Extended squad named for 14 weeks away from home
Wellington all-rounder Michael Bracewell has capped off an impressive season with inclusion in the Black Caps test squad for the upcoming tour of England.
The 31-year-old earned his maiden T20I and One Day International call-ups over the recent summer.
The extended 20-player squad will also see Canterbury wicketkeeper Cam Fletcher and Central Districts pace bowler Blair Tickner embark on their first tour with the test squad, following recent selection for the home test series against South Africa in Christchurch in February.
With the five Black Caps at the IPL unlikely to be available for the two warm-up matches at Hove (May 2023) and at Chelmsford (May 26-29), the squad of 20 will be reduced to 15 ahead of the three tests against England, the first of which begins at Lord’s on June 2.
Along with the ICC World Test Championship points on the line, the tour will mark a year on from the Black Caps’ historic away test series victory over England, which was followed by their win over India in the inaugural WTC Final in Southampton.
Of the 15 players from the WTC Final squad, 13 will return for this tour to England, with Ross Taylor and BJ Watling having retired.
Alongside Bracewell, Fletcher and Tickner, the experienced Otago pair of batsman Hamish Rutherford and swing bowler Jacob Duffy have been included, while 22-year-old spinning all-rounder Rachin Ravindra also returns.
Fletcher has been selected as the second wicket-keeper alongside incumbent Tom Blundell and Ajaz Patel is the front-line spinner following his successful returns with the ball in England and India last year.
New Zealand also have a heavy limited overs schedule following the test tour.
The Black Caps will play a series in Ireland — three ODIs and three T20s followed by three ODIs and three T20s against Scotland in July. There will also be two T20s against the Netherlands in early August, followed by a tour to the West Indies for three ODIs and three T20s.
“It’s going to be a busy winter . . . we’ve seen in recent times the need to be flexible with squads, schedules and staffing — and this winter will be no different,” said coach Gary Stead.
“The red ball tour of England first up is clearly high on our priority list
and we’re looking forward to hitting the ground running over there in a couple of weeks’ time.
“There’s a reason we’ve only ever won a couple of test series over there and we know we’ll have to be at our very best to do it again.
Stead said with five players away at the IPL and a couple more (Will Young at Northamptonshire, and Colin de Grandhomme at Surrey) playing county cricket, there would be a need to transition a significant number into the squad ahead of the series.
“All going to plan we will have everyone fit and available for the first test at Lord’s, and aim to announce our final squad of 15 for that series once we’ve completed our warm-up games.
“Last season I thought we juggled our resources really well to ensure the welfare of our people was prioritised, and we’ll be looking to do that again with the white ball cricket in July and August.
“That means no players or staff will stay with the side for the entire 14 weeks while we’re away, as we balance the workloads.
“The ICC T20 World Cup in Australia is only six months away and we’ll continue to also prioritise as much planning and preparation for that as possible,” said Stead.