'It was a tough decision to make...': Tom Latham drops New Zealand batting star who was 'Player of the Series' against India for 1st Test against England

New Zealand vs England's first Test match is scheduled to start from November 28 and Kane Willamson is set to make a comeback to the Blackcaps.

Sports Tak

• Wed • 27 Nov 2024

New Zealand squad

Highlights:

Kane Williamson to feature in 1st Test against England.

New Zealand vs England 1st Test will start from November 28.

Will Young is set to miss the first Test against England.

After registering a dominating 3-0 series win against India, New Zealand will lock horns against England for the three-Test match series scheduled to start from November 28. The BlackCaps has dropped Will Young for the first Test match against the Three Lions as Kane Williamson came into the playing XI for the upcoming clash set to take place at Hagley Park South in Christchurch, New Zealand. Young was the standout performer for Kiwis in the three-Test match series against India. He was awarded 'Player of the Series' for his iconic performance against Rohit Sharma & Co.

Williamson who missed the three-Test match series against India due to a groin injury in during the Sri Lanka series is fit and will feature in the first Test against England.

New Zealand captain Tom Latham said that he had a conversation with Will Young and dropping him was a tough decision for him but the batter is ready and Williamson is coming back in playing XI in place of Young.

"Steady (Gary Stead) had that conversation with Young and I followed up. As I said, he's a great team man and certainly did nothing wrong. It was a tough decision to make but I guess when you're in a position to make tough calls, it means your team is in a good spot so yeah, obviously gutted for Young but excited with Kane coming back" - Tom Latham on dropping Young for Williamson

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New Zealand scenario for WTC final

After defeating India 3-0, the inaugural World Test Championship (WTC) winners are in contention to seal their berth again for the mega event scheduled to take place in England. They are currently fourth in the points table tally of the WTC points table. Kiwis need to win most of their remaining matches including the upcoming red ball series against England.

New Zealand and England playing XI for 1st Test

New Zealand: Tom Latham(c), Devon Conway, Kane Williamson, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell(w), Glenn Phillips, Nathan Smith, Tim Southee, Matt Henry, William ORourke.

England: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ollie Pope (wk), Ben Stokes (C), Chris Woakes, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse, Shoaib Bashir.