Windies aim to

Discipline and execution is what can halt a 25-year winless run for the West Indies, says skipper Jason Holder.

The last time a New Zealand test cricket side lost to the Windies at home was in Wellington in 1995 – and quite some defeat it was; New Zealand’s innings and 322 run hammering is the second-worst in their test history stretching 91 years.

It’s also a long time since the West Indies have fielded an XI containing superstars of the likes of Brian Lara, Courtney Walsh, Curtly Ambrose and Shivnarine Chanderpaul.

Since then, the hosts have won eight of the 12 tests between the two sides in this country – three times by an innings, once by eight wickets and once by 240 runs (the last meeting, at Seddon Park in Hamilton three years ago).

The tourists weren’t even able to win the 1999 test in Hamilton after winning the toss, batting first, putting on an opening partnership worth 276 and ending day one 282-1.

But Holder is ready for his troops to halt that slide.

‘‘The last tour we had here, we were outplayed and it’s a perfect opportunity – pretty much the nucleus of the squad is similar.

‘‘Our A game has to be good enough to beat their A game.

‘‘Where we fell down in the past is execution. In the past we could have the best of plans but if you don’t go and execute them then it all falls begging,’’ Holder said.

‘‘What is crucial for us is getting through tough periods.

‘‘In the past we’ve had periods in which we’ve really faltered and lost test matches. If we have less of those periods, we stand a better chance of beating opposition teams.’’

Forget what minimal impact you saw from the West Indies in the T20 series – their test squad is vastly different.

The tourists showed their capabilities with the bat in two warmup matches against NZ A in Queenstown.

Classy left-hander Darren Bravo made 135 in his first bat following

‘‘In the past we’ve had periods in which we’ve really faltered and lost test matches.’’

Jason Holder, right

managed isolation while in the second encounter, opener Kraigg Brathwaite made his highest first-class score with 246 as he batted for over nine hours.

However, doubts arise over how much those performances on