The second and unfortunately final Test between the West Indies and New Zealand starts at Sabina Park on Thursday. The West Indies go in 1-0 up in the series after their comfortable nine wicket victory in the first Test and New Zealand will have a lot of work to do to get something out of what has been a miserable tour for them.
The visitors, already on the back foot, will also have to cope without Daniel Vettori who misses out with a groin strain. Although Vettori took only one wicket at Antigua last week this is still a big blow for New Zealand. Vettori is a valuable source of experience in the dressing room and contributes with the bat as well. This will, however, give New Zealand an opportunity to look at uncapped legspinner Tarun Nethula. With a tour to India up next in the Future Tours Programme, they will benefit from giving a second spinner some experience. Some of the more optimistic Kiwis can also draw hope from the fact that Vettori missed out on New Zealand’s famous series-levelling win in Hobart last year as well.
That is roughly all the hope there is to be had from a New Zealand perspective, however. They batted decently in the first Test, but as usual without any discipline and they should have put up a much larger first innings score than they did. This has been the standard for some time and it does not look like being fixed in the near future. Their bowling has at times been enough to bail them out, but they will have to be much improved. At Antigua they did not take the first wicket until the lead was under 100.
The West Indies will have an enforced change to the XI who won the first Test: Ravi Rampaul has been ruled out, like Vettori with a groin injury. He is replaced in the squad by the erratic Fidel Edwards, though with both Edwards and Tino Best in the 13-man squad it is not clear who will play at Kingston. But regardless of the exact composition of the final XI, the West Indies should be confident. It was by and large their batting which won the first Test and that looks to be unchanged. Chris Gayle in particular looked absolutely untroubled by the New Zealand attack and will by eyeing up one or two more big scores.
I would be very surprised if New Zealand win this Test, though it should be noted that they have surprised me before. I think it will be down the the West Indies and the draw. New Zealand tried to dig in to save the first Test, but could not do enough and I think it will be harder for them without Vettori. I think the most likely outcome is a West Indies victory midway through the final day.
Article by Badon Decker
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