Wednesday, December 10, 2008

Kiwis set to begin new Moles era

First Test, Dunedin: New Zealand v West Indies
Dates: 11-15 December Start time: 2300 GMT (10-14 December)

Daniel Vettori
Vettori will be captaining the Kiwis for the 15th time in Tests

Andy Moles takes charge of his first Test as New Zealand begin a two-match series against West Indies on Friday.

The ex-Warwickshire batsman has replaced John Bracewell, having led Hong Kong, Kenya and Scotland before.

He is not a selector but has Jacob Oram, Mark Gillespie and James Franklin back to bowl and left-hander Tim McIntosh to open the batting on debut.

Fidel Edwards spearheads the bowling for Chris Gayle's Windies, needing five wickets to reach 100 in his 35th Test.

Both teams have recently been beaten by Australia, with New Zealand's 2-0 defeat taking them below the West Indies to eighth, the foot of the major Test playing nations table.

But skipper Daniel Vettori is in optimistic mood following the arrival of Moles and said: "Anytime you have a change people get a little excited, people look at things with a positive angle and that's certainly happened since we've been in the group."

West Indies
Gayle's team were soundly beaten by Pakistan a one-day series in November

Moles, who has trimmed down the backroom staff, said: "It has been well publicised that I'm not on the selection panel.

"But we had a good meeting and I'm really happy with the outcome. I think we have a really good, balanced side."

One of the main surprises was the omission of Chris Martin, who did not have the best of series against Australia, although his six wickets at 36 were not the worst figures in the Kiwi squad.

Gritty left-hander Daniel Flynn has been moved up to number three, with the more cavalier Jesse Ryder dropping to five.

In a strong batting line-up, the explosive Brendon McCullum, who made 74 in the first Test when the Windies last toured New Zealand in 2006, will bat at number seven.

Gayle, playing his 74th Test, is still relatively new to captaincy, having led the team on five previous occasions.

"I am maturing and there is more responsibility but the mindset will be to play positive cricket," he said.

His team will be looking to recover quickly from the disappointment of the recent one-day series with Pakistan in Abu Dhabi, where they were beaten in all three matches.

In 22 previous Tests in New Zealand dating back to 1952 the Windies have won seven and lost eight, but the last victory was in 1995 and four of the last five matches have been won by the Kiwis.

The match will trial a new rule allowing fielding captains to refer appeals rejected by the umpires for a review by the third official.

Batsmen will also be able to ask for a referral when they are given out, but teams will be limited to three appeals per innings.

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