LIVE: Boxing Day rain returns to Hagley Oval, leaving final ODI once again at a standstill

5:03pm: 19 overs, NZ 83/3 - Taylor 32*, Latham 23*

Here we go. Covers are off! Umpires have announced first ball is at 5:15pm with 24 overs per side. Duckworth/Lewis System to come in to play.  

4:48pm: 19 overs, NZ 83/3 - Taylor 32*, Latham 23*

Would you know, it's drizzling again. At least the dedicated fans are getting something out of it - Chris Gayle is out and about signing autographs. Awesome to see.

4:40pm: 19 overs, NZ 83/3 - Taylor 32*, Latham 23*

Play scheduled to resume in five minutes. 27 overs per side. "Weather dependent," umpires say - heard that one before.

4:23pm: 19 overs, NZ 83/3 - Taylor 32*, Latham 23*

No official news as of yet but what we can say is for every eight minutes of delay, we lose an over. That means we've lost four so far reducing it to 29 at most. It could very well get the curtain go. Time will tell.

3:46pm: 19 overs, NZ 83/3 - Taylor 32*, Latham 23*

Classic Kiwi weather. Players just about to come back out and the drizzle comes back. Covers going back on the pitch as the rain gets heavier. We'll update you as soon as we can on how it affects play.

3:30pm: 19 overs, NZ 83/3 - Taylor 32*, Latham 23*

We have a game ladies and gents! Play to resume at 3:50pm with the game shortened to a 33-over match. Got to feel this is heavily in the West Indies favour now - especially if Gayle can fire. Latham and Taylor will need to come out aggressive.

2:30pm: 19 overs, NZ 83/3 - Taylor 32*, Latham 23*

Unfortunately, no change. We'll keep you posted but it's still heavy rain at Hagley Oval.

1:20pm: 19 overs, NZ 83/3 - Taylor 32*, Latham 23*

Not looking good folks. It's heavy rain in Christchurch now so we are definitely losing overs. Positive is the weather team reckons it should clear to allow play to ressume later in the day. Hagley Oval also has good drainage to help too. Fingers crossed.

12:26pm: 19 overs, NZ 83/3 - Taylor 32*, Latham 23*

RAIN DELAY! The Boxing Day drizzl finally arrives and the covers are on. Not sure how long this one will last but we're getting word there can be a delay of around 50 minutes before we'd start losing overs for today's match. We'll keep you in the loop of any developments. It's probably come at a good time for the Windies - they seem to be stumped how to break this partnership after a fantastic start.

12:12pm: 17 overs, NZ 74/3 - Taylor 27*, Latham 20*

DRINKS! Some life from Taylor and Latham as they start oppening up more in their quest to thread the ball to the rope. It's working especially well for Taylor, who despite the defensive set-up of the West Indies has managed to find the boundary four times. Latham joins him with two fours of his own. West Indies are letting the pair build a partnership here and it could hurt them in the long run if they don't put the pressure back on.

12:00pm: 13 overs, NZ 46/3 - Taylor 10*, Latham 9* 

Very slow going from Taylor and Latham as they look to build some confidence and settle in for a long partnership. They've both snagged one four each but it is very slow going with the West Indies opting into a defensive stance to force ones and twos instead of giving up boundaries. Odd choice from the Windies considering the pressure the Black Caps were under but is what it is.

11:27am: 5.4 overs, NZ 26/3 - Taylor 0*, Latham 0*

WI APPEAL! Latham gets trapped in front but the umpire isn't convinced. Holder has a quick discussion and opts to appeal. HotSpot and Snicko confirm definitely no bat involved but ball tracking shows even though its on-line, it's going through high so Latham survives. Still very scary start for the skipper in an already pressure-filled situation.

11:23am: 5.3 overs, NZ 26/3 - Taylor 0*, Latham 0*

WICKET! Munro's gone too! Holder comes to the part with a short ball of his own and it's rinse and repeat really. Munro tries to play it and edges to Gayle in the slips. Black Caps in trouble now and relying heavily on their stand-in skipper and Taylor to calm things down here.

