West Indies vs New Zealand 2nd ODI: Preview and Prediction

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West Indies host New Zealand for a three-match ODI series

After dominating West Indies in the three-match T20I cricket series, New Zealand failed to continue their form and carry their winning run in the ODI series. The second of the three ODIs will be played on Friday. 

The Kiwis lost the first ODI in Barbados as they posted only 190 runs on the board with none of the visitors’ batsmen even touching the 35-run mark. Akeal Hosein took three crucial wickets dismissing Martin Guptill, Finn Allen, and Devon Conway while Alzarri Joseph sent skipper Kane Williamson, all-rounder Daryl Mitchell, and tail-ender Trent Boult back to the pavilion.

Chasing a small target, the Windies lost three wickets quite early but Shamarh Brooks’ innings of 79 runs helped the home side win a match in the longer one-day format after a while. Trent Boult, Tim Southee, and Mitchell Santner did a fine job for the visitors but Lockie Ferguson kept leaking runs from one end which was their undoing on the day.

The Black Caps had earlier won the 1st T20I by 13 runs while they also won the 2nd game by a big margin of 90 runs. In the 3rd T20I, WI managed to avoid a whitewash and registered an 8-wicket win.

Kane Williamson is back to lead the side in this format as well and will be playing his first ODI since March 2020. He hasn’t played an ODI since the resumption of the sport in 2020. His previous 50-over appearance was against Australia in Sydney.

Trent Boult, who recently pulled out of his central contract, is available for the ODI series as well. After completing the ongoing WI series commitments, he will be available for selection when he opts.

Nicholas Pooran will be leading the West Indies. Under him, the home side was recently whitewashed by India in the ODI series. The home team is without the services of Shimron Hetmyer, who has withdrawn from the series due to personal reasons.

He recently made his WI comeback and has now pulled out. They will also miss out on the services of Keemo Paul and Gudakesh Motie.

What have they done so far?

New Zealand won the 3-match T20I series 2-1

New Zealand won the 3-match T20I series 2-1

New Zealand’s tour of the West Indies started with a three-match T20I series where New Zealand thrashed West Indies by 2-1. New Zealand’s 2-1 T20I series win over West Indies was yet another white ball triumph for them across this year and now they turn to the 50-over format where like T20, they have been performing exceedingly well.

West Indies are struggling for a win in the recent ODI matches after their 0-3 loss against India at home. They lost by 0-3 against Bangladesh at home and by 0-3 against Pakistan away in the previous ODI series as well. Their last ODI win came against the Netherlands on June 4 and now they rank in 9th position in the ICC ODI teams’ chart.

New Zealand ended their recent Europe tour with 11 wins in 11 white ball matches against Scotland, the Netherlands, and Ireland. They were unbeaten in ODIs this year until the start of the series as well.

Head to Head Record

When it comes to men’s one-day international cricket, the West Indies have dominated New Zealand. The two teams have played each other 65 times in the format, with the Men in Maroon winning 30 of those games. Meanwhile, the Kiwis have won 28 games between the two sides. Seven games between the two teams have also ended in a tie.

When the two sides meet in the Caribbean Islands, everything is exactly the same. The home team has won 15 of the 21 games played in the Americas, while the visiting team has only won five. On the continent, one game has also been abandoned.

Predicted Playing XI

West Indies: Shai Hope (WK), Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Shamarh Brooks, Nicholas Pooran (C), Jermaine Blackwood, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Yannic Cariah, Odean Smith

New Zealand: Martin Guptil, Tom Latham (WK), Kane Williamson (C), Devon Conway, Glenn Phillips, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Santner, James Neesham, Trent Boult, Tim Southee, Ish Sodhi

Key Players

Akeal Hosein (West Indies): Akeal Hosein is fast emerging as one of the best left-arm finger spinners in white-ball cricket. The 29-year-old idolises Ravindra Jadeja. Hosein has played 26 ODIs and picked 39 wickets. But it is his accuracy that makes him a much better bowler. Hosein has an economy of just 4.72.

Hosein’s left-arm spin could be effective against the Black Caps’ batting order which is stacked with right-hand batsmen. Hosein is an impressive fielder too as was evident from the stunning catch that he took off his own bowling to dismiss England’s Liam Livingstone in the last year’s T20 World Cup.

Martin Guptill (New Zealand): Martin Guptill has been the fulcrum of New Zealand’s top-order for the last few years. The veteran opener has loads of experience in the format and will be a vital cog in the visiting side’s batting order.

Guptill has over 7,200 runs and possesses a healthy average of 42 in ODIs. The Auckland-born player has a fabulous record against West Indies, scoring 588 runs from 13 matches at an impressive average of 54. In the quest for New Zealand’s maiden ODI World Cup triumph that is scheduled for next year, the 35-year-old will look to lead from the front.

Prediction

West Indies continue to tinker with their ODI line-up, clearly still unsure as to their best XI and with over a year until the 2023 Cricket World Cup, matches such as this are so important for them to establish who is good enough to do a job for the Windies in the 50-over format.

The New Zealand squad meanwhile, is far more settled and head coach Gary Stead alongside skipper Williamson even has the pleasure of a selection headache with plenty of players making their case to feature in the starting XI.

Their high-performing middle-order provides an excellent safety net for the top-order batters and the bowling unit is nicely balanced. When taking this into account, the smart move is to back New Zealand in winning this fixture.

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