Despite stormy weather in the Caribbean, Aotearoa's White Ferns are set to face West Indies for three ODIs and five T20I games over the next few weeks. White Ferns maintained their hearty T20 mahi with a Commonwealth Games medal and while West Indies didn't feature at that tournament, a few of their best players did play for Barbados.

West Indies present an enticing challenge for the kiwis as these two teams are fairly even in the realms of wahine cricket. Both teams can grab wins against the strongest nations, both teams are capable of battling lows as well. Everything we know about White Ferns is evident in results between these two nations as they are 8-8 in ODIs since 2010, while Aotearoa has a T20 advantage with a 11-4 record in that period.

The Aotearoa vs West Indies results flow into this year's antics as White Ferns were ho-hum in the ODI World Cup, then won a T20I medal a few months later. While that colonizer games medal may signal a shift in White Ferns after the World Cup woes, this is merely a continuation of how White Ferns have been tracking for a few years. Praise Jah that the next major tournament is the T20 World Cup early next year, giving White Ferns plenty of T20 cricket to capture positive vibes.

Since the start of 2021, White Ferns are 9-14 in ODIs and 6-8 in T20Is. This will be a low key wrinkle to follow over the summer as we gauge how shifting into a new era influences results and whether White Ferns are a winning team, or need more time to grow with younger players. West Indies are a tough challenge in their home conditions, although White Ferns are more than capable of winning both series.

Winning White Ferns mahi revolves around Sophie Devine, Suzie Bates and Amelia Kerr. Bates and Devine are certified wahine cricket legends, while Kerr continues to mature into a world-class all-rounder. These three may fill the first three batting spots and score most of the runs. Devine and Kerr are also likely to bowl plenty of overs, all three are among the best fielders in the world.

Aotearoa is searching for extra contributions though and while winning will feature the big three dominating, everyone is learning about role-players and those who are making the most development progress. Lauren Down returns to the squad and joins a group of White Ferns batters who will be eager to shine in their roles, commanding further opportunities. Down is the best batter of this group...

Lauren Down: 29.09vg (LA) | 20.06avg (T20)

Maddy Green: 28.07avg (LA) | 18.56avg (T20)

Brooke Halliday: 22.76avg (LA) | 14.62avg (T20)

Georgia Plimmer: 15.46avg (LA) | 10.53avg (T20)

Izzy Gaze: 7.62avg (LA) | 11.22avg (T20)

Gaze is likely to sit further down the order as the wicket-keeper and has kept Jess McFadyen out of the squad. McFadyen has been one of Aotearoa's best HBJ Shield batters for a few years now and is a better batter than Gaze, yet Gaze is being brewed as the White Ferns leading wicket-keeper. At some point Gaze will need to score runs and tidy up minor errors behind the stumps if White Ferns are to be a force again.

White Ferns have a bunch of seamers in their squad with Jess Kerr and Molly Penfold returning to the group to join Lea Tahuhu, Hannah Rowe and Hayley Jensen. Rosemary Mair and Claudia Green have been left in Aotearoa, both falling behind Penfold in the depth chart. Like Gaze, Penfold is selected on potential and while she is a unique fast-bowling athlete, White Ferns need runs and wickets to gather wins.

Most of those wickets could come from spinners as Caribbean pitches tend to be slower with more turn on offer for the tweakers. Offie Eden Carson and lefty Fran Jonas join A-Kerr in the spin department which could lead to all three playing in the same team - if White Ferns do the opposite of Blackcaps and embrace spin bowling funk.

Jonas and Carson provide completely different styles of spin. Jonas uses flight, dip and accuracy to trouble batters while Carson is quicker and flatter. They are both different to A-Kerr as well which opens up different combinations, especially as A-Kerr will bat in the top order.

Amelia Kerr: 23.48avg (LA) | 16.96avg (T20)

Fran Jonas: 27.35avg (LA) | 27.66avg (T20)

Eden Carson: 30.11avg (LA) | 18.92avg (T20)

While it will be interesting to see which seamers are effective, these three spinners could grow into a low key asset for White Ferns. Expect White Ferns to be conservative like Blackcaps to start this series and perhaps the whole series, but if the three spinners are better bowlers than the seamers, this could shake up the whole White Ferns bowling vibe.

Whether folks like it or not, White Ferns are building with a younger group. Whether this is a clear representation of Aotearoa's best wahine cricketers or not, this is the plan. Whether this strategy is conducive with winning or not, at least this group is paddling the waka together. This series vs West Indies is sneaky important for White Ferns and this will be a key juncture of learning ahead of the summer.

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Peace and love.