Williamson to skip match in Dunedin

OTAGO fans have another reason to be a little dark at New Zealand Cricket.

First, the city is assigned a solitary international this season — a secondtier game against Bangladesh — but now our greatest player is skipping the match.

The Black Caps named their oneday international squad for the threegame series against Bangladesh and one of the talking points in the South will be the jobshare arrangement between Kane Williamson and Colin Munro.

Williamson has been named in the squad for the first two games but will skip the Dunedin match

so he can put his feet up.

Colin ‘‘hit and miss’’ Munro will join the squad in his absence. He has a tremendous twenty20 record but has struggled in the longer format.

Williamson’s absence will deprive fans in the South of an opportunity to see one of the best players in the world.

The series shapes as a last opportunity for some players to make their case before the World Cup later this year.

Notable absences from the 14man squad include legspinner Ish Sodhi and allrounder Doug Bracewell.

Todd Astle has been preferred ahead of Sodhi, who has played well in patches.

Perhaps the selectors have decided they have seen enough to know what Sodhi provides, and instead want to give Astle an uninterrupted opportunity to show his worth before the World Cup.

Bracewell, who showed promise with the bat but did not make many inroads with the ball, misses out to Colin de Grandhomme and Jimmy Neesham, who take the allrounder spots in the squad.

Following a fitness test Martin Guptill will return to the top of the order, where he will team up with Henry Nicholls.

Tom Latham will captain the side in the third ODI, and is the only wicketkeeper in the squad. There is still uncertainty whether Nicholls will perform the backup wicketkeeper role at the World Cup, or whether Tim Seifert will get the nod as cover.

Astle will share the spin bowling load with Mitchell Santner throughout the Bangladesh series, and Black Caps selector Gavin Larsen indicated the selectors wanted to give the pair more opportunities at the inter national level after they both recently returned from injury.

‘‘We’ve been really pleased with Mitchell’s return after a serious knee surgery last year and we’ll continue to monitor him through the rest of the season.

‘‘Todd’s another who is returning from a knee injury and, after getting limited opportunities against India, we’re keen to see more of him in this series.’’

The series begins on Wednesday at McLean Park in Napier, before moving to Christchurch’s Hagley Oval on Saturday, and finishing the following Wednesday at the University of Otago Oval in Dunedin. — Additional reporting The New Zealand

Herald