Wellington: Jacob Oram, the New Zealand allrounder, is under another injury cloud after suffering an Achilles tendon problem during the defeat to West Indies in the second one-day international in Christchurch.
After washout first one-day, in second ODI a late batting onslaught by Ramnaresh Sarwan and Denesh Ramdin saw the West Indies snatch victory with one ball to spare in the one-day international.
New Zealand will be looking to put a summer of stalemates behind them when they face the West Indies in the third one-day international here on Wednesday.
Jesse Ryder, the New Zealand batsman, said the team's top five 'has got to fire' in the remaining three ODIs against West Indies. The home side, who drew the Tests and Twenty20 series, trail 1-0 after their defeat in Christchurch.
Coach Andy Moles had given his team the same message after the loss, and asked the batsmen to follow Ramnaresh Sarwan's example - he took charge of the chase of 158 in 28 overs with an unbeaten 67, while the best for New Zealand was Ryder's 32.
New Zealand | West Indies | |
Coach | Andy Moles | John Dyson |
ICC Ranking | 5 | 8 |
Key Players | Ross Taylor, JD Ryder, Vettori, McCullum | Chris Gayle, Sarwan, Taylor, DBL Powell |
Stats and Trivia | New Zealand did not lose a ODI series last year and lost against the West Indies would down them to sixth in the world rankings. | Top order fails in both ODI, but bowler back in game in second ODI. West Indies captain Chris Gayle conceded that New Zealand had the upper hand. |
Weather | Fine and cloudy periods. Strong, gusty northerlies. | |
Pitch | WestpacTrust Stadium always supports seamers. In this ground 180+ score is good score. | |
Current Form | LWWNL | LLLNW (Most recent last) |
Head to head | Total 48, WI 24, NZ 18, NR 6 |