Richard Boock: West Indies get little respect

This is a first even for the West Indies: they have been written off by New Zealanders before they have even arrived.

It shouldn't be happening of course. No one deserves to be taken for granted by our lot, particularly given our recent test form and the composition of our one-day team's bowling attack.

But trends die hard down in our neck of the woods, and the prevailing opinion around the traps is that the West Indies will continue the pattern set in 1999 by Brian Lara's tourists and return home well beaten.

For a side with such history and character, the transition from Calypso Kings to Caribbean Clowns could hardly be more final than turning up in New Zealand as the undercard to the main act.

Not even Lara's bunch of misfits were so scantly regarded when they arrived six years ago.

For a start, their skipper was the best batsman in the world at the time, and to complicate matters they made a powerful start to the first test at Hamilton, when Sherwin Campbell and Adrian Griffith warmed up with 276 for the opening wicket.

That was probably the last decent day's cricket the West Indies enjoyed in New Zealand, given they were later whitewashed in both the tests and one-dayers.

To be fair to the critics, the West Indians haven't quite pulled themselves out of the mire yet. Fifteen losses out of their past 17 completed ODIs does not a summer make, and nor does a dozen defeats in their past 15 test outings.

But there were signs during their tour of Australia before Christmas that one of world cricket's glamour teams were starting to make progress, even in small, marginal steps, and could still pose a threat to an opponent as fragile as New Zealand.

Chris Gayle, Shiv Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan are all top-class batsmen, Dawyne Bravo and Wavell Hinds are capable all-rounders, and seam bowler Ian Bradshaw should enjoy the local conditions.

Add Lara when he arrives for the test section of the tour, and it's not hard to see the much-maligned West Indians turning the tables on New Zealand, particularly as their hosts haven't played the longer game since July.

But whatever happens after their plane touches down in Auckland today, the West Indians won't be arriving without at least one headline act, although it has precious little to do with cricket.

The squad includes recalled batsman Runako Morton, who has gained notoriety for being expelled from the West Indian Academy in 2001, for pulling out of the Champions Trophy in 2002 after lying about the death of his grandmother, and for an arrest in 2004 over a stabbing incident.


West Indies in New Zealand

* February 16: Twenty20, Auckland
* February 18: 1st ODI, Wellington
* February 22: 2nd ODI, Queenstown
* February 25: 3rd ODI, Christchurch
* March 1: 4th ODI, Napier
* March 4: 5th ODI, Auckland
* March 9-13: 1st test, Auckland
* March 17-21: 2nd test, Wellington
* March 25-29: 3rd test, Napier