11:20am: 5 overs, NZ 26/2 - Munro 21*, Taylor 0*

WICKET! Cottrell strikes again! Goves to that short and widish ball once again and he's got the same result. Broom looks to cut to third man but the shot was never on - way too close to the body. Gets a thick edge as he cuts which sails to Gayle at wide slip for an easy, chest-high catch. 

11:10am: 3 overs, NZ 12/1 - Munro 9*, Broom 1*

WICKET! Great start by the Windies! Cottrell goes short and gets it moving away from Worker wid of offstump. Worker tries a pull shot reading the length early but the movement is what gets him offguard and he cuts it off the under-edge of his bat into the stumps. Broom comes in early and gets his innings going straight away.

11:00am: 0 overs, NZ 0/0 - Worker 0*, Munro 0*

We're underway at Hagley Oval as Worker and Munro make their way onto the pitch. Cottrell to get things going for the West Indies.

10:35am: TEAMS

CHRIS GAYLE IS BACK! He's done warm-ups with the team this morning and feeling fit enough to play. Chadwick Walton has come in for Hetmyer to join him in the openers. That shifts Kyle Hope behind his brother at fourth.

For New Zealand, Santner has come in for Bracewell after getting over his issue.

NZL: 1 George Worker, 2 Colin Munro, 3 Neil Broom, 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Tom Latham (capt, wk), 6 Henry Nicholls, 7 Mitchell Santner, 8 Todd Astle, 9 Matt Henry, 10 Lockie Ferguson 11 Trent Boult

WI: 1 Chris Gayle, 2 Chadwick Walton, 3 Shai Hope (wk), 4 Kyle Hope, 5 Jason Mohammed, 6 Jason Holder (capt), 7 Rovman Powell, 8 Ashley Nurse, 9 Nikita Miller, 10 Sheldon Cottrell , 11 Shannon Gabriel

10:30am: TOSS

The Black Caps have won the toss and elected to bat.

PRE-MATCH

The Black Caps won't be easing up for the third and final one-day international against the West Indies in Christchurch today, batting coach Craig McMillan says.

New Zealand secured the three-match series in commanding fashion on Saturday, Trent Boult's 7-34 leading the way to a 204-run win in the second ODI at Hagley Oval.

The Windies never looked like chasing down New Zealand's 325-run target, set up by a 130-run sixth-wicket stand between Henry Nicholls and Todd Astle.

The visitors were bowled out for 121 runs in 28 overs.

The Black Caps had looked equally comfortable in winning the first ODI in Whangarei on Wednesday by five wickets.

But McMillan said there was no risk of over-confidence going into the third and final ODI in Christchurch.

"This is still a good West Indies side, but I think one of the positives for our side is we really haven't given them a sniff or a chance to play as well as we know they can.

"I guess the onus comes back on us, even though the series is won, just to finish things off on Boxing Day."

McMillan described Saturday's effort as "a complete performance", despite a few early hiccups.

"We probably lost a couple of wickets too many early on but then those two guys in the middle order stepped up, two guys that know this ground really well," he said.

"That partnership was crucial getting us into a position where we could put some pressure back onto the West Indies bowlers."

With such a challenging target, McMillan said the Kiwi bowlers had been able to attack the Windies batsmen right from the first ball.

"I thought the guys with the ball were very disciplined - Boult was outstanding, got some swing early and put them under pressure.

"Then Lockie Ferguson bowled fast and aggressively, which is all we ask. All in all, it was a very comprehensive display."

Despite rain forecast in Christchurch today, the pitch has yet to be affected with the field dry so far this morning.

It is however, currently only 13 degrees at Hagley Oval.

PROBABLE TEAMS

NZL: 1 George Worker, 2 Colin Munro, 3 Neil Broom, 4 Ross Taylor, 5 Tom Latham (capt, wk), 6 Henry Nicholls, 7 Todd Astle, 8 Doug Bracewell, 9 Lockie Ferguson, 10 Matt Henry, 11 Trent Boult

WI: 1 Chris Gayle/Kyle Hope, 2 Evin Lewis, 3 Shai Hope (wk), 4 Shimron Hetmyer, 5 Jason Mohammed, 6 Jason Holder (capt), 7 Rovman Powell, 8 Ashley Nurse, 9 Nikita Miller, 10 Sheldon Cottrell , 11 Shannon Gabriel