West Indies vs New Zealand 2014: Brendon McCullum can sense something special
After a fabulous performance by the young Kiwi players in the first match of their West Indies tour in Trinidad, the host’s bowlers were successful in curbing New Zealand from 120 for 1 to be all out for 221 in the second match. As the duo enter the third and final match with the series tied at 1-1 and now, it is the West Indies holding the momentum after their strong 10-wicket victory in Trinidad.
Brendon McCullum is confident
Despite that, New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum is optimistic and still believes his team can achieve "something special". He said he expected more from the batting group in Barbados, as the pitch is bouncy which is also a reason for the inclusion of Neil Wagner for Ish Sodhi and said that though it is not very favourable to the bowlers, there is a decent chance for the batsmen to take some runs.
“It looks like it's pretty good batting surface with some bounce and it should have some decent carry even though there's not a lot of grass. Hopefully, it holds throughout the game and should be able to aid the fast bowlers. Either way there looks a little bit in it for the bowlers but also it looks like the kind of surface that if you get in on because it's got good pace bounce and the outfield is fast, you can score some runs as well," McCullum said.
In their first meeting in Jamaica, centuries from Kane Williamson and Jimmy Neesham and a brilliant debut performance from Mark Craig pushed the total to 508 before McCullum's declaration came resulting a clear win for New Zealand but in Trinidad it was the West Indies guile that succeeded in pocketing a win .
No away series wins for New Zealand since 2008
McCullum said, "We've batted really well over the last 12 to 18 months and posted those scores in excess of 400 and every time we've done so we've either won or drawn a Test match. So we know that's a key stat for us and we've got to make sure we try and execute that again. Sometimes you have bad days as a batting group. We talked about that after that last Test match, we had one bad session where West Indies bowlers to their credit bowled well and we didn't apply ourselves as well as we should have done. We're on notice too. We've got to make sure we stick to our key fundamentals and get ourselves a big first-innings score."
"It certainly sets it up well and gives us a real chance of achieving something special," he added said. "A series win, if we are able to achieve it, would be something that everyone in this squad, players and management included, would hold dearly for the rest of their lives. Certainly for all of us it's a huge opportunity."
If New Zealand wins the last test in Barbados, it would mark their first series win away from home since they toured Bangladesh in 2008 and their Test win in the West Indies since 2002.
50th Test at Kensington Oval
Denesh Ramdin, the West Indies skipper was glad about their win and said that his men will carry the momentum forward.
“It was important that we won in Trinidad, but what was also important was that we put in an impressive display. We dominated ... we got good runs on the board and then our bowlers got 20 wickets, which was also very good. It was a hard fought Test match and we will bring that with us," he said.
"Kensington Oval is one of those special grounds ... a place where you always look forward to coming and playing. It is one of the top grounds around the West Indies and in the world and we will be looking to do something special to mark the landmark of 50 Test matches here,” Ramdin reminded that the occasion also marks the 50th Test match played at the Kensington Oval in Barbados, a venue that has brought West Indies only 10 defeats - although seven of those 10 have come in the past 11 matches.
"I have done well here - I made my highest score Test score here against England and my highest first-class score for Trinidad and Tobago here as well. So personally, I always look forward to coming to Barbados and playing here. It is a good hunting ground for me and once I get that opportunity I will look to bat time and get the runs on the board for my team," he concluded.