New Zealand vs West Indies – a mouth watering series start that ended completely one-sided.
There were plenty of moments nevertheless. In the T20Is, we witnessed an Eden Park thriller, a Pollard special, the Conway-Phillips record-breaking partnership, while there was the Williamson double, Blackwood-Joseph’s resistance, and Jamieson’s brilliance to name a few during the Tests.
The Kiwis swept both the T20I and Test series with key contributions from multiple players, while the West Indies began the tour with high hopes, had some bright moments, but yet again, went down without a fight.
Same old story.
Anyway, without further ado, here is our review of both the T20I and Test series between New Zealand and the West Indies.
Kieron Pollard continues his brilliant T20 form with a brilliant counterattacking 75* (37) with 8 sixes.
Andre Fletcher is back – 34(14), 20(14), 4*(3). 31 balls – 5 sixes. Short but impactful – suits WI’s style.
Hetmyer and Pooran needs to up their game in the international arena with another poor series.
Tests
Jermaine Blackwood establishes himself at the #6 spot with another display of counterattacking batting. 104 with a battling 69 in the second Test as well. Good hand by Joseph in the 155 partnership as well.
Roston Chase, once the driver of the engine room, now a liability? Struggling with batting form.
Joshua De Silva and Chemar Holder provided glimpses of West Indies’ future with debuts. The former with a maiden half century and the latter with the smooth bowling action
New Zealand
T20Is
Devon Conway gets a chance & makes it count – 41 (29), 65*(37). Great story this after domestic toil and leaving South Africa.
Glenn Phillips cements his place with a brilliant 108, Ross Taylor loses his. End of Taylor in T20Is?
Lockie Ferguson may be the most impactful T20 bowler at the moment. Just trace back to the 1st T20I – WI 58-0 in 3.1 overs. Enter Ferguson. 12 balls later, West Indies 5-59. Ferguson ends with 5-21.
The 2010 generation of Guptill-Williamson-Taylor-Watling-Boult-Southee will have to end some day but with Conway-Phillips-Seifert-Jamieson and even Will Young (debut)/Ravindra (NZ A), New Zealand are not going anywhere.
T20 cricket is not a worry for the West Indies. Yes the Windies are currently sitting at #10, but their style of playing still works in T20 cricket. Given their best fit line up (Andre Russell, cough cough), they are still contenders to defend their T20I World Cup.
For Test matches, it is just another story. Post-COVID, the win against England gave me hope, especially with Gabriel-Roach-Holder-Joseph, but check this out:
We asked the Twitter crowd these questions with #SeriesPredictions:
#Scoreline
#MVP
#MostRuns
#MostWickets
#EmergingPlayer
#SurprisePackage
Note, we will focus on the Test series for the IndvAus and NZvWI series, but look at limited overs combined for the EngvSA series.
And guess was, there are no rules! You can do the predictions as you wish – for 1 series or all 3! Just have fun!
So who do you think we will emerge as the winner? Who will be the surprise package? Reece Topley, Kyle Jamieson? Pucovski and Green? Who will win the battle of the off-spinners, R Ashwin vs Nathan Lyon?
So many questions, so little time.
So without further ado, here are mine:
My Predictions
IndvAus
NZvWI
EngvSA
#Scoreline
2-1 (ODI), 1-2 (T20I), 1-1 (Tests)
1-2 (T20I), 2-0 (Tests)
0-3 (T20I), 2-1 (ODI)
#MVP
Hanuma Vihari (Ind), Labuschagne (Aus)
Trent Boult (NZ), Roston Chase (WI)
Moeen Ali (Eng), Van der Dussen (SA)
#MostRuns
Ajinkya Rahane
Ross Taylor
Quinton de Kock
#MostWickets
Hazlewood
Trent Boult-Jason Holder (tied)
Anrich Nortje
#EmergingPlayer
Will Pucovski
Joshua De Silva
Liam Livingstone
#SurprisePackage
Ashwin
Kyle Jamieson
Sam Curran?
The Prediction
Here are the responses we received from my Twitter post. Enjoy!
Everyone has been dismissing India’s chance in the BG Trophy – Test series . I have a feeling we will do well there , provided all of them stay injury free. We are a better team in the white ball format , so winning them wont be a surprise .
