Toss New Zealand opt to bowl vs West Indies

Starting a new era after the retirement of Kane Williamson, New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner won the toss and elected to bowl in the opener of the five-match T20I series against West Indies in Auckland.

After home T20I defeats to England and Australia, and with both series marred by rain, New Zealand are aiming to regroup but are missing numerous frontline players due to injury - including opener Finn Allen, wicketkeeper-batter Tim Seifert, and quick Lockie Ferguson.

Seamer Kyle Jamieson, meanwhile, returned from a side strain, while Devon Conway took the gloves against West Indies.

After a stunning defeat against Nepal, West Indies rebounded strongly with a 3-0 victory in Bangladesh, and will hope to carry the momentum into this tour, which also consists of three-match ODI and Test series.

West Indies were bolstered by the inclusion of quick Matthew Forde, who has returned from a shoulder injury, and was selected ahead of Khary Pierre. Sherfane Rutherford, though, was not playing due to illness.

Both teams are looking to step up their preparations as they build towards a T20 World Cup that is just three months away. With clear conditions in Auckland, a high-scoring contest is expected at an Eden Park ground renowned for its short boundaries. Meanwhile, DRS will not be used in this game due to technical issues.

New Zealand: 1 Tim Robinson, 2 Devon Conway (wk), 3 Rachin Ravindra, 4 Mark Chapman, 5 Daryl Mitchell, 6 Michael Bracewell, 7 James Neesham, 8 Mitchell Santner (capt), 9 Zakary Foulkes, 10 Kyle Jamieson, 11 Jacob Duffy

West Indies: 1 Shai Hope (capt, wk), 2 Alick Athanaze, 3 Brandon King, 4 Roston Chase, 5 Ackeem Auguste, 6 Rovman Powell, 7 Jason Holder, 8 Romario Shepherd, 9 Matthew Forde, 10 Akeal Hosein, 11 Jayden Seales