ICC World Cup 2015: New Zealand vs West Indies - Player vs Player stats

New Zealand and West Indies will face each other in the final quarter-final of the 2015 World Cup

New Zealand entertain West Indies at the Westpac Stadium in Wellington to decide the final semi-finalist at the 2015 World Cup. South Africa, Australia and India await the winners of this match in the semi-finals.

The hosts will have to overcome their atrocious knock-out record at World Cups if they are to make the semis as they have lost a whopping 7 times out of 8 in knock-out stages at the four-year tournament. West Indies, on the other hand, have won 6 out of the 9 knock-out matches they’ve played in the history of the tournament.

There are severe doubts over the availability of star opener Chris Gayle, who missed out on the final group game as well due to injury. But the team from the Caribbean would be tempted to play a half-fit Gayle, if necessary, as if he hits form, he can turn the tide in the favour. New Zealand, however, have no pressing injury concerns and look fit as a fiddle as they’ve shone in the tournament in all the departments.

West Indies finished fourth in Pool B behind India, South Africa and Pakistan; while New Zealand topped Pool A ahead of Australia, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. In the last two years (2013 and 2014), the two teams have faced each other 5 times with both teams emerging victorious twice each with a match abandoned.

Here, we compare the probable XIs of both sides statistically and attempt to judge which team will start the contest as favourites. The winner between each duo has been judged only by his performance at the World Cup so far and not by previous history.

New Zealand	West Indies	Who’s better?
Martin Guptill Runs – 261; Avg – 43.50; SR – 90.62	Dwayne Smith Runs – 93; Avg – 15.50; SR – 80.17	Martin Guptill
Brendon McCullum Runs – 257; Avg – 42.83; SR – 187.59	Chris Gayle Runs – 279; Avg – 55.80; SR – 108.56	Brendon McCullum
Kane Williamson Runs – 183; Avg – 45.75; SR – 82.81	Darren Sammy Runs – 150; Avg – 37.50; SR – 93.17	Kane Williamson
Ross Taylor Runs – 109; Avg – 27.25; SR – 58.29	Jonathan Carter Runs – 81; Avg – 40.50; SR – 66.94	Jonathan Carter
Corey Anderson Runs – 158; Avg – 39.50; SR – 114.49 Wickets – 10; Avg – 13.10; RPO – 4.82	Marlon Samuels Runs – 203; Avg – 40.60; SR – 71.73 Wickets – 3; Avg – 44.33; RPO – 4.72	Corey Anderson
Grant Elliot Runs – 116; Avg – 23.20; SR – 90.62	Lendl Simmons Runs – 161; Avg – 40.25; SR 104.55	Lendl Simmons
Luke Ronchi Runs – 56; Avg – 18.67; SR – 121.74	Denesh Ramdin Runs – 107; Avg – 26.75; SR – 72.79	Denesh Ramdin
Daniel Vettori Runs – 26; Avg – 26; SR – 152.94 Wickets – 13; Avg – 13.69; RPO – 3.21	Andre Russell Runs – 84; Avg – 28.00; SR – 186.67 Wickets – 9; Avg – 27.44; RPO – 5.61	Daniel Vettori
Adam Milne Wickets – 4; Avg – 39.25; RPO – 4.44	Jason Holder Wickets – 9; Avg – 30.55; RPO – 5.50 Runs – 113; Avg – 56.50; SR – 100.89	Jason Holder
Tim Southee Wickets – 13; Avg – 20.76; RPO – 4.82	Kemar Roach Wickets – 1; Avg – 150.00; RPO – 6.81	Tim Southee
Trent Boult Wickets – 15; Avg – 15.60; RPO – 4.17	Jerome Taylor Wickets – 14; Avg – 18.35; RPO – 5.08	Trent Boult
New Zealand 7-4 West Indies

NOTE: The lineups mentioned above are predicted teams and might not actually be the XIs that take to the field on Sunday.

Summary

It was expected that New Zealand would have better player vs player statistics as they have been the standout team of the tournament alongside India. But, the presence of multiple all-rounders keeps West Indies in the hunt. The team from the Caribbean have made a lot of tinkering to their line-up throughout the tournament.

The toughest comparison was between Chris Gayle and Brendon McCullum and despite Gayle’s bowling, the Kiwi just edges it because of his exceptional strike rate alongside the fact that most of Gayle’s runs came from that single knock where he scored a double hundred.

Cricket matches aren’t won on paper, but if they were the hosts would thump West Indies. But, the presence of Gayle and the barrage of all-rounders in the West Indian line-up gives them a good chance of causing an upset to set up a semi-final clash with South Africa.