New Zealand pace bowler Chris Martin says the first hour of play against the West Indies at Sir Vivian Richard Stadium in Antigua on Thursday could define the Test series.

The New Zealanders have struggled on their Caribbean tour so far, winning just one limited overs match from five, and losing both early Twenty20 matches.

Martin, joining the squad for the two-Test series, shook out the cobwebs earlier in the week, conceding 52 runs off 21 overs as the Black Caps struggled to eke out a draw in the three-day warm-up match against a West Indies President’s 11.

He says New Zealand will need to hit the ground running if they are to push the in-form West Indies.

“I think they’re quite a confident outfit at the moment and how we start in that first hour against them is probably going to define the series in a lot of ways,” Martin said.

“The opportunity here for us, on a pitch that’s definitely going to have a result in it, is massive.

“It’s just a matter of us getting our game together, playing as a team and attacking pretty hard on that first day.”

Martin says playing the warm-up match at the same venue as the Test had proven invaluable, showing that if New Zealand could bowl with discipline on a variable pitch, the rewards would come.

“The warm-up game showed us that if we’re in the right areas for long enough, I think the up-and-down nature of the pitch is probably going to get us results,” he said.

“I’ve found it to swing early, and it’s rock hard early, so you get whatever variation you need out of the wicket, then it becomes a little bit of a holding pattern for a while until you can get the ball reversing.”

Injuries to Trent Boult and BJ Watling have left the Black Caps with just 13 players to choose from for the match, with South Africa-born quick Neil Wagner looking favoured to partner Martin with the new ball.