00:00It's been a tough period for the West Indies when playing in New Zealand,
00:03with 1995 being the last time the Caribbean side won a Test Series in that country.
00:08Having started the new World Test Championship cycle with five straight losses,
00:13international cricket commentator Samuel Badri, like many others,
00:16sees it as a tough outing for the men in Maroon.
00:19Well, firstly, in this World Test Championship cycle, as you so rightly mentioned,
00:22it's been difficult. They lost to Australia here, then they went to India and lost as well.
00:26And not only the West Indies, a lot of teams find it very difficult to play against New Zealand in New Zealand.
00:32So I'm not going to mix any words with regards to that.
00:37It's going to be very difficult for the West Indies in those conditions.
00:41At the same time, Badri is hoping the Windies can show that same fighting spirit
00:45as they did against India in the Delhi Test by stretching it to day five.
00:50Despite losing the contest, many found it refreshing that the regional side
00:54was able to compete against the men in blue.
00:55We saw a couple of centuries in the second innings of that last test against India.
01:00I do hope that the likes of Shee Hope and John Campbell can continue in that vein,
01:05and others can also contribute.
01:07The issue has always been, for quite a long time, from a West Indian perspective,
01:10in that batting department.
01:12So if we can have a few of the batters putting together some good scores.
01:16With injuries to a couple of key pacers,
01:18Badri is aware the bowling department is somewhat depleted.
01:21While he knows it's going to be a test for some of the new faces,
01:26he's still keeping the faith.
01:27I know the bowling will continue to hold its own.
01:30I know that there are also some injuries to the more established fast bowler,
01:34Shamar Joseph, Azari Joseph.
01:35So we have a couple of youngsters in there.
01:37So it will be a heavy workload for Jadon Seals.
01:40But I do think that we can compete.
01:43To say that we can win the series,
01:45that's been a little bit presumptuous and maybe overly optimistic.
01:49Yeah, so maybe realistically, if they can draw one of the test matches
01:52and see what they can do in the other two.
01:55But yeah, it's going to be tough in those conditions to win that series.
01:59Kavim Hodge was not chosen at the start of the new WTC cycle,
02:03having last played against Pakistan in Multan in January.
02:06So what does the cricket commentator from South Trinidad
02:09think about the return of Hodge for the series against the Black Caps?
02:13I thought that someone like Kavim Hodge
02:14should never have been dropped in the first place.
02:16So I'm glad that he's returning to the team.
02:18Alec Artinez, I think, has a lot of potential.
02:20But now, having played the number of test matches that he has played,
02:24he has to understand the art of batsmanship
02:27and be a little bit more productive.
02:28So I understand the travails that Sami goes through
02:32in terms of selection, in terms of availability of players.
02:36The test match team is perhaps the toughest team to select, in my mind,
02:41given the number of first-class matches that we play
02:44and the available pool of players.
02:46The love for test cricket has plummeted in this part of the world
02:49due to the team being obliterated by others.
02:52It's something that also hurts Badri, and quite understandably so,
02:57since he's also donned the maroon cap, albeit in the abridged version.
03:01What is our brand in the West Indies?
03:03How do we see ourselves winning test matches, competing in test match cricket?
03:08So I want us to clearly identify and maybe even articulate what that identity is
03:13and stay true to that.
03:15Firstly, though, you want players of a certain quality and calibre
03:18to be able to identify a plan and to articulate a plan.
03:21Once we've gotten that, I want to see them staying true to their potential,
03:25through to their skill, and really try to grab the interests of West Indian fans once again.
03:32The three tests in New Zealand take place in Christchurch, Wellington, and Mount Manganui.
03:38Vinod Nawani, Chiefs Export.
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