CHRISTCHURCH, New Zealand, CMC – International Henry Nicholls headlines a 16-member New Zealand “A” team that will face West Indies in a pair of red-ball matches over the next two weeks.
The left-hander has been sidelined with injury for the past eight months and a calf injury had forced him to miss the opening three rounds of the Plunket Shield, the New Zealand’s first-class championship.
Nicholls is on track to return to play for Canterbury for this weekend’s round of matches against Otago Volts, before getting an early chance to impress the national selectors against the visitors in two matches from November 20 to 22 and November 26 to 29 at John Davies Oval in the southern island city of Queenstown.
“It’s great to get Henry back on the park after what I know has been a frustrating winter with his left calf injury,” New Zealand head coach Gary Stead said.
“He’ll turn out for Canterbury this weekend in the Plunket Shield before heading to Queenstown to face the West Indies, and we’re confident if he comes through both games unscathed, he’ll be ready for the first Test in Hamilton on December 3.”
Besides Nicholls, two other big names in the squad are the South Africa-born Devon Conway and incumbent Test batting back-up Will Young.
Conway will receive his first representative chance since becoming eligible to play for the Black Caps in August.
He was the highest run scorer across all three domestic formats for Wellington Firebirds and his claim to fame was his an undefeated 327 against Canterbury in the Plunket Shield last season.
“It’s an exciting time for Devon who’s had to wait for his opportunity at this level after some outstanding form on the domestic scene,” Stead said.
Test back-up batting incumbent Will Young will also look to make a strong case for inclusion during the New Zealanders’ home Test matches.
He has a strong first-class record, scoring 4,820 runs at an average of 42.28 in 76 matches for Central Stags and he will be looking for big scores to remind the selectors where they stand in the pecking order.
Stead said it was going to be a busy season for New Zealand’s elite cricketers.
“It’s been a year like no other and we’re very fortunate to be preparing for such an action-packed summer,” he said.
“The complexities of the international schedule, along with the size of the touring squads and the length of time they will spend in the country has enabled us to build a very strong ‘A’ programme.
“The flip-side of this is that pressure will be put on our player pool this season and we need to be smart with how we use our resources, therefore we’ll likely add and subtract from this squad as we go along.”
Canterbury captain Cole McConchie will lead the side with Dane Cleaver taking the gloves.
Squad: Cole McConchie (captain), Joe Carter, Dane Cleaver, Devon Conway, Henry Cooper, Jacob Duffy, Ken McClure, Henry Nicholls, Michael Rae, Rachin Ravindra, Michael Rippon, Ben Sears, Sean Solia, Nathan Smith, Blair Tickner, Will Young.