West Indies arrive in Wellington buzzing after their remarkable escape in Christchurch. They hadn’t won a Test in New Zealand since 1995 and were staring at another defeat after collapsing to 277 for 6 in their second innings. Instead, they produced one of their gutsiest performances in recent memory—batting for almost 12 hours and even flirting with an impossible chase of 531, before settling for a draw.
New Zealand, meanwhile, return to a venue that hasn’t been kind to them lately. They’ve lost their last two Tests at the Basin Reserve—big defeats to England and Australia in 2024—and now their injury list has grown even longer. Matt Henry, Nathan Smith, and now wicketkeeper Tom Blundell are all unavailable. Mitchell Hay will debut behind the stumps, while the returns of Glenn Phillips and a fit-again Daryl Mitchell give the batting some much-needed reinforcement. Kyle Jamieson is still working his way back through domestic cricket.
With a reshaped pace attack still trying to find rhythm, New Zealand also need more consistency from their batting group. Latham and Ravindra scored centuries on a benign final-day surface in Christchurch, and Kane Williamson looked solid on his Test return. But beyond that trio, runs were scarce.
West Indies don’t have much Test experience in their squad either—only Hope, Chase and Roach have played more than 30 Tests—but they’ve made a habit of springing surprises abroad. Kyle Mayers’ debut double-hundred in Chattogram, Shamar Joseph’s Gabba heroics, the lower-order heist in Multan earlier this year… Christchurch fit right into that pattern. The question now is whether they can carry that belief through the rest of this three-match series.
Form guide
- New Zealand: D W W W L
- West Indies: D L L L L
Players to watch
Mitchell Hay (New Zealand)
The 25-year-old Canterbury wicketkeeper makes his Test debut. He’s already shown promise in white-ball cricket—an ODI 99* and a T20I record of six dismissals in an innings—and averages 48.58 in first-class cricket. New Zealand will hope he can slot in smoothly as Blundell’s stand-in.
John Campbell (West Indies)
Campbell’s last Test before this tour produced his maiden hundred, a commanding 115 in Delhi. But he’s struggled since arriving in New Zealand, with scores of 1 and 15 in Christchurch. West Indies will need more from their senior opener in Wellington.
Team news
New Zealand
They’re forced into changes: Blundell, Henry and Smith are all out. Quick bowlers Kristian Clarke and Michael Rae have joined the squad. Glenn Phillips replaces Michael Bracewell, who bowled 55 overs in the second innings at Christchurch. Daryl Mitchell is likely to come in for Will Young, and the fast-bowling spots around Blair Tickner will be decided between Clarke and Rae.
Probable XI:
Latham (capt), Conway, Williamson, Ravindra, Young/Mitchell, Hay (wk), Bracewell/Phillips, Foulkes, Clarke/Rae, Tickner, Duffy.
West Indies
Shai Hope has recovered from an eye issue and is fit to play. They might consider bringing in the tall Anderson Phillip after Johann Layne’s expensive first Test outing, but otherwise changes are unlikely.
Probable XI:
Campbell, Chanderpaul, Athanaze, Hope, Chase (capt), Greaves, Imlach (wk), Roach, Layne/Phillip, Seales, Shields.
Pitch and conditions
Basin Reserve traditionally helps the quicks early on, with movement and steep bounce. It’s no surprise that the team winning the toss has chosen to bowl first in each of the last 17 Tests here. The weather will be cool—13 to 19°C—and mostly clear, with minimal threat of rain.
Stats & trivia
- The Christchurch Test was New Zealand’s first home draw since 2019, ending a 21-match streak of results.
- New Zealand’s bowling attack will be extremely inexperienced—their least proven group since the 2012 Kingston Test.
- West Indies have avoided defeat in the first match of an away series only twice since 2014: this one, and England 2020.
- Shai Hope has scored 140, 56 and 103 in his last three Test innings. In the 31 innings before that, he didn’t manage a single fifty.
Quotes
Tom Latham (NZ captain):
“Any international cricketer can front up on any day, and we saw that over the last couple of days at Hagley—whatever we threw at them, they found an answer.”
Roston Chase (WI captain):
“The guys have settled well. That first Test gives us a lot of confidence. We know now we can compete, and we came close to winning. Spirits are high and very, very believing right now.”
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