New Zealand names 15 member squad for World Cup
Auckland, Apr 3 (IBNS): The New Zealand cricket on Wendesday named a 15-member squad for the World Cup 2019 to be played in England in the next few months.
Apart from the inclusion of Tom Blundell, there has been no major surprises in the squad this year.
Kane Williamson has been named the skipper of the squad.
New Zealand is the first country to name their squad for the showpiece tournament.
As per the country's cricket board's website, Ross Taylor is set to become the seventh BLACKCAP to play at four Cricket World Cups, while it will be the third time at the 50-over showpiece for Williamson, Tim Southee and Martin Guptill.
Coach Gary Stead said it was a proud day for all involved, not least the eight players who will be attending a World Cup for the first time.
“The World Cup is the pinnacle of cricket and to be the first nation to name a squad for the tournament is really exciting," he said.
“As with any squad named for a major tournament, there’s had to be some tough calls and there will be some disappointed players," the coach said.
“The key for us was finding the right balance for the squad and making sure we had our bases covered for what is going to be a very competitive World Cup," he said.
“As a one-day unit we’ve been pretty consistent over the past few years and possess a very experienced group of core players, proven at the top level," he said.
“We will have three training camps through April which will involve many players who are not in this squad as it’s important they’re ready on stand-by should we lose anybody in the lead up to or at the tournament," the coach said.
BLACKCAPS ICC Cricket World Cup Squad
Kane Williamson (c) – 139* (Northern Districts)
Tom Blundell - 0 (Wellington Firebirds)
Trent Boult - 79 (Northern Districts)
Colin de Grandhomme - 28 (Northern Districts)
Lockie Ferguson - 27 (Auckland Aces)
Martin Guptill - 169 (Auckland Aces)
Matt Henry - 43 (Canterbury)
Tom Latham - 85 (Canterbury)
Colin Munro - 51 (Auckland Aces)
Jimmy Neesham - 49 (Wellington Firebirds)
Henry Nicholls - 41 (Canterbury)
Mitchell Santner - 59 (Northern Districts)
Ish Sodhi - 30 (Northern Districts)
Tim Southee - 139 (Northern Districts)
Ross Taylor - 218 (Central Stags)
Support Our Journalism
We cannot do without you.. your contribution supports unbiased journalism
IBNS is not driven by any ism- not wokeism, not racism, not skewed secularism, not hyper right-wing or left liberal ideals, nor by any hardline religious beliefs or hyper nationalism. We want to serve you good old objective news, as they are. We do not judge or preach. We let people decide for themselves. We only try to present factual and well-sourced news.