For #SAvEng I just hope they get on the pitch. If they do, England probably win both 2-1. They don’t seem to be taking ODIs that seriously right now which could give SA a chance but most of them have had either a decent IPL or a good rest so will be ready to go…
For #EngvSA, well, first they need to get over natural obstacles (rain)
If all matches do commence as plan, my predictions are:- T20s:- 2-1 (could potentially be 3-0 if Eng plays a full-strength team) ODIs:- 2-1 Both in favor of England.
NZvWI tough to predict due to unpredictable nature of the Windies
Conclusion
In any case, I hope this prediction game is just as fun for you, as it is for me!
Let us hope for competitive and enthralling matches, uninterrupted and safe few months, and most of all, sportsmanship displays and moments to cherish.
Enjoy, and keep on coming with the predictions if you have not already. I will be keeping track.
Comment below, join us for free updates below, and share with your friends!
At the 2019 Cricket World Cup (CWC) held in England, all 10 teams played against each other. In the 29th match at Manchester, New Zealand faced the mighty West Indies. Until that point of the tournament, West Indies had won 1, lost 3, and 1 no-result. New Zealand, on the other hand, were unbeaten with 4 wins and 1 no-result. With each team having 4 games in hand, the tournament was still wide open.
The Moment:
Chasing 291, West Indies collapsed to 164-7.
Comes in Carlos Brathwaite. Remember his name? Braithwaite and the tail launches a remarkable comeback. Twists and turns, wickets fall, spectators at the edge of their seats.
Brathwaite hits 3 consecutive sixes in the 48th over. Brathwaite scores his maiden ODI century. Brathwaite can do no wrong.
Brathwaite’s dream is alive. One wicket left, West Indies need 6 off 7 balls, Brathwaite on strike. Surely, it is their game now…
What Actually Happened:
The dynamic duo of Brathwaite and commentator, Ian Bishop, from that 2016 T20 World Cup final are back together. Jimmy Neesham runs it and bowls a short ball, Brathwaite heaves, and Trent Boult is near the boundary. (Yes, the same Trent Boult who would later do this in the Final). All you can see is the ball in the blue sky.
Ball comes down. Gravity happens. Boult catches it. West indies 286-10. New Zealand win with an over to spare.
Ian Bishop exclaims, “New Zealand win! The dream is diminished for Carlos Brathwaite here in Manchester!”
This is the turning point of the tournament. New Zealand go to the top the table. They qualify for the semi finals due to net run-rate despite losing 3 against Pakistan, England, and Australia. West Indies lose momentum and would eventually crash out at 9th place.
Carlos Brathwaite: The Dream Is Diminished
Just Imagine:
If Carlos Brathwaite had managed to hit the ball a yard further, or if Boult had lost his balance, what would have happened?
48.6 – Neesham to Brathwait, SIX!
Has he done it? Yes! Boult tips the ball over the boundary at long on for six. West Indies wins.
The Consequence:
West Indies wins, joins the middle-muddle in the Points Table, and sprints to the semi-finals. New Zealand lose momentum and fail to qualify for the semi-finals.
It is England vs West Indies in the finals. Stokes batting vs Brathwaite bowling final over—a reversal of fortunes from 2016. Stokes attempts to take his revenge. 15 needed from 6.
49.1 – Six, 49.2 – Six. He wants to finish with 3 sixes and complete the revenge.
49.3 – OUT! One shot too many. Still 3 needed from 3.
49.4 – 1, 49.5 – 0, 49.6 – Run OUT!
West Indies win by one run! West Indies have won by the barest of margins. By the barest of all margins.
Brathwaite’s dream is realized. Carlos Brathwaite is the Man of the Match. He is hailed as the best all-rounder of the century. Stokes is dropped from the England squad. Eoin Morgan plays out the rest of his career for Ireland.
Jofra Archer returns to the Barbados. He spearheads the West Indies attack.
West Indies returns to its glory days.
YouTube Link:
From Remember the Name to Diminished Dream
Inspired by Conversations with Vandit Trivedi and ESPNCricinfo’s Alternate Universe series.
