Ben wheeled back in
Ben Wheeler has been recalled to the Black Caps, for next week’s three-match Twenty20 series against Pakistan.
The 26-year-old Central Stags left-armer has been named as one of 15 New Zealand players in a squad which again has an interchangeable look, as the selectors opt to trial a range of combinations.
Seth Rance will join the team early - for the final match of the five-game ODI series in Wellington on Friday, with Trent Boult being rested from that fixture, as well as the opening T20. Lockie Ferguson will miss the first T20 and Tim Southee the second, while Ross Taylor has been selected for the first game only.
Players who have been named in the T20 squad and aren’t involved in the ODI series will be available to play in the domestic
Super Smash Twenty20 final in Hamilton on Saturday evening, but won’t be available should the final be postponed to the reserve day.
For Wheeler, it’s been almost a year since his last taste of international cricket - February 2017, in the 78-run loss against South Africa in Auckland. In his four T20IS he has five wickets, at an average of 23.20, with an economy rate of 8.18. He has also played six ODIS for New Zealand, back in 2015.
While in this season’s Super Smash Wheeler hasn’t been a standout - before Wednesday’s elimination final against Auckland he had taken seven wickets in nine games at 42.85 and an economy of 9.37, along with scoring 128 runs at 32.00 with a strike rate of 152.38 - Black Caps selector Gavin Larsen said it was exciting to have him back in the mix.
‘‘Ben’s ability to swing the ball makes him a threatening bowler and his batting power and athleticism in the field complements that nicely,’’ he said. ‘‘It will be nice to see more of Ben and Seth while we manage the workloads of Tim and Trent.’’
The Black Caps were dominant 2-0 victors in their three-match (one game rained out) T20 series against the West Indies postchristmas, and the only other change to the squad from that series is a straight swap between the injured Doug Bracewell and the returned Colin de Grandhomme.
Larsen paid credit, though, to some players were unlucky to miss the cut, with particular mention made of Auckland’s Mark Chapman - the former Hong Kong international who, before Wednesday’s elimination final, was secondequal on the season’s Super Smash run-scoring chart, with 300 from eight games, at 37.50 and a strike rate of 175.43, including one hundred and two 50s.
‘‘We have three guys who were seriously considered for that specialist batsman spot at number five, however we’ve backed the incumbents who have performed so well of us in recent times,’’ Larsen said.
‘‘Mark has been really impressive for Auckland, but with the form that Tom [Bruce] and Ross [Taylor] have been in, we felt they deserved to continue getting opportunities.
‘‘We’d like to see Mark continue to work on his bowling, which could open up other opportunities for him outside of just that number five spot.
‘‘Tim Seifert, Anton Devcich, George Worker - we have seen in the domestic competition we have some real batting power waiting in the wings.’’
The Black Caps are currently the top-ranked T20 side in the world, with a narrow lead over second-placed Pakistan - whose last series was a 3-0 whitewash of Sri Lanka in Abu Dhabi and Lahore in October.