West Indies vs New Zealand 5th ODI Preview & Tips - New Zealand to complete thumping 4-1 series win over the Windies

New Zealand have not been perfect across their ODI series against the Windies, but they have gotten the job done, winning the series with one game to come. 

The Black Caps have won eight of their last 10 ODI's against the Windies, with the latter winning the other two matches. 

The West Indies began their ODI series against New Zealand in fine style, securing a seven-wicket win as they hit the front with a solid combined display with bat and ball. 

However, their batters have since crumbled, returning scores of 138, 140 and 188 across their next three outings. Each score has been posted when batting first, with the West Indies clearly finding it difficult to pace their innings when setting the score. Their last outing saw the Windies go from 54/1 to 81/6, with their top-order collapsing in alarming style. While they did make it to 188 all out, their lower-order rallying was not enough. 

Positively, the Windies saw their bowlers impress as they came within one wicket of a famous win. Gudakesh Motie starred as he took 5/47, with all five bowlers going at an economy rate below 5.50. While New Zealand did not need to score quickly, the pace the Windies kept the touring side's innings at piled the pressure on the Black Caps. 

The final ODI will not give them the chance to win the series, but it is a chance at redemption. It is likely that as long as the conditions are not completely weighted towards batting first, then the Windies will likely bat second. Chasing a big total is not ideal, but the Windies will at least have an idea of how best to structure their innings. They can also lean on a bowling unit that has outshone their batting line-up across each of the four ODI's. Of course, this assumes that the batting woes they have been hit by will have resolved themselves, which is unlikely. 

New Zealand have found a way to continually beat the Windies despite not being at their best with the bat. 

Victories have come in the second, third and fourth ODI's, with New Zealand closing on 141/5, 141/4 and 189/9. While they have triumphed each time, they have rarely been in cruise-control. Indeed, their one-wicket win in their last outing came as they went from 142/5 to 180/9. Batting has been a struggle for both sides, with eight combined innings seeing the pair fail to breach the 300-run mark. 

Like the Windies, New Zealand will want to follow the pattern of winning across the series, which has seen the team batting second win each match. New Zealand are the better side in this contest, and I predict that they will storm to a 4-1 win over their opponents on the back of a fourth successive victory.