West Indies in New Zealand: Kiwis ply the yin to Calypso's yang

Reckless abandon is the hallmark of West Indies Cricket, or so it has been since quote some time, past their glory years. Take for instance, Kieron Pollard, who once intentionally misfielded the ball at long-on in an attempt for a run-out and made a fool out of himself by dangling the carrot for MS Dhoni to fancy a brace. Dissatisfaction over an on-field verdict saw Michael Holding kick the stumps down in frustration while Colin Croft barged into an umpire in his delivery stride on their tour of New Zealand in the hotbed of 80s. Staying true to the tradition, the pot has been stirred latest in Christchurch where breaching of isolation protocols bereft the Windies of training privileges. Daredevilry is their way of being, even if it comes at the price of self-harm.

Their forthcoming rebellion against New Zealand is perfectly balanced, as all things should be. Because Kiwis are, if anything, shrinking violets. The nice guys, the flag bearers of the very spirit of cricket. They've been denied a chapter in the history of late thanks to ICC's boundary count maniacs, but swallowed the tough pill and went on with business as usual. The grief of defeat buried in the deep recesses of the heart. Destiny's child; cool and composed, pure and pristine.

Unlock the dopamine shots as New Zealand begin the 2020-21 summer with three T20Is and two Tests against West Indies commencing on November 27. The Test series kicks off in Hamilton on December 3. The delicious dance of fire and ice.

Tim Southee, benched during the third round of Plunket Shield as a precautionary measure, will handle the captaincy reigns in the slam-bang format in the absence of Kane Williamson and Trent Boult who have been excluded from the T20I leg in the light of workload management. While Devon Conway has received his maiden international call-up, tearaway Kyle Jamieson who made his ODI and Test debuts against India earlier this year, has maintained his stance in both squads. Though, he alongside Southee and Ross Taylor will render their services only for the initial two T20Is before joining forces with the Test crew on November 30 in Hamilton.

Glenn Phillips, who finished second on the batting charts with 316 runs at a strike rate of 127.41 in 10 CPL knocks, has earned his spurs back in the T20I fold. With three players leaving just before the final game of the T20I series, NZ have added Mark Chapman, Doug Bracewell and Scott Kuggeleijn as cover. The guns who plied their trade in the recently concluded IPL - Lockie Ferguson, Jimmy Neesham, Mitchell Santner and Tim Seifert - will serve their mandatory quarantine period by November 26, just in the nick of time to gel up with the T20 batch ahead of the series opener on the following day.

Coach Gary Stead spilt the beans that Colin Munro is absent from the white-ball wild owing to his Big Bash commitments. Franchise duties prevailing over national obligations? Strange. Colin de Grandhomme and Ajaz Patel are nursing niggles in their feet each and though they comprise of the 13-man unit, their participation will remain subject to match fitness ahead of the traditional rubbers.

The probabilities of West Indies' contingent to be available for selection in entirety are scarcer than hen's teeth. Andre Russell, Lendl Simmons and Evin Lewis have opted out of the T20Is while DJ Bravo's groin sprain is going to take some healing. Romario Shephard steps into the veteran all-rounder's shoes as Kyle Mayers and Andre Fletcher are awarded cracks at redemption on the grounds of CPL flickers. Having withdrawn their names from the England tourney in July, Shimron Hetmyer Darren Bravo and Keemo Paul are value additions primed to pack a punch. Bravo has already trumpeted his arrival in the unofficial tie against New Zealand A with a hundred oozing typical Caribbean flair in Queensland, a safe haven for cricket connoisseurs. 

While the core framework of the Test unit wears a similar look, the nearly indispensable Shai Hope has been shown the door in a brave call. He's got no right to complain though with 105 runs in six innings and a top-score of 31 on English shores. The lesser gruelling atmospheres of domestic cricket will do his confidence a world of good. And for a man of his class, he'll soon throw the hat bang into the fray.

“Return of Darren Bravo, Shimron Hetmyer and Keemo Paul will bolster the team; I expect that Darren will solidify the top-order, while Shimron gives the squad more options in the middle-order. Keemo provides another wicket-taking seam option. The team has good all-round depth, and I expect them to be very competitive. New Zealand is a very good team, especially on home soil, so we need to be on the top of our game,” said Roger Harper, CWI’s Lead Selector.

The protagonists might be chalk and cheese in terms of skill and temperament, but rest assured, the fire is burning hard in both the bellies.

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