West Indies Tour of New Zealand

International cricket returns to New Zealand and it will be West Indies who will be the first team to travel to New Zealand in the post-COVID era. New Zealand were actually lucky to get through almost throughout their home season last year. They have another bumper season in store for them. Kane Williamson and his men will be playing two Tests and three T20Is against West Indies.

Match Analytics and Odds

New Zealand haven’t lost a Test match at home since March 2017. Last home season, they beat England 1-0 and India 2-0 and have been demonstrating some excellent cricket in the longest format. Fast bowlers Trent Boult, Neil Wagner, Tim Southee, Matt Henry and lately, Kyle Jamieson have been central to New Zealand’s success in Test cricket along with the likes of Tom Latham, Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor and all-rounder Colin de Grandhomme.

Speaking of T20Is, New Zealand haven’t been at their best. At the moment, they are on a seven-match losing streak after having lost to England (last two games of the five-match series) and 5-0 against India. With the T20 World Cup less than a year away, the Kiwis will want to improve and get better in T20 cricket.

On the other hand, West Indies have been playing some exciting cricket in all formats but haven’t had a lot of results go their way. They were the first team to travel for a tour in the post-COVID era as they flew to the UK for a three-match Test series against England. Jason Holder and his men put up a tough fight but went down 1-2.

West Indies last played T20 cricket back in the first week of March but most of them have taken part in the Caribbean Premier League (CPL) and a few of them in the Indian Premier League (IPL). Thus, they might have quite a bit of match and T20 practice.

New Zealand will be favourites for the Test series and might have the winning odds of 2.00 compared to those of 11.00 for West Indies. When it comes to the T20I series, it might be a lot closer, with West Indies having the better winning odds of 3.50 and New Zealand with winning odds of 4.00.

Tour Predictions

The men from the Caribbean haven’t beaten the Kiwis in a Test match in New Zealand since 1995. The Jason Holder-led side have been playing some good cricket in the longest format. However, they face an uphill task against the Blackcaps in Test cricket. Hence, New Zealand might be favourites to win the Test series 2-0. The T20I series might be a lot closer as the defending World T20 champions West Indies seem to have a lot more firepower in the shortest format and they might get the better of New Zealand 2-1 in the T20I series.

Key Stats

• Ross Taylor has a stunning record against West Indies. He has scored 1089 runs at an average of 68.06. He has scored four hundreds and three fifties.
• Trent Boult has picked up 43 wickets at an average of 22.72 against West Indies.
• Jason Holder is one of the top Test all-rounders in world cricket. Since 2018, the Windies skipper has 794 runs at an average of 37.80 with the bat and 63 wickets at an average of 16.74.

Summary

Speaking of the head-to-head records, New Zealand have an upper hand in both Tests and T20Is. They have won 15 Test matches compared to the 13 West Indies have won (19 of them have been drawn). In T20I cricket, the Kiwis have won seven, while the men from the Caribbean have registered five wins. When it comes to cricket in New Zealand, the hosts have an overwhelming record over West Indies.

Head-to-Head in Test cricket

Head-to-Head in T20Is