Mitchell Santner to Captain inexperienced Black Caps side against Sri Lanka

By Alex Powell

Mitchell Santner will lead a Black Caps side high in promise but lacking in experience to face Sri Lanka for two T20 Internationals and three one-day internationals next month.

With one eye on the home test series against England at the end of November, New Zealand will return to Sri Lanka after a 0-2 test series loss, missing a host of first-team regulars.

Test captain Tom Latham and star batters Kane Williamson, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell and Devon Conway have not been named, and will instead prepare to face England. They’ll be joined by Tim Southee, Matt Henry and Will O’Rourke in the bowling department.

It is hoped Williamson will be fit to face England, after battling a groin strain that ruled him out of New Zealand’s eight-wicket win over India in Bengaluru and which will also see him unavailable for the second test in Mumbai.

With such a host of players missing, Santner has been named captain for the tour, at a time when the Black Caps’ white-ball captaincy is still up for grabs.

Williamson stepped down from the role after this year’s T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and US, as he opted out of a New Zealand Cricket central contract.

With an eye to the future, though, the uncapped duo of Wellington all-rounder Nathan Smith and Canterbury wicketkeeper Mitch Hay have both been named, and will potentially make their first appearances for the Black Caps.

Smith, 26, was New Zealand’s domestic player of the year for the 2023/24 season, and was upgraded to a central contract after the likes of Adam Milne and Lockie Ferguson opted out.

In 46 List A matches, Smith has taken 55 wickets at an average of just under 32, to go with 872 runs – including three half-centuries – at 26.42.

Meanwhile, Hay is almost certain to debut as the only specialist wicketkeeper in the 15-man squad. Hay has played 20 List A matches, for 410 runs at an average of 21.57. However, against the red ball, Hay has scored 1244 runs in 19 matches for Canterbury, with one hundred and 10 fifties.

Elsewhere, Henry Nicholls is in contention for his first international since December 2023, after he was dropped from the test and ODI sides.

With a dearth of batting talent missing, Nicholls is the most experienced name in the side, which also features Mark Chapman, Will Young and Tim Robinson as specialists.

Otago’s Dean Foxcroft will also vie for a place in the top order as a spin bowling all-rounder, joining Glenn Phillips and Michael Bracewell. Josh Clarkson – who was also upgraded to a central contract – is the sole seam bowling all-rounder.

In the bowling department, Lockie Ferguson has been selected despite his lack of a central contract, and is joined by Jacob Duffy and Zak Foulkes.

Ben Lister was initially named, but has failed to recover from a side strain, and seen his place go to Canterbury all-rounder Foulkes, who made his T20 debut for New Zealand on this year’s tour of Pakistan, but is yet to play an ODI. In 16 List A matches, the 22-year-old has taken 24 wickets at an average of just over 20.

Ben Sears (knee), Kyle Jamieson (back) and Adi Ashok (back) were not considered for selection as they all continue their recovery from injury.

Black Caps Squad to Tour Sri Lanka
Mitchell Santner (c), Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Josh Clarkson, Jacob Duffy, Lockie Ferguson, Zak Foulkes, Dean Foxcroft, Mitch Hay (wk), Henry Nicholls, Glenn Phillips, Tim Robinson, Nathan Smith, Ish Sodhi, Will Young.

Black Caps Vs Sri Lanka Fixtures
November 9 – First T20I, Dambulla
November 10 – Second T20I, Dambulla
November 13 – First ODI, Dambulla
November 17 – Second ODI, Kandy
November 19 – Third ODI, Kandy

This article was first published on nzherald.co.nz and is republished here with permission