New Zealand announce 15-member squad for England Tests, Michael Bracewell added as cover

New Zealand have announced a 15-man squad for their upcoming three-Test match series against England, which gets underway on June 2. Michael Bracewell has received a surprise call to the squad as the 16th man for the first Test match, starting from Thursday at the Lord’s. Bracewell has been added as a backup for Henry Nicholls, who is still recovering from his right calf injury.

Initially, a 20-man squad was announced by NZC and now, players like Jacob Duffy, Blair Tickner, Rachin Ravindra, and Hamish Rutherford have been released. Ajaz Patel has been included also in the final 15-man squad. Notably, Ajaz took a ten-wicket haul against India when Kiwis played their last away Test at Mumbai’s Wankhede stadium. 

The New Zealand Cricket Board took their official Twitter account to announce the final squad earlier today. Here is the official Tweet:

Squad News | The 15-man squad to face @englandcricket in the upcoming three-Test series, with the addition of @cricketwgtninc all-rounder Michael Bracewell as 16th man for the first Test starting at the @HomeOfCricket in London on Thursday 🏏

READ MORE | https://t.co/mTC60LJ3Y9 pic.twitter.com/Zh8u9wObfE

— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) May 30, 2022

Trent Boult won’t be available for opening Test

Trent Boult is unlikely to play the first Test as he is yet to arrive in London. He was part of the Rajasthan Royals line-up, which played the IPL 2022 final on 29 May 2022 against Gujarat Titans in Ahmedabad. On the other hand, Daryl Mitchell joined the squad on Monday  as he was released by RR before the IPL final.

Notably, New Zealand is sitting at the sixth place while England is struggling in ninth position in the current WTC table. Hence, this series is going to be crucial for both teams to strengthen their position in the World Test Championship. Meanwhile, the Kiwis lost their second practice match against the County Select XI by seven wickets after drawing the first one against Sussex. Team skipper Kane Williamson joined the squad earlier this week after the arrival of his newborn baby.    

New Zealand squad for England Test series: Kane Williamson (c), Tom Blundell (WK), Trent Boult, Devon Conway, Colin de Grandhomme, Cam Fletcher (WK), Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Ajaz Patel, Tim Southee, Neil Wagner, Will Young, Michael Bracewell.