Kane Williamson will not be a part of the New Zealand squad for the upcoming T20I series against England which is starting from the 1st of November.
Tim Southee will be in charge of the side in Williamson’s absence. Southee had captained New Zealand earlier this year against Sri Lanka as well and had guided the Kiwis to a series victory.
The hip injury has been troubling Williamson for quite a few months, but he still featured for his provincial side Northern Districts in the Plunket Shield recently. The injury however only got aggravated after that.
Given the amount of cricket New Zealand have to play this home summer, the selectors decided it was best in the interests of the team not to risk the skipper and give him a break.
The all-rounder Jimmy Neesham has been called back by New Zealand. Neesham hasn’t been in top notch form playing in the T20 leagues around the world, but he had excelled both with bat and ball in the ODI World Cup 2019.
The selectors would probably want to use Neesham as a finisher because Colin De Grandhomme, New Zealand’s designated finisher in white ball cricket in the last couple of years, was promoted to bat at no. 4 on the Sri Lanka tour.
If De Grandhomme continues to bat at 4, Neesham and Daryl Mitchell will finish the innings for New Zealand along with the spinning all-rounder Mitchell Santner who is also very handy with the bat.
Another inclusion in the New Zealand side is the speedster Blair Tickner. Tickner has been one of the most successful T20 bowlers in the domestic circuit of New Zealand. He played his first international game when India were in New Zealand last summer and looked decent.
With his height, Tickner generates a fair bit of bounce from the good length area and it’s not easy for the batsmen to play vertical-bat shots against him. He will be a player to watch out for in the England series.
Here is the squad that New Zealand have announced for the England T20Is:
Tim Southee (C), Trent Boult (for the final two matches), Colin de Grandhomme, Lockie Ferguson (for the first three matches), Martin Guptill, Scott Kuggeleijn, Daryl Mitchell, Colin Munro, Jimmy Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi, Ross Taylor, Blair Tickner
