Just IN: New Zealand Announce Squad For England Tour And World Test Championship Final

New Zealand has announced their squad for the upcoming England Test tour and which will be later trimmed accordingly for the final of the ICC World Test Championship (WTC) which they will play against India.

New Zealand is slated to play two Tests against England as a precursor to the World Test Championship with the first Test to start on June 2 at Lord’s in London and the second Test to be played on Jun 10 in Birmingham. Before these two Tests, New Zealand will play a practice match against Somerset in Taunton from May 25-28, 2021.

The World Test Championship final will see New Zealand taking on India from June 18-22 with 23^rd June being the reserve day. The match will be played at the Rose Bowl in Southampton behind closed doors.

Uncapped Rachin Ravindra And Jacob Duffy Included In New Zealand Test Squad

The New Zealand Test squad for England sees Rachin Ravindra and Jacob Duffy joining Devon Conway in the 20-man squad for their tour of England, which will include the World Test Championship final against India.

Also included in the squad is Doug Bracewell, whose last Test came in 2016 and the squad sees the return of spinner Ajaz Patel. However, the Black Caps selectors didn’t consider Lockie Ferguson as they opted to protect him for the T20 World Cup.

The squad will be trimmed to 15 for the WTC final in June following the two matches against England.

“Rachin’s been earmarked as a star of the future since his Under-19 days and we’ve been really encouraged by the advancement in his game this season, with both bat and ball. He’s obviously an opening option, but also has the ability to bat in the middle order which combined with his left-arm finger spin make him a great asset to our squad,” New Zealand coach Gary Stead said.

Jacob Duffy played a maiden T20I for New Zealand against Pakistan and picked 4/33 and took 22 wickets at 22.27 in six Plunket Shield matches.

“Jacob’s been a consistent performer on the domestic circuit and his ability to swing the ball made him a particularly compelling option with a Dukes ball in English conditions. Doug’s a match winner and we’re confident he’ll enjoy bowling on English pitches in June,” Stead added.

Colin de Grandhomme has also been included in the squad subject to him passing a fitness test which will happen at a pre-tour camp in early May following the recent surgery on his right ankle.

Four squad members- Kane Williamson, Trent Boult, Kyle Jamieson, and Mitchell Santner will be engaged in the IPL 2021 for their respective teams and will become available for the England tour depending on when their franchises are knocked out, meaning some of them could miss the first Test.

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