NZ vs ENG: England announce Playing XI for the Pink-Ball clash
NZ vs ENG: Matt Henry ruled out of 1st Test; Duffy and Kuggeleijn called up
IND vs NZ Fantasy Predictions: 2nd T20I, 2023
Adam Milne ruled out due to an Achilles injury; replaced by Jacob Duffy in the T20I squad
Jacob Duffy has been drafted into the T20I squad as his replacement. The fast-bowler will likely play in all three T20Is against Ireland and two against Scotland before taking on the Dutch team.
BAN vs NZ | 3rd T2OI: Ajaz Patel gives hosts taste of their own medicine to keep series alive
New Zealand batsmen have not been able to find a way around Bangladesh spinners to come at the top of the game but they also had quality spinners in their rank to stage a comeback in the five-match series. They unleashed their spin duo of Ajaz Patel and Cole McConchie to stop the hosts from getting an unassailable lead in the series. Chasing a target of 126 runs, which have been proven to be stiff to get on pitches in the country, Bangladesh were blown away at 77 runs after a decent start against the new ball. Ajaz Patel was their tormentor in chief by picking a four-wicket haul while the off-spinner McConchie provided excellent support with a three-wicket haul. The right-armer started the rough ride for the hosts and Patel made life terrible for them with the big wickets of Shakib Al Hasan and Mahmudullah to not allow them a breathing space in the middle order. In the end, there was no one to rescue the hosts and the spin twins shared seven wickets between them to leave Bangladesh on the mat and helped the Blackcaps win the first game of the series. Earlier, the Blackcaps too did not have a great start in the first innings with the bat as Fin Allen was done in by Mustafizur, who had not had a great game in the second game of the series. Then, the partnership between Rachin Ravindra and Will Young stabilised New Zealand. However, before they could take the game away from the hosts, Mohammad Saifuddin struck twice and halted their momentum in the middle phase of the game. With half of the side back to the pavilion and a series loss in sight at the halfway stage of the game, Henry Nicholls and Tom Blundell batted with a risk-free approach to take the tourists to a respectable total. The win by New Zealand has opened up the series in a cracking way and has also asked some questions of the Bangladesh batting group, whose failures were getting brushed under the carpet with the domination of opposition batsmen by the spinners so far in the series.
New Zealand announce squad for WTC Final, England Tests; Rachin Ravindra, Jacob Duffy earn maiden call-ups
New Zealand have handed maiden call ups to two players such as Rachin Ravindra, and Jacob Duffy in the Test squad for the tour of England scheduled for later this year. The trio has found a place in a 20-men strong squad to take on hosts England in the two-match long Test series starting on June 2, and another at the Edgbaston. The Blackcaps squad will then be cut short to a 15-men squad for the World Test Championship final scheduled to start on June 18 in Southampton against India. Blackcaps head coach Gary Stead has had first-hand experience of the qualities the trio has to offer to the New Zealand squad on the tour of England after they out in serious hard work in the off-season during the winter. Rachin Ravindra will be the youngest Blackcaps member to debut in the longest format of the game being just 20-year-old and Stead reaffirmed his support for the all-rounder, who he said has been rated as a ‘star of the future.’ I’ve seen first-hand how hard these guys have worked in our NZC winter training squads and with New Zealand A, and so for them to earn their maiden Test call-ups for such a special tour will be really satisfying. “Rachin’s been earmarked as a star of the future since his Under-19 days and we’ve been really encouraged by the advancement in his game this season, with both bat and ball. He’s obviously an opening option, but also has the ability to bat in the middle order which combined with his left-arm finger spin make him a great asset to our squad,” Stead said in a statement released by the New Zealand Cricket. On the other hand, Jacob Duffy has been a consistent performer for Otago Volts in the New Zealand domestic circuit and Stead highlighted his skills of swinging the red ball as the reason for him finding a place on the plane to England in May. “Jacob’s been a consistent performer on the domestic circuit and his ability to swing the ball made him a particularly compelling option with a Dukes ball in English conditions,” Stead added. Apart from the duo of Rachin Ravindra and Jacob Duffy, the selectors have also handed a full-fledged call up to the highly-talented left-handed batsman Devon Conway. He has been prolific with the bat in the white-ball formats for the Blackcaps and after coming in a replacement for the skipper Kane Williamson in the series against Pakistan, he has earned a call up to the Test squad. The Blackcaps have also handed call ups to the duo of Colin de Grandhomme and Ajaz Patel, who missed the home Test series against West Indies and Pakistan in the last season. The selectors have also called up the all-rounder Doug Bracewell, who last played the longest format for the Blackcaps in 2016 for his consistent performances with both bat and ball in the domestic circuit. He has averaged 26 with the ball and 43 with the bat playing for the Central Stags along with nine wickets at 19.6 apiece for New Zealand A. “Doug’s a match-winner and we’re confident he’ll enjoy bowling on English pitches in June,” Stead said on Bracewell’s selection for England tour. The rest of the squad looks to be on expected lines with the likes of Henry Nicholls, Will Young, Daryl Mitchell and Kyle Jamieson getting rewards in the form of selection for England under the leadership of Kane Williamson. As per the New Zealand Cricket statement, the Blackcaps will organise two training camps in the first half of May before departing for England while the players participating in the Indian Premier League will be monitored on a ‘case by case basis' depending on the different time of their teams’ exits from the tournament.
NZ vs PAK 1st T20: Duffy on debut takes Kiwis past the Pakistan challenge
New Zealand started the three-match T20 series against Pakistan in style as they defeated the Men in Green by five wickets with seven balls to spare in the 1st T20I that took place at Eden Park, Auckland on 18th December. Skipper Mitchell Santner hit the winning six off Wahab Riaz. However, before that, it was the efforts of wicketkeeper-batsman Tim Siefert (57 off 43) and middle-order batsman Mark Chapman (34 off 20) who took the game away from the green brigade even after some inspired bowling by Haris Rauf (3-29 in four overs). Pakistan had a chance to sneak in when Tim Siefert was dismissed and there was a chance to catch Mark Chapman too, but Ashraf dropped a dolly at fine leg to give the hosts an easy pass. At 119/4 the match could have swung to Pak’s favour had that catch been taken. After that, it was all formalities which were done away with ease by James Neesham and the skipper Santner. Debutant fast bowler Jacob Duffy was the star of the match as he picked up four wickets for 33 runs in his four overs, thereby becoming the New Zealander with the best ever figures in a T20I match. Prior to him, the record belonged to all-rounder Nathan Astel who held for 15 long years with figures of 3/20 that he had achieved against South Africa in 2005. His figures would have been way better had he not been hit for 20 runs in his last over. Duffy was declared Man of the Match for his record-breaking effort. Earlier in the day, Pakistan had a shocking start to their campaign as they were reduced to 39-5 in 8.2 overs with all of the top order except skipper Shadab Khan back in the hut. Shadab then paired up first with fellow spinning all-rounder Imad Wasim and then with Faheem Ashraf to take Pakistan to 114 in 17 overs. After that, some lusty blows from Faheem (31 off 18 balls) and Shaheen Afridi took the total to respectable amounts i.e. 153-9. The next game would be played at Seddon Park in Auckland itself on 20th December with Pakistan needing to win the game to stay alive in the series.