Getty New Zealand will take on the West Indies.
With three T20 matches and two Test matches on tap, the 2020 West Indies Tour of New Zealand begins Friday at Eden Park with the opening T20 fixture.
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In the United States, the first T20 starts at 1 a.m. ET/10 p.m. PT (early Friday morning/late Thursday night) and can be watched exclusively on ESPN+ right here:
ESPN+ is a streaming service that has every match in the West Indies Tour of New Zealand, as well as dozens of other live sports, every 30-for-30 documentary, and additional original content (both video and written) all for $5.99 per month.
Or, if you also want Disney+ and Hulu, you can get all three for $12.99 per month, which works out to about 31 percent savings:
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Once signed up for ESPN+, you can watch New Zealand vs West Indies live on the ESPN app on your Roku, Roku TV, Amazon Fire TV or Fire Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, iPhone, Android phone, iPad or Android tablet.
You can also watch on your computer via ESPN.com.
New Zealand vs West Indies Preview
This will be the second tour for the Windies since the sport has resumed action again. They came out on the losing end of the first, a three-Test series against England this July. The Windies won the first match and lost the last two, resulting in a 2-1 score.
There has been a good bit of drama prior to the start of this match, however. The West Indies team was found to be violating numerous coronavirus protocols, which did not sit well with the New Zealand side. After the Windies broke quarantine protocols, the Kiwis took umbrage.
“As with other sports teams that have come to New Zealand, the West Indies cricket team were given certain exemptions from the managed isolation rules which apply to everyone else. This included being able to be in larger bubbles and train in preparation for their international games,” Director General of Health Ashley Bloomfield said about the incident.
“It is a privilege to come here but in return they have to stick to the rules. Keeping COVID-19 out of our communities and keeping our staff safe depends on it. They didn’t do that, despite agreeing to abide by the parameters of the exemption.”
The Kiwis have dropped their last two matches, and former captain Brendon McCullum said leading up to the match that things won’t be getting any easier for New Zealand. “The West Indies are remarkable T20 cricketers. They have got immense flair right through their batting and bowling. They’re well led by Kieron Pollard and got a great mix of experience and youth.I think they will be a very tough proposition,” McCullum said, adding:
“T20 hasn’t been the best format for the New Zealand team of late and I know there is a deep desire to improve those results,” McCullum told reporters on a conference call on Monday, McCullum added. “I think with the T20 World Cup not being far away, now is the time to really start to drill down what your best 11 will be and then you start to build a squad that will be competitive at the next World Cup. That’s why these games are so vital.”