Sweatshirts not jerseys

John Reid, the former New Zealand captain, has criticised the team’s new-look jerseys which have a single black band on the neck, arms and waist instead of the traditional three stripes. "They look more like sweatshirts that you can buy in the shops," Reid was quoted as saying in the Press, a Christchurch daily.

"I don't mind the jersey being redesigned and modified taking into account new fabric, but the fern leaf and three stripes should never be forsaken.” Reid said the jerseys were not the sort that could be treasured for a lifetime.

"It's all for the sake of marketing and I don't care if Adidas has any problem with the three stripes. They don't make jerseys and we were wearing them long beforehand." Reid also said he didn’t like the use of Black Caps in referring to the New Zealand team. "It is New Zealand against West Indies, not the Black Caps, as they often put on the scoreboard these days."