Cricket News : New Zealand picks full-strength squad for WI white-ball tour

For their white-ball tour of the West Indies, New Zealand has selected a full-strength side, with six of their top players.

This includes skipper Kane Williamson-returning after taking a break during the team's ongoing tour of Europe.

Following the conclusion of the three-match Test series in England in late June, Williamson, Trent Boult, Devon Conway, and Tim Southee all made their way back home.

Tom Latham, who had led the team throughout the ODI series in Ireland, also did so. After the Ireland ODIs, Matt Henry's trip came to an end as well. He then left the team to play county cricket for Kent.

The selectors named the same 15-member squad for both the T20I and ODI portions of the West Indies tour, bringing them all back. Three T20Is in Jamaica will kick off the tour on August 10, and then three ODIs will follow in Barbados.

Some of the veteran players will be making their long-awaited returns to white-ball cricket as New Zealand gears up for the T20 World Cup, which will start in Australia in October.

Williamson's case has been particularly acute because of a mix of being rested and having ongoing injuries.

His last T20I was in the T20 World Cup final of the previous year, which New Zealand lost to Australia, and his last ODI was in March 2020, the last men's international match before the Covid-19 pandemic brought an end to cricket worldwide.

Henry Nicholls, Will Young, Mark Chapman, Dane Cleaver, Jacob Duffy, Michael Rippon, Ben Sears, and Blair Tickner, who have all participated in (or will participate in) the white-ball tours of Ireland, Scotland, and the Netherlands, will not be included in the squad due to the return of the senior six.

Adam Milne, who was originally chosen for both white-ball squads but was later had to withdraw due to an Achilles injury, was not chosen for the West Indies tour. This may be because he has not yet fully recovered, but the NZC release announcing the squad made no mention of this.

"It's always exciting to be heading somewhere you've not been in a while and I know this group can't wait for the challenge of taking on the West Indies in the Caribbean,"

New Zealand head coach Gary Stead said.

"Managing workloads is hugely important this year with the team playing some form of cricket every month in 2022 - and this applies to both players and staff.

"For Kane, Trent, Tim and Devon, this will be the first time they have played white-ball cricket for New Zealand since last year's T20 World Cup and tour to India - so this trip will be important for them.

Currently playing in Scotland, New Zealand will play two T20 Internationals on July 27 and 29 before playing a single ODI on July 31. The players that are taking part in the West Indies tour will then depart for the Caribbean after playing back-to-back T20Is on August 4 and 5 in the Netherlands.

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