New Zealand call up Somerville for Sydney Test
Melbourne, Australia - Offspinner Will Somerville will return to the SCG where he played for New South Wales after being called up to the New Zealand squad for the final Test against Australia as Trent Boult’s replacement.
Somerville, the 35 year old offspinner, has played three Tests for New Zealand, all of them in Asia, and has taken 14 wickets at 25.14 after returning home to New Zealand following a five-year spell in Australian cricket. He played 12 first-class matches for New South Wales including five at the SCG where he took 23 wickets at 20.69.
“There’s no secret the SCG pitch is one of the more spinfriendly in Australia,” New Zealand coach Gary Stead said. “Will offers something different to our two other spinners in the squad with his right-arm offspin and height.”
“Will’s played a lot at the SCG and understands the ground so well be tapping into his knowledge around the chances of that wicket turning and what role the spinners will play. The reason we brought him over is we have enough pace bowling cover for one game and certainly spin is something at the SCG that has been more of a factor than other grounds in Australia.”
Former New South Wales team-mate Nathan Lyon believed that Somerville could pose a challenge for Australia if he plays in Sydney. “He’s a lovely guy, he goes up the back of the ball,” he said. “I’ve trained with him a fair bit being part of the NSW squad together for a few years there. He’ll be a big challenge for us. He gets a fair amount of bounce, has a great record at the SCG, he loves bowling there. He’ll be a different challenge for us and good one for our batters.”
Boult fractured his hand while batting in the Boxing Day Test, and is set for four weeks of rehabilitation back home before he is fit to play again. He had also missed the first Test of the series with a side injury.