New Zealand announce squad for the limited overs tour of West Indies, Kane Williamson returns

New Zealand have announced their squad for the upcoming white-ball tour of the West Indies next month. Skipper Kane Williamson returns to the squad, along with many other senior players, including Tim Southee and Trent Boult.

The Kiwis have not been to the shores of the Caribbean for a bilateral series since 2014 and will see the quartet of Kane Williamson, Tim Southee, Trent Boult, and Devon Conway, who were part of the Test team against England last month, return to the white-ball set-up for the first time since the tour of India following the T20 World Cup last year.

New Zealand head coach Gary Stead said that it’s an exciting challenge to take on the two-time T20 World Champions in the Caribbean and also stated the importance of managing the workload of the players in the hectic international calendar that will see his side play different formats every month in 2022.

“It’s always exciting to be heading somewhere you’ve not been in a while, and I know this group can’t wait for the challenge of taking on the West Indies in the Caribbean for Kane, Trent, Tim, and Devon; this will be the first time they have played white ball cricket for New Zealand since last year’s T20 World Cup and tour to India – so this trip will be important for them,” Gary Stead in an official release.

‘It’s been great to see these guys push their cases’, Gary Stead spoke on the emergence of new players in the white ball setup

The recently concluded white ball series against Ireland saw the Kiwis clean sweep the hosts across ODIs and T20Is without several of their key senior players. Michael Bracewell, who made a remarkable start to life in white-ball cricket on the tour of Ireland, has been retained in the squad for the tour of West Indies. The Kiwis will play three ODIs and three T20Is, spread across Barbados and Jamaica, respectively.

“We also have players such as Michael and Finn who are relatively new to the international stage but have really put their hands up for selection when given opportunities. As a selector, it’s been great to see these guys push their cases,” Stead added.

New Zealand ODI and T20I squad: Kane Williamson (captain), Finn Allen, Trent Boult, Michael Bracewell, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Martin Guptill, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi and Tim Southee