New Zealand vs West Indies – 1st T20 International Preview & Prediction
THE FACTS
When is New Zealand vs West Indies taking place? Friday, November 27th, 2020 – 06:00 (UK)
Where is New Zealand vs West Indies taking place? Eden Park, Auckland
What is the expected weather for New Zealand vs West Indies? 19c with sunshine and cloudy intervals
What channel is New Zealand vs West Indies on? The match will not be televised live in the UK
Where can I stream New Zealand vs West Indies? The match will not be streamed live in the UK
Where can I get tickets for New Zealand vs West Indies? Tickets for this match can be purchased here!
LAST MEETING
New Zealand beat West Indies by 119 runs
THE TEAM NEWS
NEW ZEALAND
- New Zealand return to T20 action after not playing since the five-match series with India at the turn of the year and they will be keen to improve on those performances which saw them lose 5-0 albeit two of them coming in a Super Over.
- The home side are without a number of key players as Kane Williamson and Trent Boult have both been rested after their IPL exploits while Colin de Grandhomme is struggling with injury and misses out.
- Tim Southee will skipper the side for the opening two games before he along with Ross Taylor and Kyle Jamieson depart to join the Test team, but they still possess plenty of quality in their ranks with Guptill, Taylor, Neesham, Santner, Seifert, Sodhi, and Ferguson all fit and ready to play here.
WEST INDIES
- West Indies kick off their tour of New Zealand determined to click into gear in this format as the world champions in this format will be eager to find form ahead of their title defence next year.
- They are without Andre Russell, Lendl Simmons and Evin Lewis who have all made themselves unavailable for this tour but they have called up big-hitting wicketkeeper/batsman Andre Fletcher and hand a debut call up for all-rounder Kyle Mayers who enjoyed some excellent performances in the recent CPL.
- Kieron Pollard will lead the side once again and he will demand an improvement for his side that have won just five of their last 18 T20 internationals and he will hope his big-hitting side can find form on the small pitch at Eden Park.
THE PREDICTION
It is fair to say that neither New Zealand nor the West Indies are at full strength for this T20 international series but there is still plenty of quality on show in what should be three entertaining games. The home side are significantly weakened without arguably their best two players in Trent Boult and Kane Williamson but they still have plenty of talent on show. The key could well come down to the bowling and that is where Southee and Ferguson are favoured to acclimatise to conditions quicker than the Windies pace attack. That should give the home side the edge but approach this opening game with caution as there may be a little rust in this format from a number of players.
