The lads from the Carribbean are here. They have limped to our shores, with half the squad having a romantic hit out with some of our finest cricketers while the other half were toiling away in India. With both Shane Shilingford and Marlon Samuels having had their bowling actions looked at with coach Gibson, I could give you what every other media outlet has said – The Windies haven’t had the best build up and will struggle without Chris Gayle. Any keen eye would note that the Black Caps and the West Indies are on a similar level, which is why I’ve got a bit of a tingle going on.

I’ll start with everyone’s favourite, Mr Gayle. Let’s be honest, Gayle hasn’t played many tests for the West Indies in recent years thanks to him wanting to make some cash and a bit of drama between him and the West Indies cricketing board. He’s been back in the whites, notably against India but some hammy issues have robbed us of the chance to see him bat. Key words there being – robbed US. We’re a selfish bunch who want to see the best entertainer going around smash it to all parts. The thing is, the Windies are better off without him. The time has come for the young group to get their chance with the likes of Darren Bravo, Kieron Powell, Kraig Braithwaite and Verasammy Permaul to be relied upon, although it doesn't look like Braithwaite will even get to NZ in time.

It’s an interesting time for cricket in the Carribbean, they are still fighting hard to be consistently competitive on the international scene. This group brings an exciting crop of new faces with the names above in the batting department and some imposing characters hitting the crease in Shannon Gabriel and Sheldon Cottrell. Throw in Tino Best and you have a pace attack that has pace, bounce and movement – we’re all yet to be convinced about their control and consistency but this comes with time. Our conditions might offer these lads a bit of assistance and they’ll be pretty happy to be bowling here as opposed to India. The battle between the Windies new ball attack and our far from established top order will be about as mouthwatering as contest as any in this series.

Not as mouth moisturising as the spin options available to lads from paradise. Shane Shillingford has been putting in many a fine performance and was rather predictably the Windies best bowler in India. Despite uncertainty surrounding his action when performing the wizardry act of the doosra, Sunil Narine has been brought in to the squad. Given the Black Caps unexceptional ability when facing spin, either Shillingford or Narine will provide the Kiwis with many a challenge.

Amongst plenty of new faces the ever fantastic Shivnarine Chanderpaul will play the same vital role he always does. He’ll be supported by captain Darren Sammy and Marlon Samuels, but Chanderpaul is the man who could bat New Zealand out of any of the tests. Chanderpaul is unfairly known for merely batting a bit different to everyone else with many people ignoring the fact that he has scored over 10,000 test match runs around the world. This makes all of our batsmen look pretty shit doesn’t it?

Now for the home lads. Who else is excited to see this group finally play on home shores? It’s been a while since that English series and there’s plenty to look forward to, but approach with caution. There are a few little bits and pieces that need to ironed out before we all start jumping with joy mainly our opening partnership. Good old Cricinfo told me that Hamish Rutherford hasn’t made it past 50 since his 174 he got on debut. This is a bit of a worry when coupled with Peter Fulton who is solid and has done an admirable job but has rarely looked comfortable in the test arena and is not a long term solution. It’s not all doom and gloom, it’s just more of a note to keep an eye on how these two fare against a pace attack who will ask plenty of questions. If greenish wickets are presented, the Kiwi pace attack could rip through the Windies line up but this also goes for our batsmen who have looked less than secure against a moving ball.

With Kane Williamson ruled out thanks to a bung thumb, Aaron Redmond should fill the number 3 spot which will be an interesting watch. Redmond is an entertaining character and a good batsman to have up your sleeve in situations like this. If he does well, awesome and if he fails, well so be it. Much of the burden will fall on the shoulders of Ross Taylor and Brendon McCullum. These two will never get dropped and are the foundation of any NZ team but they need to chip in with runs on a consistent basis. Expect McCullum to win over all you haters as he tends to do with a timely helping of runs. Besides that there isn’t much to talk about in the Black Caps batting line up. My thoughts align more with a continuation of the Bangladesh series with guys like Corey Anderson getting another opportunity to show what he is capable of.

The make up of the bowling attack will be interesting with my guess being that Tim Southee, Trent Boult and Ish Sodhi will definitely have their names on the team sheet. Doug Bracewell and Neil Wagner will battle it out for the last spot. Who knows which of these two has the edge, but Wagner hasn’t put a foot wrong since getting an opportunity. My guess is that it will depend greatly on the pitch. If a pitch with a bit of juice is prepared, Bracewell could get a go. If a pitch that is a bit flat, dry and mundane expect Wagner to get the spot as he is able to provide a threat all day long, no matter the conditions.

Like I said before, this is a continuation of the Bangladesh series where new guys were given a chance and we saw the long term squad begin to take shape. Both teams will be happy to be in Kiwi conditions where pitches will offer a bit either way and overhead conditions will offer the opportunity for swing every so often. The West Indies come here with players that many of us have never seen play or even heard of so it will be an exciting series to watch and given the playing level of both teams it should be an even series. What better way to kick of our summer than some decent cricket against an entertaining team, hopefully no one gets their arm broken.