'He's the front man in this bowling unit' - Mitchell Santner backs Jacob Duffy to lead NZ attack for WI ODI series

New Zealand captain Mitchell Santner has backed seamer Jacob Duffy to lead a fairly inexperienced pace attack against the West Indies in the five-match away ODI series.

Duffy will lead a pace attack which consists of the uncapped duo of Matthew Fisher and Ben Lister, in addition to Kristan Clark and Nathan Smith, who was Player of the Series in the recently concluded 2-1 Test series win over England. The Black Caps have rested senior seamers Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson and Will O'Rourke, making Duffy the most experienced seamer in the attack. Ben Sears misses out with an injury and has been replaced by Lister.

"We've obviously seen how good he is for the last few years. He's taken his opportunities, but now he's the front man in this bowling unit. There are a couple of younger guys around him, so he's going to be the main man here," Santner said, as quoted by ICC.

Duffy had a record-breaking year in 2025, picking up 81 wickets and breaking Sir Richard Hadlee's record for the most wickets by a New Zealand seamer in a calendar year. He missed the England Test series on paternity leave and was last in action for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the 2026 IPL, picking up nine wickets in six matches.

"He's obviously excited to play after a bit of time at home. We've got five games in a short amount of time and that's going to be part of it as well, managing the workload of bowlers and seeing how they pull up after games. It can be sticky and hot here and take a bit out of you, so it could be a squad effort," he added.

New Zealand will play five ODIs in the West Indies, with Santner believing that conditions could change as the series progresses.

"I guess for every team, when you're away from home, that's always going to be the challenge, and we know West Indies is a great place to come. Conditions can change, and we do pride ourselves on adapting pretty quickly to what's confronting us. It's going to be no different this series," Santner said.

The first ODI is set to commence on Saturday, July 11, at the Providence Stadium. The first three ODIs will be played here, with the series concluding with the fourth and fifth ODIs in Barbados.

Henry Nicholls, Nick Kelly, Mark Chapman, Will Young, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Mitchell Hay (wk), Michael Bracewell, Mitchell Santner (c), Nathan Smith, Jacob Duffy, Ben Lister, Jayden Lennox, Dean Foxcroft, Matthew Fisher, Kristian Clarke