Confident after their second Test win at the Queen's Park Oval last Friday, the West Indies will go for a series win when the third and final Test gets underway at 10 am at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados this morning.
It's a special occasion at the "spiritual home" of West Indies cricket, as it will mark the 50th Test match to be played at the famous venue. The regional side have won 22, drawn 17 and lost just ten.
The West Indies would love nothing better than to celebrate that landmark with a series victory. The series is currently locked at 1�1 after New Zealand won the opening Test by 186 runs in Jamaica and the West Indies rebounded with an emphatic ten-wicket win at the Queen's Park Oval, Port-of-Spain.
Yesterday, both teams were at the venue fine tuning for the big match and West Indies opener Chris Gayle who banged a hurricane 80 not out off 43 balls thinks that they can go all the way.
The Jamaican said he is looking to continue where he left off in Trinidad and is looking forward to playing on the Kensington pitch which should favour stroke play. He said that the momentum gained in Trinidad would also assist the team and that the spirit in the camp is very good going into this final Test. He said the boys are up for one last big effort in this series to ensure the victory and that they are looking forward to the clash very eagerly.
"It's beautiful, a great atmosphere. Good wicket to bat on at all times. Barbados is very passionate about the game. A fantastic ground, love playing here personally, you get quality for your shots," said "Gayle.
Meanwhile, coach Ottis Gibson said: "The opposition is not going to allow you to play that sort of cricket (second Test) all the time but that's the cricket we want to play and that's what we will set out to do."
West Indies are unlikely to tinker with the XI that squared the series, irrespective of the availability of offspinner Shane Shillingford, who missed the last Test due to a niggle. Shannon Gabriel, who replaced Shillingford, was the least threatening of the three West Indian seamers, but he found life on a dying pitch towards the end of the Test.
With Barbados likely to have the most pace-friendly conditions, and Shillingford blunted due to the ban on his doosra, Gabriel's case is stronger.
Teams:
West Indies: Chris Gayle, Kraigg Brathwaite, Kirk Edwards, Darren Bravo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Jermaine Blackwood, Denesh Ramdin (capt & wk), Sulieman Benn, Jerome Taylor, Kemar Roach, Shane Shillingford and Shannon Gabriel.
New Zealand: Tom Latham, Hamish Rutherford, Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, Brendon McCullum (capt), Jimmy Neesham, BJ Watling (wk), Neil Wagner, Tim Southee, Mark Craig and Trent Boult.