New Zealand Cricket today announced a 15-player squad for the One Day International and Twenty20 International series against Zimbabwe starting 15 October 2011 in Harare.
Also named today is the BLACKCAPS Test squad for the one-off match to be played in Bulawayo from 1 November 2011.
ODI & Twenty20 squad:
Ross Taylor (c) – Central Stags
Graeme Aldridge - Northern Knights
Doug Bracewell – Central Stags
James Franklin – Wellington Firebirds
Martin Guptill – Auckland Aces
Brendon McCullum – Otago Volts
Nathan McCullum – Otago Volts
Andy McKay – Wellington Firebirds
Kyle Mills – Auckland Aces
Rob Nicol – Canterbury Wizards
Jacob Oram – Central Stags
Jesse Ryder – Wellington Firebirds
BJ Watling - Northern Knights
Kane Williamson - Northern Knights
Luke Woodcock – Wellington Firebirds
Tests squad:
Ross Taylor (c) – Central Stags
Doug Bracewell – Central Stags
Dean Brownlie – Canterbury Wizards
Martin Guptill – Auckland Aces
Jesse Ryder – Wellington Firebirds
Chris Martin – Auckland Aces
Brendon McCullum – Otago Volts
Andy McKay – Wellington Firebirds
Kyle Mills – Auckland Aces
Jeetan Patel – Wellington Firebirds
Tim Southee - Northern Knights
Daniel Vettori - Northern Knights
Kane Williamson - Northern Knights
BJ Watling - Northern Knights
Reece Young – Canterbury Wizards
The short-form squad includes 11 players who featured at the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 together with BJ Watling and uncapped ODI players Doug Bracewell, Rob Nicol and Graeme Aldridge.
Doug Bracewell also features in the Test squad for the first time along with Dean Brownlie while Kyle Mills, Jeetan Patel and BJ Watling return. Mills last played a Test for the BLACKCAPS in 2009 while Jeetan Patel and BJ Watling toured India with the BLACKCAPS late last year.
BLACKCAPS Coach John Wright said: “Rob Nicol has earned his place after having good domestic performances last season. We think that the wickets in Zimbabwe it is important to have good spin options and he provides us with extra cover in the batting.
“The retirement of Scott Styris has given both Rob and James Franklin the opportunity to work for that space.
“Doug Bracewell did very well at the Emerging Player Tournament so that lead to his selection in both tour parties.
“Like Bracewell, Dean Brownlie had a good EPT and strong domestic form so has earned his place. He’s a player we think a fair bit of.
“Watling comes back to serve in both squads as batting cover and also as wicket-keeping cover for the ODIs and Twenty20s.
“Jeetan is further down the line than his competitors in terms of experience and we’ve been encouraged by what we’ve seen at the camp.
“This is a good opportunity for Kyle Mills. He is keen to play the five day form of the game so he’ll take his chance with the other four bowlers. He has done a lot of training this winter and is keen to play.
National Selector Manager Kim Littlejohn said: “We will continue to closely monitor Tim Southee’s fitness in the build-up-up to tour and are hopeful that he will recover in time for the Test series. His left knee will be reassessed by our medical staff with final decision on his availability taken in the next couple of weeks.”
Daniel Flynn aggravated a pre-existing hip injury at the pre-tour camp and was unavailable for selection. He will undergo further assessment next week to determine the seriousness of the injury.
