Canterbury batsman Henry Nicholls has been named in the BLACKCAPS' One-Day International squad for the first three ANZ ODIs against Sri Lanka.
BLACKCAPS squad for the opening three ANZ ODIs
Brendon McCullum (captain)
Doug Bracewell
Martin Guptill
Matt Henry (opening two ODIs)*
Mitchell McClenaghan
Adam Milne
Henry Nicholls
Luke Ronchi
Mitchell Santner
Ish Sodhi
Ross Taylor
Kane Williamson
George Worker
*Tim Southee will join squad for third ANZ ODI
The squad of 13 will play the first of two fixtures at Hagley Oval in Christchurch on Boxing Day, before playing in Nelson on New Year’s Eve.
Trent Boult will be rested for all three matches, while Tim Southee will replace Matt Henry when the team heads to Nelson. Grant Elliott and Nathan McCullum were not considered due to injury.
Twenty-four-year-old Nicholls, who was born and bred in Canterbury, was the second top run-scorer in the 2014/15 Ford Trophy, topping the averages at 75.66.
BLACKCAPS Coach Mike Hesson said Nicholls thoroughly deserved his call-up.
“Henry has been knocking on the door for a while and shown impressive consistency over the last year for both Canterbury and New Zealand A,” said Hesson.
“He’s still young and a real talent. It will be good to have him in the environment for the first time and he’ll certainly get an opportunity at some point.
“Tim and Trent will both get an opportunity to rest, which is important given their recent heavy work load and their likely commitments over the remainder of the season.”
“Hagley Oval is an exciting place to begin the series and the team is looking forward to it.”
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