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The West Indies will use the memorable July Test win over England in Southampton as inspiration for their New Zealand tour.
After a busy 54-hour drive from Barbados, the West Indies touring group, minus their Indian Premier League T20 stars, landed in Auckland on Friday. The team then took a chartered flight to Christchurch, where they began their mandatory 14 days of managed isolation.
Pending negative tests for Covid-19, the West Indies will be able to train on the fourth day of their quarantine period at the New Zealand High Performance Center at the University of Lincoln.
The eight IPL players from the West Indies, Captain Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo, Keemo Paul, Shimron Hetmyer, Nicholas Pooran, Sheldon Cottrell, Oshane Thomas and Fabian Allen will join them at the conclusion of the tournament.
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Black Caps Kane Williamson, Trent Boult, Lockie Ferguson, Jimmy Neesham, Mitchell Santner and Tim Seifert, who will participate in the IPL, will travel back with them before quarantining themselves before the first T20 in Auckland on November 27.
The West Indies will be a severe test in all three T20s, its strongest format, but testing will present a more difficult challenge. Hamilton hosts the first test beginning December 3 with the second match at Wellington’s Basin Reserve beginning December 11.
They would gain a lot of confidence with an away win over England in Southampton in July, the first international cricket match since the Covid-19 outbreak.
Nine wickets in the game of the experienced fast Shannon Gabriel and a 95 hit in the second inning by Jermaine Blackwood propelled the West Indies to a surprising four wickets victory. England went on to capture the test series 2-1, but coach Phil Simmons said Southampton’s win provided a model for how they wanted to play.
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West Indies coach Phil Simmons says his team will be confident in their away win over England, but New Zealand represents a formidable test.
The New Zealand terrains would be similar to those they faced in England, from which they could draw inspiration. Simmons emphasized that they would have to improve in England’s test series and show greater consistency over five days if they were to cause trouble for New Zealand.
“We have to take that performance from Southampton and try to see what are the points we have to work on to improve that, and we have to improve it because it is very difficult to beat the teams at home now.
“We have to be able to play the best we can in cricket in any test match in order to beat the highest teams in the table and New Zealand is one of them.”
On their last tour to New Zealand in 2017-18, the West Indies were defeated 2-0 in testing and also swept in the ODI and T20.
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T20 star Kieron Pollard will be the captain of the West Indies in the shortest format on his New Zealand tour.
Their IPL contingent would not connect with them after the quarantine until the morning of the first Q20 in Auckland, which was an obstacle, but Simmons said it was a format that the West Indies enjoyed.
The West Indies are the reigning champions of the Men’s T20 World Cup, beating England in the final in the last event in 2016. They also triumphed in the 2012 edition in Sri Lanka.
With the T20 World Cup postponed until October 2021 due to Covid-19, Simmons said a key focus of the tour was building towards that summit event. They were still finishing marginal spots on the team, so it was important for players to get ahead and impress when they had the chance.
“We travel well. At this point, you have quite a few players who have yet to understand exactly how they fit into the entire lineup and that’s the setup now. It’s about making sure everyone understands how they fit into the lineup.
“If you are at the bank and you walk in, you know exactly what you have to do. If you are in the first eleven and you play, you know exactly what you have to do. So that’s what we’re trying to make sure everyone knows what they’ve done for this team, so that this team is successful. “
TAKE A LOOK:
West Indies Test Equipment: Jason Holder (c), Jermaine Blackwood, Kraigg Brathwaite, Darren Bravo, Shamarh Brooks, John Campbell, Roston Chase, Rahkeem Cornwall, Shane Dowrich, Shannon Gabriel, Shimron Hetmyer, Chemar Holder, Alzarri Joseph, Keemo Paul, Kemar Roach.
Test bookings: Nkrumah Bonner, Joshua DaSilva, Preston McSween, Shayne Moseley, Raymon Reifer, Jayden Seales.
T20I Squad: Kieron Pollard (c), Fabian Allen, Dwayne Bravo, Sheldon Cottrell, Andre Fletcher, Shimron Hetmyer, Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Rovman Powell, Keemo Paul, Nicholas Pooran, Oshane Thomas, Hayden Walsh Jr, Kesrick Williams.
