Tom Latham to captain Black Caps in Twenty20 series against Sri Lanka, Pakistan
A pair of debuts in cricket's shortest format are also on the cards, with a home series in the first week of April flowing straight into a tour. Tom Latham will captain the Black Caps in the Twenty20 series against Sri Lanka, Pakistan, for the first time since September 2021. The tour of Pakistan will follow as a mini reunion of the team he led on a tour of Bangladesh 18 months ago. Coach Gary Stead will take a break during the Pakistan T20 series, before returning for the five ODIs that follow. Henry Shipley and Chad Bowes are in line to make their T20 international debuts, with 13 players selected to face Sri Lanka and 15 heading to Pakistan on April 9, the day after the home series ends. Tim Seifert and Jimmy Neesham are also included in the squad, while Adam Milne and Daryl Mitchell are set to play his first Black Caps matches since the ODI series that followed. The series in Pakistan then begins on April 14 and runs until April 24.
Published : 2 months ago by Andrew Voerman in Sports
Sri Lanka's batters were woeful after New Zealand were dismissed for 274 in the opening ODI at Eden Park.
Tom Latham will return to the Black Caps’ Twenty20 setup for the first time since September 2021 against Sri Lanka next month.
And the tour of Pakistan that will follow immediately afterwards will serve as a mini reunion of the team he led on a tour of Bangladesh 18 months ago.
Latham will captain the Black Caps as they play three matches against Sri Lanka at home in the first week of April, then another five in Pakistan.
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Kane Williamson, Tim Southee and Mitchell Santner are all out of action playing in the Indian Premier League, which left the selectors either needing to recall Latham or find a new skipper.
They’ve gone for the wicketkeeper-batter, who will reprise the role he played in Bangladesh 18 months ago, where a second-string squad had a tough time of it in tricky batting conditions, losing 3-2.
Coach Gary Stead will take a break during the Pakistan T20 series, before returning for the five ODIs that follow, with bowling coach Shane Jurgensen stepping up in his absence.
Stead said he was “really impressed” with Latham’s leadership in Bangladesh “during a Covid bubble tour” in 2021.
Opening batter Chad Bowes and bowling all-rounder Henry Shipley are in line to make their T20 international debuts, with 13 players selected to face Sri Lanka and 15 heading to Pakistan on April 9, the day after the home series ends.
Tim Seifert has been recalled for the first time since the 2021 T20 World Cup, but will only be available against Sri Lanka, as he and his wife are awaiting the birth of their first child.
Wicketkeeper Dane Cleaver, all-rounder Cole McConchie and seamer Blair Tickner will join the squad for the Pakistan leg, but won’t be involved against Sri Lanka.
Once McConchie joins the fold, there will be five members of the squad from Bangladesh in 2021 present for the first time since – him, Latham, Matt Henry, Rachin Ravindra and Will Young – and six in total, with Tickner the one who has played in between times.
Jimmy Neesham is set to play his first internationals since the T20 series against India in November, while Adam Milne is set to play his first Black Caps matches since the ODI series that followed.
Batter Daryl Mitchell and leg-spinner Ish Sodhi join Neesham as the only players present who featured for the Black Caps at last year’s T20 World Cup in Australia.
Batter Mark Chapman and left-arm seamer Ben Lister, who made his debut earlier this year, round out the squad.
The T20 series against Sri Lanka begins next Sunday at Eden Park in Auckland, with the second match at University of Otago Oval in Dunedin three days later, and the finale at Sir John Davies Oval in Queenstown falling on the Saturday of Easter weekend.
The series in Pakistan then begins on April 14 and runs until April 24.
Both series: Tom Latham ( c ), Chad Bowes, Mark Chapman, Matt Henry, Ben Lister, Adam Milne, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Rachin Ravindra, Henry Shipley, Ish Sodhi, Will Young
Topics: Pakistan