QUEENSTOWN, New Zealand (CMC):

Belligerent West Indies opener Chris Gayle will be New Zealand's main target when the two teams clash in the opening One-Day International at the Queenstown Events Centre tomorrow (tonight Eastern Caribbean time).

The dominant left-hander has been the most dangerous of the West Indies batsmen in recent matches and the Black Caps believe getting the Windies captain early will be the key to undermining their opponents.

"They haven't got much [batting] depth and they rely on him big time," medium pacer Kyle Mills told reporters here yesterday.

"If you come across a side with a guy playing so well, if you can get him out early it deflates the rest of the team and getting Gayle early should expose their middle and lower order."

Gayle scored 305 runs in his three innings during the two-Test series and his 67, followed by an astonishing 25 in the 'eliminator over', spurred West Indies to victory in the opening Twenty20 International last Friday.

Mills admitted the 29-year-old Jamaican's form was of concern to them and said they were hoping to keep him quiet in the five-match series.

"He's probably the most in-form batsman in world cricket at the moment. He's got a lot of confidence up and he's hitting the ball really well," said Mills.

"He's a guy who likes the ball coming on to the bat at a consistent pace. He's got a wide stance and if we can undo him with variations and field placements, maybe that could be the unravelling of him."

Threat

He noted that Chanderpaul, with an average of 40 in ODIs, was also a threat as the left-hander had proven in the Test series already.

"[Chanderpaul] is a huge player. He can really step it up when he wants to . . . so he's a big wicket for us."

West Indies will be looking for top honours in the series after both the Test and T20I series finished in stalemates.

The tourists arrived here in the south-west of South Island yesterday and have been busy preparing for the opening clash that is expected to attract more than 8,000 spectators.

Mills said the T20I victory over the Windies on Sunday had served as a good fillip for the squad, who had been outplayed in the first T20I.

"It was pleasing to get the win - our first Twenty20 win in our eighth match, I think it was, to level the series," said Mills.

"[There] was certainly a good feeling among the team after the game and hopefully we can carry that momentum on to the game in Queenstown.

"Cricket's a big momentum game so if we can take that into Queenstown and throughout the whole series, I'm sure we'll do well."

TEAMS (from):

WEST INDIES - Chris Gayle (captain), Denesh Ramdin, Lionel Baker, Carlton Baugh Jr, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Sewnarine Chattergoon, Fidel Edwards, Shawn Findlay, Xavier Marshall, Nikita Miller, Brendan Nash, Kieron Pollard, Daren Powell, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Jerome Taylor.

NEW ZEALAND - Daniel Vettori (captain), Neil Broom, Grant Elliott, Daniel Flynn, Mark Gillespie, Jamie How, Brendon McCullum, Kyle Mills, Jacob Oram, Jeetan Patel, Jesse Ryder, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor.