New Zealand name 20-man squad for England tour, ICC World Test Championship Final
New Zealand Cricket (NZC) have announced a 20-man squad featuring three uncapped players for their upcoming English tour. 15 members of this group will represent the Kiwis in the ICC World Test Championship Final against India.
The Blackcaps will play a two-Test series versus England ahead of the World Test Championship summit clash. Kane Williamson will lead the team, while Rachin Ravindra, Devon Conway and Jacob Duffy could make their Test debuts in the United Kingdom.
A few days back, New Zealand head coach Gary Stead hinted at Conway's maiden Test call-up, and the South Africa-born batsman has now earned a place in the Kiwi Test squad.
New Zealand's squad for the 2021 England tour: Kane Williamson (c), Rachin Ravindra, Colin de Grandhomme, Neil Wagner, Tim Southee, Trent Boult, Mitchell Santner, Ajaz Patel, Doug Bracewell, Jacob Duffy, Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Will Young, Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy, Tom Blundell, Ross Taylor, BJ Watling (wk), Tom Latham, Daryll Mitchell, Henry Nicholls.
New Zealand's Test series against England will begin on May 25, 2021. Since IPL 2021 will be underway in India then, Kane Williamson, Mitchell Santner, Trent Boult, and Kyle Jamieson will likely miss the series's first Test.
Fast bowlers will be key to New Zealand's success in the ICC World Test Championship Final
England's conditions assist pace bowlers. In the 2019 Cricket World Cup semifinal, the Kiwi bowlers stopped Team India from chasing a 240-run target at Old Trafford. They will try to draw inspiration from that performance this time around and trouble the Indian batsmen in the ICC World Test Championship Final.
Meanwhile, Virat Kohli, Ajinkya Rahane, Cheteshwar Pujara and Rishabh Pant will have the onus of tackling the New Zealand bowlers well at Southampton. It will be intriguing to see how this content pans out and which team wins the inaugural ICC World Test Championship.