I think both teams have on the field their strongest and most promising line ups in some years. Both teams could beat higher ranked units with these line ups. I also suspect that NZ may have been in more strife had you had Narine and the future looks promising for the West Indies.
I agree. And irrespective of the result tomorrow, I think both sides will take more positives than negatives out of this series.
For New Zealand:
+ Williamson and Watling are still awesome (and so is Ross, although maybe a little less so than a few months' ago)
+ Latham and Neesham both start to fulfill some of their promise and gave the batting even more beef
?+ Sodhi looked a genuine threat occasionally, but was still far too wild
?+ Craig had one great test, and three poor innings afterwards - we are still looking for a long-term spin option
?+ Southee and Boult were both decent, but seemed to lose a little of their previously razor sharp edge as the series went on
- McCullum's batting looked very out-of-sorts, while Fulton and Rutherford were both awful and we are still looking for a long-term opening option.
For the West Indies:
+ Brathwaite, and to a lesser degree Blackwood both look really promising with bat in hand
+ Chanderpaul, Bravo (especially given his personal issues), Gayle and Ramdin all maintained their batting form
+ Roach, Holder and Taylor provide a much improved pace attack
?+ I am not completely sold on Edwards, but he has certainly shown some promise
?+ Benn hasn't been the threat he might have been, but he has been by far the best spinner on display
- Ramdin seems to have lost confidence behind the stumps something wicked
- Shillingford has not done well, and seems to be just filling space until Narine returns
