Sodhi bolsters ODI spin ranks
Ish Sodhi could play his first oneday cricket international since May as the New Zealand selectors bolster their spin ranks to face England amid some injury worries.
The legspinner was added to a 14-man Black Caps squad for the first two matches of the five-match one-day international series, also featuring incumbents Mitchell Santner (knee) and Todd Astle (side) who were recently sidelined for brief periods.
Otherwise coach Mike Hesson and co-selector Gavin Larsen named an unchanged squad for the series opener in Hamilton on Sunday, hardly surprising given New Zealand’s eight-match ODI winning streak against West Indies and Pakistan at home.
Wicketkeeper Tom Latham retained his place as the sole gloveman despite a lean run of form with the bat.
Sodhi played the last of his 18 ODIs against Ireland in Dublin in May, and was since pigeonholed as a Twenty20 player as fellow legspinner Astle went past him in the ODI ranks.
Astle made his long-awaited ODI debut against West Indies in December and in six matches took seven wickets at an impressive 21.42 and economy rate of 5.35. He also contributed with the bat, averaging 34.5 from four innings at a strike rate of 113.
Santner remains the side’s
premier limited overs spinner and after missing last Friday’s T20 against Australia with a knee injury returned two days later for the England match in Hamilton.
New Zealand will likely want to play two spinners at Seddon Park on Sunday, and possibly Bay Oval on Wednesday, which means Sodhi could be unleashed if there are fitness concerns over the others.
‘‘Both Mitchell and Todd have had injury concerns recently, so having Ish travel with us provides cover for us in the spin department,’’ Larsen said in a statement.
‘‘Having won their previous eight matches, we’ve been able to keep good consistency in selection with our ODI squad.
‘‘We still have a number of guys pushing their case in domestic cricket and that’s pleasing, but this is the squad for the first two matches of the series.’’
It was difficult to see anyone dropped from the 5-0 sweep over Pakistan, with Latham’s position probably creating the most discussion.
Since Latham’s 137 against Bangladesh in Christchurch on Boxing Day 2016, he’s batted 14 times in home ODIs for a top score of 37, and nine single-figure innings.
That dropped his ODI average in New Zealand to 20.89 from 33 matches (his career ODI average is 33), after a dominant series in India last year.
For Canterbury in the Ford Trophy he scored 46 not out, 6, 2, 34 and 29 against Auckland yesterday, dismissed by part-time spinner Glenn Phillips.
Current T20 gloveman Tim Seifert has impressed with the bat and could come into serious consideration later in the ODI series, along with Wellington’s Tom Blundell who stepped up well to
test level against West Indies. With the World Cup in England next year, the selectors have to decide whether to put all their eggs in the Latham basket or develop a viable ODI backup at international level.
England look set to welcome back star allrounder Ben Stokes for his first international since September on Sunday, as they start the series as the world’s third-ranked ODI team fresh from a 4-1 series win in Australia. New Zealand are ranked fourth.