New Zealand aim for strong finish!

With the series already decided in favour of West Indies, New Zealand would hope for a consolation win here when they face the hosts in the last ODI at St Kitts.

The return of Brendon McCullum and Ross Taylor didn’t make much of a difference in the last game as the Black Caps faced a defeat mainly due to their flavourless batting. However, Taylor tried his best with an excellent century, he didn’t receive any support from the other batters. This is one area of big concern for the tourists on this tour and the experienced players have to come to party, if they want to win and take some momentum into the Test series.

The bowling department has shown some glimpses of improvement in the last two games but still they have been pretty average in the middle overs as the back up bowlers have struggled to maintain the pressure. In the last game itself, after getting the top four wickets quickly, they allowed the opposition to come back and get to a competitive total. No doubt, there is talent in their bowling attack but they need to be more consistent.

After a couple of tough series against Australia and England, where they showed a lot of heart to play some competitive games, finally West Indies managed to win something. With the series already in the pocket, the hosts will be full of confidence and will also be eyeing  for a 4-1 finish to the series.

Winning is a good habit and West Indies have to keep up with this habit. They seem to have crossed the rebuilding phase already, but the Caribbean side still has some areas to address. If Chris Gayle fires, their batting looks invincible but minus the performance of the Jamaican, their line-up has a fragile look. Marlon Samuels has shown some consistency in the recent past, while Kieron Pollard is maturing as a batsman but the remaining of the batters have failed to leave any impact in the series.

The inclusion of Tino Best in the last match proved to be an inspirational one as the fast bowler impressed one and all with his fierce pace and movement. The back up bowlers were superb too and Sunil Narine was once again a thorn in the flesh for the Kiwis. Out of form Andre Russell is the only worry for them in the bowling attack at the moment as the youngster has been pretty cold with his line and length.

Both sides are a potent one-day unit and to predict a winner is a bit difficult. Expect a close contest but if Chris Gayle comes to party, then it could be a one-sided match!