New Zealand at full strength for Caribbean ODI return

It's 10 years since New Zealand have played an ODI in West Indies but they could, depending on final selection, field five players who were part of that team in St Kitts in July 2012.

Martin Guptill, Kane Williamson, Tom Latham, Tim Southee and Trent Boult are back as part of this tour - a mark of their longevity and success as international cricketers - as the side gears up for next year's ODI World Cup which, for some, might be their last global tournament.

For Boult there is even a question mark over that after his recent decision to step away from his central contract. Beyond this tour (and the upcoming T20 World Cup which he appears set to play) the criteria around his future selection remains to be decided.

Boult's previous ODIs came in March 2021 - they have been a scarce format for New Zealand until recently which has left them a lot of catch-up series to play over the next few months - but for some, it's even longer since an appearance in the format.

Southee is no longer a first-choice pick in ODIs, but it is still remarkable to think that his last appearance was before the pandemic was a reality - against India in February 2020.

Williamson's most recent outing came just a month later, in the first behind-closed-doors game at the SCG just as sport around the world was being shut down. That is one of just two matches he has played since the 2019 World Cup final owing to injury and rotation.

Barring Matt Henry's injury which has ended his tour, New Zealand are at full strength for the series having explored their depth on the recent tour of Europe and over the last couple of years. A number of players have emerged during that time and some find themselves on this tour: opening batter Finn Allen, allrounder Michael Bracewell who produced some stunning performances in Europe, and pace bowler Ben Sears who has replaced Henry.

"Sears [has] that bit of extra pace which is always nice to have in your side. Finn who has done really well in the Super Smash and over in Europe he played really well," Latham said. "Both those guys are youthful and play an exciting brand of cricket."

With spin expected to play a significant part, there may only be room for two frontline quicks in New Zealand's XI.

"It will be interesting to see what the surfaces are like," Latham said. "Looking at some of the scores in recent times here in one-day cricket they do vary a little bit so sure spin will play a part but we also have a bit of pace in our squad as well."

Having played just three of their World Cup Super League series, New Zealand have more ODI cricket than most between now and next March. After this series they head to Cairns in northern Australia in early September and after the T20 World Cup host India before heading to Pakistan. They wrap up their home season against Sri Lanka.

"With the big picture of the World Cup not too far away so for us it's about getting used to different conditions," Latham said. "Somewhere here like West Indies, it might be similar to what we are faced with in India.

"Any time you get the opportunity to play on different surfaces to home it's important you take all the learnings and try to adapt the best you can. That's something our squad has done really well of late, we've played over in Europe and here with the T20s so it's all about trying to adapt as quickly as you can."

New Zealand ODI squad Kane Williamson, Finn Allen, Trent Boult, Michael Bracewell, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Martin Guptill Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, James Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Ben Sears, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee