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Toss West Indies chose to field v New Zealand
Darren Sammy won the toss and gave his bowlers first use of the Sabina Park pitch, as West Indies looked to close out the series after winning the first Test in Antigua. The pitch had a bit of moisture from the overnight rain and that prompted Sammy to field first.
The hosts made just one change, bringing in the fast bowler Tino Best for the injured Ravi Rampaul. It was a toss-up between Best and Fidel Edwards, who has a good record in Jamaica. But Best was preferred after an enterprising performance, particularly with the bat, in his last Test at Edgbaston in July.
New Zealand opted for an all-out pace attack, mirroring their selection for the Hobart Test against Australia late last year, which they won. Daniel Vettori, who sat out that game due to injury, had to fly back home due to a groin injury. However, they chose to replace him with a seamer, meaning that the legspinner Tarun Nethula had to wait longer for his Test debut. The surprise omission, though, was that of the experienced seamer Chris Martin. Ross Taylor said at the toss that he wanted two fresh bowlers and hence Martin had to miss out. Trent Boult, the left-arm seamer and Tim Southee were brought in. The opener Daniel Flynn also had to miss out due to a groin injury and he was replaced by BJ Watling.
New Zealand haven't won any of their last 15 series against top sides, and the best they can do here is to square the series and give their coach John Wright a happier send-off.
New Zealand: 1 Martin Guptill, 2 BJ Watling, 3 Brendon McCullum, 4 Ross Taylor (capt), 5 Kane Williamson, 6 Dean Brownlie, 7 Kruger van Wyk (wk), 8 Doug Bracewell, 9 Neil Wagner, 10 Tim Southee, 11 Trent Boult
West Indies 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Kieran Powell, 3 Assad Fudadin, 4 Marlon Samuels, 5 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 6 Narsingh Deonarine, 7 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 8 Darren Sammy (capt), 9 Sunil Narine, 10 Tino Best, 11 Kemar Roach
Darren Sammy won the toss and gave his bowlers first use of the Sabina Park pitch, as West Indies looked to close out the series after winning the first Test in Antigua. The pitch had a bit of moisture from the overnight rain and that prompted Sammy to field first.
The hosts made just one change, bringing in the fast bowler Tino Best for the injured Ravi Rampaul. It was a toss-up between Best and Fidel Edwards, who has a good record in Jamaica. But Best was preferred after an enterprising performance, particularly with the bat, in his last Test at Edgbaston in July.
New Zealand opted for an all-out pace attack, mirroring their selection for the Hobart Test against Australia late last year, which they won. Daniel Vettori, who sat out that game due to injury, had to fly back home due to a groin injury. However, they chose to replace him with a seamer, meaning that the legspinner Tarun Nethula had to wait longer for his Test debut. The surprise omission, though, was that of the experienced seamer Chris Martin. Ross Taylor said at the toss that he wanted two fresh bowlers and hence Martin had to miss out. Trent Boult, the left-arm seamer and Tim Southee were brought in. The opener Daniel Flynn also had to miss out due to a groin injury and he was replaced by BJ Watling.
New Zealand haven't won any of their last 15 series against top sides, and the best they can do here is to square the series and give their coach John Wright a happier send-off.
New Zealand: 1 Martin Guptill, 2 BJ Watling, 3 Brendon McCullum, 4 Ross Taylor (capt), 5 Kane Williamson, 6 Dean Brownlie, 7 Kruger van Wyk (wk), 8 Doug Bracewell, 9 Neil Wagner, 10 Tim Southee, 11 Trent Boult
West Indies 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Kieran Powell, 3 Assad Fudadin, 4 Marlon Samuels, 5 Shivnarine Chanderpaul, 6 Narsingh Deonarine, 7 Denesh Ramdin (wk), 8 Darren Sammy (capt), 9 Sunil Narine, 10 Tino Best, 11 Kemar Roach