AUCKLAND, New Zealand (CMC):

SHIVNARINE CHANDERPAUL hopes his hard work will reward him with the achievement of his personal goals and overall team success on the West Indies' tour of New Zealand.

Lefthander Chanderpaul is working overtime to get himself ready for the two Tests, two Twenty20 Internationals and five one-day internationals against the Black Caps.

He firmly believes the West Indies have the ability to win the series and move up in the International Cricket Council's rankings of Test nations.

"I want to improve all the time," he said. "I try harder, I work harder and I try to eliminate any mistakes. I just try to get better. The aim is to improve my skills.

"You never know what will happen on a cricket field, but you know once you prepare properly you give yourself every chance to play well."

In September, the 34-year-old former West Indies captain was named the World Cricketer of the Year, and he is currently the No.1 batsman in the latest rankings of Test players published earlier this week.

Opportunity

"I have been playing for so long and I want to win," he said. "As much as I do well personally, I want to win as a team as well. That would be good for everyone.

"We have an opportunity in New Zealand to start winning some games and make some steps up the rankings."

Chanderpaul and the rest of the West Indies squad had their final training session on Wednesday (Ja time) before they faced Auckland in a warm-up match at the Eden Park outer oval which started last night (Ja time).

The first Test will be at the University Oval in Dunedin from December 11 to 15 and the second Test at McLean Park in Napier from December 19 to 23.