00:00Another tough assignment lies ahead for the West Indies, who take on home side New Zealand
00:05in the first of three test matches from December 1st, 6pm TT time in Christchurch.
00:10The last time the men in Maroon won a test series in that part of the world was eons
00:14ago, 1995 to be precise, under the leadership of the unassuming Courtney Walsh.
00:20The current Windies side has been debilitated because of the absence of some senior players,
00:25including two key fast bowlers.
00:28Cricket commentator Nikhil Utham Chandani has no doubt in his mind that the Black Caps
00:32have the upper hand, that being a no-brainer according to many.
00:36Initially it's going to be a really tough challenge for a young West Indies team with an absence
00:41of a number of senior personnel, especially when you look at the bowling side.
00:44That's the side I would have been most excited to see how Jaden Seals, Shamar Joseph and Azari
00:51Joseph went as a trio in favourable conditions.
00:54I remember last time the West Indies went there when Darren Bravo got the double hundred
00:58and you had the likes of Shannon Gabriel and others.
01:00So, I think that will be the biggest challenge.
01:02Who fills the void, bowling wise?
01:05Having said that, Utham Chandani is hoping the Caribbean cricketers put up a fight just
01:10as they did against India in Delhi recently.
01:13Despite losing that series 2-0, they made Shubhman Gill and his troops toil on all five
01:18days of the second test.
01:19I'm looking to see if they can take over, carry over what they did in India in that last
01:24test match where it was a nice marriage of putting bowlers under pressure which we've
01:29heard Darren Sami ask his team to do.
01:31They want to play a more progressive style, a more aggressive and positive approach.
01:36Can they do that while sustaining periods of heavy pressure?
01:39Because we saw in both the ODI and the T20 series, there's a lot in it for the New Zealand
01:44bowlers. They're much taller than the West Indies.
01:46The ball swings in New Zealand.
01:48The Barbadian cricket analyst is also delighted that batsman Kavim Hodge returns to the West
01:53Indies test side after last playing against Pakistan in January.
01:58Hodge has a century and three fifties from 11 test matches while averaging a modest 25.27.
02:05Why I like having a Kavim Hodge in a team and why it worked at times under Andre Coley's
02:10tenureship is because he brings another side. So when you have that progressive batting at one end,
02:16he can be almost the glue for other guys to bat around. I think it's important to always have
02:21a couple of those guys in your test team. So really excited to see how Kavim goes.
02:24He's putting a lot of work in Dominica at the academy, then in the camp in Antigua from what
02:29I can see and talking to him.
02:31According to Utham Chandani, the West Indies are capable of avoiding a clean sweep if they play to
02:36their potential. But having said that, he sees the 2021 WTC Mace winners coming out on top.
02:44Obviously, Kane Williamson coming back in is a huge boost to that batting line-up who's already
02:48batting well. So I do think New Zealand are favourites. I do bat the West Indies to fight.
02:54The big thing for me is can they start the series well? You look at Australia and you look at India,
02:59even Pakistan, the first tests have been where they've fallen down. If they can start better,
03:04fight from the inception, then I think it could be a close series. But I'd probably say I'd bat New
03:10Zealand to win maybe two out of three test matches. I'm hoping, of course, that the West Indies can
03:14win one or even two or draw one or two. But yeah, I do think New Zealand are favourites.
03:19The last time the West Indies won a test series against New Zealand was in 2012 in the Caribbean.
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