Daijiworld Media Network

Kingston, Jamaica, Jul 5: Hello and welcome to the first ODI between West Indies and New Zealand. WI are upbeat after their 2-0 victory in the T20 series in the US. On the other hand, the Kiwis are struggling with an injury problem and their captain Taylor has been ruled out due to a shoulder injury. Gayle will be playing his first ODI for West Indies at Jamaica after a long time and WI will be looking to start the series on a winning note. S

Kane Williamson will lead New Zealand for the first time in ODIs.

West Indies have won the toss and elected to field

Teams:

West Indies (Playing XI): Chris Gayle, Dwayne Smith, Lendl Simmons, Marlon Samuels, Kieron Pollard, Dwayne Bravo, Denesh Ramdin(w), Darren Sammy(c), Andre Russell, Ravi Rampaul, Sunil Narine

New Zealand (Playing XI): Martin Guptill, Rob Nicol, Kane Williamson(c), Daniel Flynn, BJ Watling(w), Dean Brownlie, Andrew Ellis, Jacob Oram, Kyle Mills, Tim Southee, Tarun Nethula

Preview:

West Indies: On a cursory glance, the hosts' batting look one of the strongest going around. The return of Chris Gayle at the top of the order and the presence of power and quality in the middle makes watching the men from the Caribbean a treat to the eye. But the big question is the consistency. For all their attacking instincts, West Indies have tended to collapse at crucial times. Coach Ottis Gibson will be hoping for a disciplined show from the batsmen.

Home conditions have heralded the return of form of Sunil Narine. The mystery spinner, who struggled in the cold conditions of England showed glimpses of his ability in the T20 series and would be looking to play a bigger role in the one day series. Ravi Rampaul has established himself as the premier pace bowler in a spin dominated bowling line-up. Samuel Badree performed admirably in the T20 series and must fancy his chances against the frail Kiwi line-up.

New Zealand: Nothing has gone right for the visitors so far in the tour. T20 will never be the yardstick for measuring the performance of a team but New Zealand came out of the series not just beaten but badly bruised as well. With Brendon McCullum rested for the limited overs leg of the tour and Ross Taylor unavailable due to injury, Kane Williamson is set to become the youngest Kiwi to captain the national side.

The batting was a huge let-down in the T20 matches as they failed to crack the Narine code. The spinners ended up with 10 wickets in the 2 matches serving a warning about the future. The absence of class batsmen like Ross Taylor, Brendon McCullum and James Franklin is bound to hurt New Zealand but it also offers an excellent opportunity to the likes of Martin Guptill and Kane Williamson to take up senior roles.

The bowling department looks better despite the hammerings they copped up in the 2 T20 matches. Despite missing Daniel Vettori, the bowlers have the class and experience to stop the West Indian batting juggernaut. Kyle Mills and Tim Southee form a formidable opening partnership while Nathan McCullum will handle the spin department.