Pakistan vs NZ T20Is
\nKane Williamson and Trent Boult return to the T20I side; Jacob Duffy earns maiden New Zealand call-up
\nnews desk
\nislamabad
\nThe New Zealand Cricket Council has announced its squad for the three-game series against Pakistan set to begin next Friday at Eden Park.
\n\u201cThe blazing bats of Glenn Phillips and Devon Conway are once again set to light up the BLACKCAPS T20 top-order,\u201d said the press release. \u201cThe duo were involved in a T20I world-record, third-wicket stand of 181 against the West Indies less than a fortnight ago and have been rewarded with selection in a T20 extended squad – which also features the return of Kane Williamson and Trent Boult.\u201d
\nThe NZC said since the T20 series is scheduled to start just three days after the current Test in Wellington, Williamson and Boult along with Tim Southee, Kyle Jamieson and Daryl Mitchell will only be available for the December 20 game in Hamilton and December 22 match in Napier.
\nAuckland Aces speedster Lockie Ferguson has been withdrawn from the squad due to a bone stress injury of lumbar spine. Wellington Firebirds paceman Hamish Bennett was also ruled out of the series with an abdominal tear.
\n\u201cOtago Volts pace bowler Jacob Duffy has earned his first call-up to the Black Caps after impressive performances in domestic cricket and for New Zealand A. The 26-year-old\u2019s been selected for the first game and will assemble with the squad in Auckland on Tuesday December 15,\u201d reads the NZC statement.
\nMitchell Santner will take the skipper\u2019s arm band for the series opener at Eden Park, before taking his first break since leaving for the Caribbean Premier League back in August. His spinning spot will be backed up by leg-spinning incumbent Ish Sodhi and the recalled Todd Astle, whose last T20I came against Sri Lanka in September last year, when he claimed 3-28 in a losing cause in Pallekele.
\nBlair Tickner, Mark Chapman and Doug Bracewell are included for game one of the series, before making way for the Test players to return.
\nNew Zealand Cricket Selector Gavin Larsen said this was one of the more challenging squads he\u2019s had to select. \u201cA combination of form, injuries and the overlapping of series has certainly added some complexity to this announcement,\u201d he conceded.
\n\u201cI\u2019d like to acknowledge the commitment of the all the players who are having to show a large degree of flexibility and understanding this summer.\u201d
\n\u201cWe were thrilled Glenn and Devon were able to take their opportunities so well in the previous series and we\u2019re keen to give them the chance to back that up against a strong Pakistan T20 outfit.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Pakistan vs NZ T20Is Kane Williamson and Trent Boult return to the T20I side; Jacob Duffy earns maiden New Zealand call-up news desk islamabad The New Zealand Cricket Council has announced its squad for the three-game series against Pakistan set to begin next Friday at Eden Park. \u201cThe blazing bats of Glenn Phillips and Devon […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":161696,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-161689","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n