Monday, December 29, 2008

Gayle poses threat to New Zealand

One-day international, Queenstown:New Zealand v West Indies
Date: 31 December Start time: 2300 GMT (30 December)

West Indies captain Chris Gayle
Chris Gayle has hit 123 sixes in his 189 one-day appearances

New Zealand are wary of the threat of West Indies captain Chris Gayle ahead of the first match of their one-day series in Queenstown.

Gayle is one of the most destructive batsmen in world cricket, with 18 one-day centuries to his credit.

"If you can get him out early, it sort of deflates the rest of the team," said New Zealand seamer Kyle Mills.

The Kiwis may give a debut to batsman Neil Broom, 25, who has replaced Scott Styris (broken thumb) in the squad.

And they are also likely to bring in all-rounder Grant Elliott, who was recalled along with opener Jamie How after sitting out the two Twenty20 matches between the sides.

"Grant gives us options with both bat and ball. He can come in down the order and push the ball around and also offers a good bowling option with his medium-pace swing," said chief selector Glenn Turner.

The two sides are three places apart in the International Cricket Council one-day standings, with New Zealand currently fifth and West Indies eighth.

A whitewash or 4-1 series win by New Zealand would move them above Pakistan into fourth, but should they lose, they would drop by anything from one to three places, depending on the margin.

Both sides have dangerous batsmen, with Gayle's influence likely to be matched by the home side's Brendon McCullum.

"We view Gayle like they probably view Brendon. If they can get him early or we can get him early, that changes the momentum of the game," said New Zealand skipper Daniel Vettori.

West Indies have made one significant change to their squad, with Jamaican left-armer Nikita Miller replacing Sulieman Benn as their specialist spin bowler.


New Zealand (from): Daniel Vettori (captain), Neil Broom, Grant Elliott, Daniel Flynn, Mark Gillespie, Jamie How, Brendon McCullum, Kyle Mills, Jacob Oram, Jeetan Patel, Jesse Ryder, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor.

West Indies (from): Chris Gayle, Sewnarine Chattergoon, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Xavier Marshall, Shawn Findlay, Brendan Nash, Kieron Pollard, Denesh Ramdin, Carlton Baugh, Lionel Baker, Fidel Edwards, Nikita Miller, Daren Powell, Jerome Taylor.

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