When the BLACKCAPS kick off their series against the West Indies at the end of the month, it will see two of world cricket's closest competitors lock horns.
The two Twenty20, five ODI and two Test match tour of the Caribbean is expected to be a thriller, with recent encounters and long term history showing almost nothing separates the two nations. 
First squaring off in the 1951/52 season, the West Indies held the upper-hand early on in the rivalry. Five years later though the Kiwis had their revenge in what was a historical moment for New Zealand cricket.
Having lost the first three Tests of a four match home series, New Zealand rallied in the final game at Eden Park to stun their opponents with a 190 run victory.
It was not only their first time beating the West Indies, but their first ever win in Test cricket.
Since then New Zealand have slowly but surely began to catch up with the West Indies record and the two now appear to be extremely evenly matched opponents.
Head to head in Tests the record books show West Indies with ten wins and New Zealand nine. By the end of the upcoming series the Kiwis could for the first time hold the advantage.
The ICC Test rankings paint an even closer picture. Both countries are level on 85 rating points, with the winner of the two Test match series guaranteed a hike on the ladder.
The stats show that the level of competition in the ODI series will be just as close. Unbelievably the ICC also shows a deadlock between the teams on the ODI rankings, with 86 rating points apiece. West Indies hold a slender lead when comparing ODI records; 24-20.
Only Twenty20s show any marked difference between the sides, with New Zealand holding a 21 point margin on the ICC Twenty20 ratings, five places ahead of the West Indies.
Previous meetings however tell a different story.
Of their three encounters in the format to date, New Zealand have one outright victory, while the other two matches have finished in a tie, a staggering fact when considering that of the other 47 Twenty20s New Zealand has played, they've finished the match in a tie just once.
The upcoming series certainly promises a lot for one of these teams - an improved Test rating, an improved ODI ranking and the chance for one side to assert their dominance in what has been a long standing, closely fought rivalry.
On June 30th the two nations will meet for the first Twenty20 match - and so will begin the next chapter of the BLACKCAPS v West Indies battle.
Test rating points
BLACKCAPS 85
West Indies 85
ODI rating points
BLACKCAPS 86
West Indies 86
Twenty20 rating points
BLACKCAPS 114
West Indies 93
