Raval to get early look at Bangladesh

Incumbent Test opener Jeet Raval has been included in the New Zealand XI to play Bangladesh in a 50-over match at Lincoln on Sunday.

The left-handed Auckland batsman is the only player with international experience in the 12-man squad and will look to get some meaningful cricket under his belt ahead of the three-match Test series against the tourists.

With the exception of Wellington batting all-rounder Rachin Ravindra, players participating in the Burger King Super Smash were not considered for selection in order to avoid compromising the integrity of the competition.

Selection manager Gavin Larsen said Ravindra was considered a special case and was deemed available for the Bangladesh game.

“We’ve identified Rachin as a player of interest for a significant period of time now,” said Larsen.

“He did a very good job for the NZ A team in both the UAE and at home against India A and we believe another day of international cricket would be very advantageous for him.”

Larsen said the match was also a good opportunity for Raval, who will captain the NZ XI.

“Jeet’s not playing Burger King Super Smash cricket for Auckland so the chance to spend some time in the middle against Bangladesh was too good to miss.”

In Ravindra, Finn Allen, Dale Phillips, Katene Clarke and Max Chu, the team features some of the younger players on NZC’s high-performance radar, as well as the Ford Trophy’s leading run-scorer – Wellington’s Andrew Fletcher.

Larsen said the selectors were also looking forward to monitoring the progress of pace bowlers Iain McPeake, Andrew Hazeldine and Jamie Brown, and the all-round prowess of Auckland all-rounder Sean Solia.

NZ XI SQUAD:

Jeet Raval (Auckland, captain), Andrew Fletcher (Wellington), Rachin Ravindra (Wellington), Finn Allen (Auckland), Dale Phillips (Auckland), Katene Clarke (ND), Sean Solia (Auckland)
Max Chu (Otago, wk), Theo van Woerkom (Canterbury), Iain McPeake (Wellington), Andrew Hazeldine (Canterbury), Jamie Brown (Auckland)