A two-nil test series win in the first home series of the year isn't a bad result is it? As fans, we found ourselves celebrating many aspects of the Black Caps performances, yet still longing for more and bemoaning another West Indies team which again, failed to deliver on our shores. So what can we take from the series? Well quite a lot really, we'll start with King Rosco...

Ross Taylor has emerged from this series as one of the world's best batsmen. He has long been our best, producing a few innings of the sublime and many high quality innings that lacked the class, composure and simplicity of his most recent. Against the West Indies, Taylor made batting looked stupidly easy as he sliced cut shots through point, smashed the ball down the ground with a small swing of his bat and displayed a defensive game which forms a strong foundation for any runs. Ross Taylor always looked better than the bowler he was facing, except of course when he was facing Sunil Narine late on day two. His current form puts him head and shoulders above anyone else in the series and he deserves the continuation of this form against India, but the cricketing gods will dictate that.

With Ross Taylor unbeatable, we're lucky enough to also have Kane Williamson. While Williamson may not have had the same series as Taylor, he was still amongst our best batsmen. Scores of 45, 58 and 56 from four innings are evidence of where he is at as a batsman. What is exciting going forward is the possibility of Williamson and Taylor being the cornerstone of the Black Caps batting line up. With these two, you would expect atleast one of them to get runs in a match with the ever increasing possibility that they both get atleast a 50. This stability and consistency allows Mike Hesson to build around these two, with my preference being a group of younger batsmen given a chance with the knowledge and confidence that having two of the world's best batsmen would give. Ofcourse, if the current crop are doing the job then there's no need to change anything ... but atleast these two batsmen offer the Black Caps an extremely solid foundation from which anything can be built.

Our bowling stocks continue to improve. My eternal optimism regarding our 'stable' has been pretty clear for everyone to see and they continue to justify this optimism. Obviously Trent Boult's antics will be the most acclaimed. His ability to swing the bowl and consistently bowl in probing areas will continue to trouble many international batsmen. Tim Southee is also bowling well and seems at ease with his role in the stable. He will always be dangerous and if he is able to continue to pick up 2-4 wickets a test, he will become a fine leader of the attack.

I still believe that Neil Wagner and Doug Bracewell are competing for the third seamer position. The only thing is, Wagner has raised the bar. Bracewell must now step his bowling up a gear to genuinely challenge Wagner which is what we want. This battle will only make each bowler much better, with the man who gets picked, the man who is in the best form. Many people were calling for Wagner to be dropped, citing too many lefties etc. Fact of the matter is, Wagner charges in constantly and he has taken many important wickets. Until there is an injury, or Bracewell's form is impossible to ignore, we will see the same seam attack against India.

What is giving this team an edge, are the guys who fill very important gaps. Corey Anderson as the all rounder, Ish Sodhi as the spinner and BJ Watling as the keeper. They all offer great skill sets to their position, they share an enthusiasm and passion for cricket which is refreshing and they are all great team men. I have no doubt that they all have the ability to win games by themselves, while also owning the ability to grind out tough situations and do their bit for the greater good.

The West Indies once again disappointed. They seemed to simply lack the ability needed to compete at test level. There is no need to get down in the dumps however as I only see things improving in the Caribbean. From Darren Bravo to Sunil Narine, from Kraigg Braithwaite to Shannon Gabriel, there is hope. What we saw over the past few weeks however was a clear gulf in class, whether it be the inability to leave a ball outside off, the inability to consistently bowl in good areas or the inability to simply stop a ball or take a catch.

Darren Sammy celebrates a wicket, or another crazy catch

There isn’t much more to say on the negative side of things, West Indian cricket is in a weird place at the moment. Their best players aren’t playing while they aren’t producing players of a high enough quality to consistently do the job at international level. The off shoot of this is however, that many players are getting an opportunity. When these players go back to domestic cricket, they’ll raise the standard as the bring what they have learnt in the test match arena. While using a wide range of players is often a negative as team’s are unable to build cohesion and consistency, the Windies have a pool of players to choose from which will allow them to build around their world class players. A top West Indian team would have Chris Gayle, Dwayne Bravo, Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, possibly Kieron Pollard and someone who seems to be completely out of the loop, Ramnaresh Sarwan who has 15 test match hundreds. When you combine a selection of those names with Darren Bravo, Darren Sammy, Narine and Ramdin – you have a pretty competitive line up.

Many people questioned the credentials of Darren Sammy as both a player and captain. The conclusion I came to after watching much of the series on tv and watching Sammy closely for two days in Hamilton was that the West Indies would be lost without him. His bowling is obviously a fine starting point, he appeared to be the only bowler who could build pressure and land the ball in the same spot, over after over. His batting is good enough and we saw the value of having a player with immense heart, determination and passion batting in the lower order. His catching ability is up there with the best in the world as seen consistently throughout the series. Most importantly, Sammy is a leader. He is the man who shoulders the burden, his field placements are pretty good, he does a fine job when handling the media – especially given how his team performed. He says all the right things, ensuring some dignity for the Windies and must command immense respect in the dressing room. This series left me in awe of Sammy, hopefully his team mates can reward him with some better performances and Sammy gets to taste test match victories on a more regular basis.

Team MVP’s

Black Caps – Ross Taylor, Trent Boult

West Indies – Darren Sammy, Darren Bravo

Our attention now turns to an ODI series that will be much more interesting than the test series we just witnessed. The West Indies will be much more competitive with many of their players possessing the skill sets required to be successfully in white ball cricket. Chris Gayle looks unlikely to join the team for the ODI’s but they will still welcome Dwayne Bravo which will be a massive boost. They have power, skill and subtlety that will ensure a competitive series and I’m sure their Caribbean nature will lend well to forgetting the test series and quickly switching focus.

Who to watch – The West Indies have spin coming out of their ears with Deonarine, Miller, Narine and Simmons all offering slow bowling options which could be the key to restricting and destroying the Black Caps batsmen.

Squad - Dwayne Bravo, Tino Best, Darren Bravo, Johnson Charles, Narsingh Deonarine, Krik Edwards, Jason Holder, Nikita Miller, Sunil Narine, Kieron Powell, Denesh Ramdin, Ravi Rampaul, Darren Sammy, Marlon Samuels, Lendl Simmons

For the Kiwis, it’s a similar group running out in the coloured clothing except for the bowling department. Mike Hesson looks to be using ODI’s as a chance to give the other bowlers a chance to prove their worth while also giving the test bowlers a break. We get to see Jimmy Neesham on international duty which will be exciting given his recent form in domestic cricket, Adam Milne is given another chance which will be interesting as we haven’t seen much of him on home soil and I’m eager to see Martin Guptill and Jesse Ryder put pressure on Peter Fulton and Hamish Rutherford with some fine performances.

Who to watch - Obviously the return of Jesse Ryder is pretty big, but I'm most excited to see Anderson and Neesham begin to form a dynamic duo. They have similar styles and could emerge as the most feared pair of all rounders in the world.

Squad - Brendon McCullum, Corey Anderson, Martin Guptill, Mitchell McClenaghan, Nathan McCullum, Kyle Mills, Adam Milne, Colin Munro, James Neesham, Luke Ronchi, Jesse Ryder, Ross Taylor, Kane Williamson