West Indies vs New Zealand 1st Test: Hosts Favourite Against The Kiwis

West Indies will be starting the 3 Test Series against New Zealand as the favourites. The last time they beat a side ranked higher than them in test cricket was way back in 2009 when they beat England 1-0. They have got another opportunity in this series to beat New Zealand who are ranked one place higher than them at No.7. West Indies beat New Zealand 2-0 and 4-1 in the T20I and ODI Series respectively. The 1st Test starts today at the Sir Vivian Richards Stadium in Antigua. A Test will be played at this venue after 3 years.

WEST INDIES: They have a golden opportunity to win a Test Series because they have certainly dominated New Zealand on this tour so far. Chris Gayle is back in the Test side and will be playing a Test Match after a gap of 20 months. Shiv Chanderpaul too is back after missing the 3rd Test against England due to a side strain. Marlon Samuels will be another man to watch out for in the middle order after his impressive performance in England. Roach and Best are expected to be the two leading seamers and Sunil Narine will be the lone front line spinner in the playing XI. Darren Bravo and Kirk Edwards will be missing this game.

NEW ZEALAND: They have been outplayed in all the 3 departments on this tour so far. They have been battling with injuries and Trent Boult and BJ Watling have been ruled out of the 1st Test due to injuries. A lot will depend on the trio of Guptill, Brendon McCullum and Ross Taylor with the bat. Daniel Vettori is back in the team and that will surely boost the morale of the New Zealand team. The promising left arm seamer Niel Wagner is certain to make his Test debut today. Chris Martin, Doug Bracewell and Tim Southee are the other 3 seamers available for selection today. New Zealand will desperately try hard to put up a good show today.

The match is scheduled to start at 14.00 GMT.