New Zealand have announced a 14-member squad for the second Test of the three-match series against West Indies that will commence from December 10. After three of their players sustained injuries during the first Test, they were expected to make many changes to the squad. The likes of Matt Henry, Nathan Smith and Tom Blundell had gotten injured during the opening match, but the side were struck with another blow soon after as Mitchell Santner also sustained a groin injury soon after. Henry, Smith and Santner have already been ruled out for the remainder of the series.
Phillips makes long return
In their place, all-rounder Glenn Phillips has been brought into the Test set-up after being absent for almost a year. Uncapped players Mitchell Hay, Kristian Clarke and Michael Rae also got called up in order to fill in for the injured players. With regular wicketkeeper Tom Blundell injured, Hay has been confirmed to make his Test debut in the upcoming match against West Indies in Wellington. Notably, he will become the first wicketkeeper to debut for the Kiwis in Tests since 2017.
“Mitch is a young cricketer who’s already contributed well to the white-ball side. He also has an excellent record at first-class level with Canterbury. Having him come into a Test squad is a great moment in his career and we’re really excited to see him play his part," New Zealand head coach Rob Walter said.
Hay has so far played 7 ODIs and 12 T20Is for New Zealand with his stand-out knock coming in a one-day encounter against Pakistan in April earlier this year. He played a sensational inning of 99*, including seven boundaries and sixes each as the Kiwis defeated the opposition comprehensively by 84 runs.
Mitchell to be included in playing XI?
On the other hand, suspense still remains on whether Daryl Mitchell will feature in the second Test or not. He had sustained an injury during the ODI series against West Indies and though was expected to make a return to the playing XI in the first Test, he was eventually not included as he hadn't fully recovered. He is once again present in the squad for the upcoming match, but it remains to be seen if he will be given a chance in the XI or not.
New Zealand squad for second Test: Tom Latham (c), Michael Bracewell, Kristian Clarke, Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy, Zak Foulkes, Mitchell Hay (wk), Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Michael Rae, Blair Tickner, Kane Williamson, Will Young.