Kane Williamson, a prominent member of the squad, was on Friday added to the New Zealand Test squad that will lock horns with England after being out of action for quite some time due to injury as he had missed the recent 3-0 clean sweep in India.
The former captain will rejoin forces with Tim Southee, the experienced pace bowler who will hang up his boots in Test cricket after the series of three matches which begins from November 28, in Christchurch.
Williamson dominates the other players as he is the highest test run scorer for New Zealand with 8,881 from 102 innings at a mean of 54.48.
The Black Caps have also included bowling allrounder Nathan Smith in the squad for the very first time while i quick Jacob Duffy was also added into the set-up.
However, Ajaz Patel, who made headlines by picking up 15 wickets in the series against India, was rather puzzlingly omitted with Mitchell Santner the spin option, reinforced by Glenn Phillips.
Ben Sears (knee) and Kyle Jamieson (back) were not in contention.
“It’s obviously a big series for the side in terms of the World Test Championship and to also now, farewell Tim Southee raisers it up further,” said one of the Black Caps selectors, Sam Wells.
New Zealand’s success in India has made them a contender for next year’s World Test Championship final but even if they were to beat England 3-0, they would still not be certain of another appearance in the final.
Last month, England’s Ben Stokes and his team lost a Test series in Pakistan by 2-1.
“We also think that it is quite an exciting call-up for Nathan into the Test squad for the very first time,” said Wells.
“Nathan is an amazing talent with an exciting first-class record and I have no doubt that he will offer much-needed skill and vibrancy to the team,” Wells continued.
Wells it was a hard call to leave out Patel but it was done in consideration of how the conditions would likely play out at home and Santner’s Test form of late.
Back at the helm of affairs for the Black Caps is Tom Latham Who replaced captain Southee last month and led the team to what he termed one of the ‘great series wins’ for New Zealand’s history in India.
The series then shifts to Wellington before concluding with Todd Southee MS’s swansong in Hamilton after the Christchurch test.
Test squad: Tom Latham (C), Tom Blundell, Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy, Matt Henry, Daryl Mitchell, Will O’Rourke, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Nathan Smith, Tim Southee, Kane Williamson, Will Young
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