New Zealand announce squad for WI tour; Kane Williamson returns
A 15-man squad has been named by New Zealand for the tour of West Indies, starting August 10. The tour will comprise three T20Is and as many ODIs. Kiwi skipper Kane Williamson will return to action, having last played a limited-overs game in November 2021. Interestingly, it would be NZ's first tour of the Caribbean Islands in eight years. Here's more.
31-year-old Michael Bracewell had a career-defining experience in the concluded tour of Ireland. He was adjudged as the Player of the Series in the ODIs. His scores read 127*, 42*, and 21*. That was followed by a hat-trick in the second T20I. Meanwhile, middle-order batter Glenn Phillips was a class act in the 20-over duels. He managed scores of 69*, 23, and 56*.
In ODIs, Williamson has racked up 453 runs versus WI at 41.18. The right-hander has a strike rate of 80.60 and has struck two fifties. Interestingly, he last played in ODIs in March 2020. As for the T20Is, the 31-year-old averages a meek 21.60 against the Caribbeans, having scored 108 runs in six outings. He hasn't competed in T20Is since November 2021.
Alongside Williamson, the squad features veteran seamers Tim Southee and Trent Boult. The duo was a part of the Test squad that faced a brutal 3-0 drubbing in England. They haven't played a white-ball game since the tour of India last November.
NZ boast a 9-5 win record in T20 Internationals (NR: 2). That includes a 2-0 win at home in 2020. They last toured the Caribbean in 2014, with the Windies leveling the two-match series by 1-1. As for the ODIs, NZ have a 28-30 win-loss record (NR: 7). The Kiwis had suffered a 4-1 drubbing on their previous tour of West Indies in 2012.
The T20Is will take place on August 10, 12, and 14 at Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica. It will be followed by the ODIs, slated to take place on August 17, 19, and 21. The Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados, will host the 50-over fixtures. NZ are currently on a European tour that comprises white-ball series against Scotland and Netherlands.
New Zealand's ODI and T20I squad: Kane Williamson (captain), Finn Allen, Trent Boult, Michael Bracewell, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Martin Guptill, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee.
