coral) *
0.5 Points on James Franklin top New Zealand series bowler @ 6 (Bluesq , Bet365) #

# = most wickets for team in series
* = most runs for team in series

Be lucky and enjoy the series!

Crafty Stan