ICC Cricket World Cup 2015: New Zealand vs West Indies - 5 things to look forward to

With three of the four World Cup semi-finalists now decided, the focus shifts to Wellington where New Zealand face off against the West Indies. The Kiwis are still to be beaten in the tournament while the men from the Caribbean have had a mixed campaign so far. It will be a clash of the opposites as cricket fans from all over the world tune in to see which way the tide turns in the key encounter.Here are five things to look forward to in the 4th quarter-final of the World Cup:

#1 Ground realities

The fourth quarter-final will take place at the Westpac Stadium in Wellington. This is the first time that the West Indies will be playing at this venue in this World Cup. Incidentally, this is also the first time ever that the two teams will play each other at this venue, and it will be interesting to see whether they can judge the pace and bounce of the pitch to perfection.

New Zeeland have already tasted success against England on the venue in this World Cup, with Tim Southee running amok and picking up 7 wickets on that particular occasion. The pitch promises both runs for the batsmen as well as help for the bowlers.The forecast has predicted slight cloud cover, but, thankfully, there’s no chance of rain.

#2 Trent Boult has a chance to become the leading wicket-taker of this World Cup

Mitchell Starc, the Australian pace sensation, is the leading wicket-taker in the tournament so far with 18 wickets to his name. The Kiwis have been a very effective bowling unit in the World Cup so far and Trent Boult, their star pacer, is only three shy of equalling Starc’s tally of wickets.

Playing in his maiden ICC Cricket World Cup, Boult has impressed one and all with pace and accuracy. If the left-armer continues his terrific run tomorrow, then it is likely that we may see a change in the list of the leading wicket-takers.

#3 Can Chris Gayle nullify New Zealand pacers?

Barring his double century against a relatively sub-standard Zimbabwean bowling attack, Chris Gayle has looked totally out of sorts. The quarter-final clash will be a big occasion for the flamboyant opener to silence his critics and wreak havoc on the New Zealand bowling attack. The Caribbean fans will be desperately hoping for a special knock from him as the Black Caps may well be blown out of the tournament if a “Gayle storm” strikes in Wellington.

The 35-year-old is also just two short of AB de Villiers’ tally of 20 sixes in the tournament.

#4 Brendon McCullum vs Jerome Taylor

The Kiwi skipper has been absolutely devastating in this World Cup, scoring runs at an average of 42.83 and a phenomenal strike rate of 187.59. He has provided the impetus to New Zealand’s innings almost every time until now.

It will be interesting to see how the swashbuckling batsman tackles the pace and accuracy of Jerome Taylor, who has clearly been the best bowler for the West Indies. A quarter-final brings additional pressure and it remains to be seen if McCullum adopts a slightly circumspect approach to his game for the big clash.

#5 The numbers game

Both the teams are evenly matched as far as their history in World Cup quarter-finals is concerned. Both have featured in two quarter-finals with a success rate of fifty percent. New Zealand, though, have an abysmal record at the knockout stages of the World Cup and will be eager to better their record this time around. Here is how the two teams have done so far in the knockout stages of World Cups.

Team	Played	Won	Lost	Win Percentage
West Indies	9	6	3	66.67%
New Zealand	8	1	7	12.50%