Close race for final pace bowling spot in Cup squad
How Devon Conway is tracking with his busted thumb will be one of Gary Stead’s few worries ahead of the T20 World Cup.
The Black Caps’ 15-player World Cup squad will be unveiled in Auckland this afternoon (2.30pm reveal) and should be mostly predictable.
An under-strength New Zealand side, missing their Indian Premier League contingent and others, who were rested or injured, almost pulled off a surprise T20 series win over Pakistan yesterday.
Pakistan won the fifth and final match by nine runs to prevent what would have been an embarrassing home series defeat. The series ended 2-2 with the first match washed out.
The focus immediately turns to today’s World Cup announcement where there are unlikely to be any major surprises.
Head coach Stead and selection manager Sam Wells probably had their 15-player squad all but locked in before the second-string Black Caps headed to Pakistan.
Conway’s progress after thumb surgery would have been one of the few issues when selecting the squad. Despite his batting struggles this summer, the wicketkeeper-batter is a certainty should he prove his fitness. Conway has not featured since injuring his left thumb while wicketkeeping in the second T20I against Australia at Eden Park in late February.
Hard-hitting opener Finn Allen (back) and quick Adam Milne (ankle) missed the Pakistan tour due to injuries suffered at training before they departed.
Key batters, captain Kane Williamson, Conway (pending health), Allen, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, and Mark Chapman, who impressed in Pakistan, will all be on the World Cup squad list.
Jimmy Neesham may have been in a head-to-head battle with Michael Bracewell for an allrounder berth.
With Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi guaranteed for the frontline spin roles, and Ravindra and Phillips able to chip in with the ball, New Zealand might be satisfied with their spin bowling options.
Stead and Wells’ toughest selection call may have been to go with Milne or Matt Henry, alongside fellow fast bowlers Trent Boult, Tim Southee, and Lockie Ferguson.
Will O’Rourke was excellent in his first T20I series in Pakistan, capturing four wickets at an economy rate of 7.08 from three matches. He is unlikely to line up at the T20 World Cup, barring injury, but will be important in the future.
Boult, who opted out of his New Zealand Cricket contract in August 2022 to pursue T20 franchise opportunities, is expected to be selected. The 34-year-old featured at last year’s ODI World Cup and made a T20I cameo against Australia this summer after arriving back from the new UAE-based International League T20.
As for the Pakistan T20 series, Stead commended the performance of the largely inexperienced squad. Aside from a crushing seven-wicket loss in the second match, New Zealand held their own against a near full-strength Pakistan.