West Indies captain Shai Hope and New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner on One Tree Hill in Auckland. Photo: Photosport
Captain Mitchell Santner says the Black Caps are not being fooled by world rankings and are braced for seven weeks of tough, intense cricket against the touring West Indies.
The full format tour begins at Auckland's Eden park tomorrow night, with the first of five T20 internationals in the space of nine days.
Three ODIs are also squeezed into November, before a three-test series in December.
New Zealand's strong record on home soil places as them as strong favourites in all three series, with the tourists ranked sixth in T20s (NZ are fourth), ninth in ODIs (NZ second) and eighth in tests (NZ fifth).
Santner said nothing would be taken for granted against the men from the Caribbean, who are coming straight off an impressive 3-0 T20 series sweep away to Bangladesh.
"I think they've found a good group," Santner said.
"We've always known they've got some good hitters. But they've got a nice balance of seam, spin and power now so they're going to be a challenge throughout the series - not just in T20, in all three series I think.
"The guys are excited for the opportunity tomorrow night. We know they're a great team coming off some good success in Bangladesh. They're got power all through their team, so we've got to be ready."
Black Caps spinner Mitchell Santner. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
Santner relished the opportunity to play 11 matches in total before Christmas and in a variety of conditions across the country.
After the first two T20s at Eden Park, the series moves to two more back-to-back games in Nelson, where Santner says the conditions at Sexton Oval are expected to mirror what they can largely expect during February's World Cup in India and Sri Lanka.
Santner confirmed opener Devon Conway will take over the wicketkeeping duties, after hard-hitting Tim Seifert was ruled out of the T20 series with a broken finger.
New Zealand player Devon Conway Photo: PHOTOSPORT
He said it was a chance for Conway to establish himself following some mixed form over the last 12 months.
"It's a great opportunity for Dev. It's probably our last home T20 series before we start going away and thinking about a World Cup," Santner said.
"Dev's shown his class before and I'm sure he'll show it again."
Windies confident
West Indies skipper Shai Hope said victory in Bangladesh was reason for his team to have a spring in their step.
"That was a great confidence booster for us as a team. A 3-0 win against any opposition in their backyard will always be a confidence-booster," he said.
"We want to keep challenging ourselves, to see where we're at as a team building to that World Cup. Hopefully we can get as much success as possible on this trip."
Shai Hope. Photo: Photosport
Despite playing nearly 250 matches across all formats, Hope admitted he had never played at Eden Park, where the short and unusually-positioned boundaries take some getting used to.
"I'm sure I'm going to be a bit surprised at some of the dimensions but it's something that I'm looking forward to," he said.
"That's what international players do - you're always adjusting to what's in front of you."
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