June 04 Tuesday 2002
New Zealanders look to forget Karachi nightmare 

KINGSTON, Jamaica: New Zealand face the West Indies on Wednesday in the opening one-day match of a tour both teams are hoping will serve as a platform to put some difficult times behind them. 

The Black Caps have lost six consecutive limited-over internationals and, more importantly are trying to distance the memories of the suicide bombing that brought their tour of Pakistan to a premature end in May. 

The West Indians meanwhile, are looking to achieve more consistency after winning their just completed Test series against India, but losing the one-day series. The first match of the five ODI and two-Test tour, which is at Jamaica's Sabina Park, should see New Zealand welcome back two key bowlers and allow the Black Caps to experiment with its lineup. 

"We've got Shane Bond (foot injury) coming back, who is one of the quickest bowlers around, and young Daniel Vettori (back injury) is also doing well," said New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming. "This tour is going to be a great challenge and will allow us to do some fine-tuning for the World Cup."

Fleming and Nathan Astle, who scored two Test centuries on his last West Indies tour in 1995-96, are expected to open the batting during the one-day series, while batsman Lou Vincent will keep wickets during the one-day matches. 

The New Zealand players are also clearly grateful of the opportunity to put the events of Karachi behind them. The team has had group counselling since witnessing the carnage of the bombing. 

"You don't ever get over one of those experiences, but we have all learned a lot about ourselves. This is a good time to come away and get on with the job," said Fleming. The Black Cap skipper acknowledged that events had also given the players a welcome break. "It would have been a week turn-around between two hot countries. The rest has been useful," he added. 

Meanwhile, the West Indians are banking on the tour to confirm signs they are nearing a return to form after their spirited 2-1 victory in the Test series against India. 

Though the team was defeated in the one-day series, encouraging performances from batsmen Chris Gayle, Shivnarine Chanderpaul and bowler Mervyn Dillon meant the selection committee, now headed by Viv Richards, named an unchanged squad for the New Zealand games. 

The West Indian fans also detect a greater degree of unity in their team since Carl Hooper took over the captaincy, but the form of key batsman Bran Lara remains worryingly inconsistent. 

The venue of the opening one-day international was still in doubt at the weekend, due to the torrential rain that have been lashing Jamaica. 

However, improving conditions allowed New Zealand to hold their first outdoor practice session at Sabina Park on Sunday. 

West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) president Wes Hall has criticised the International Cricket Council for booking the tour at time when the wet season runs into the hurricane season. Two one-day matches against India were washed out by rain at Sabina Park.