Wellington: Opening batsman Brendon McCullum has been rested from New Zealand's one-day and Twenty20 squads for its tour of the West Indies, playing only in the test matches.
New Zealand Cricket named its three T20, ODI and test squads Thursday, and McCullum's name was included only in the test squad. Selection manager Kim Littlejohn said the former wicketkeeper had played a lot of cricket in recent seasons and had earned a rest.
"We have picked three strong squads for what will be a tough tour of the West Indies. We asked Brendon McCullum to take a break during the short-form component of the tour," Littlejohn said.
"The team is about to embark on a heavy program of international cricket and we will need to sensibly manage the workload of our players," he added.
South African-born fast bowler Neil Wagner has been named in the test squad little more than a week after the International Cricket Council granted him dispensation to be selected for New Zealand.
Allrounder James Franklin has not been selected for the tour, but Littlejohn said he remained an integral part of New Zealand's planning for the Twenty20 World Cup. New Zealand Cricket has arranged for Franklin to play for Essex in the England county Twenty20 competition.
Wicketkeeper BJ Watling has recovered from a hip injury and has been included in all three squads, along with Daniel Flynn who impresses in the recent test match against South Africa.
Littlejohn said Jacob Oram has recovered from a calf injury, adding experience and all round skill to the Twenty20 and ODI sides.
New Zealand will play two T20 internationals against the West Indies at ,Lauderhill Florida on June 30 and July 1 before the teams meet in five one-day internationals and two test matches.
Meanwhile, New Zealand Cricket has begun its search for a new national coach to replace John Wright who announced unexpectedly this week he will not extend his contract beyond next month's tour to the West Indies.
New Zealand squads for Windies tour:
T20 squad | ODI squad | Test squad |
---|---|---|
Ross Taylor (captain) B.J. Watling (wk) Martin Guptill Doug Bracewell Dean Brownlie Andrew Ellis Daniel Flynn Ronnie Hira Tom Latham Nathan McCullum Kyle Mills Rob Nicol Jacob Oram Tim Southee Kane Williamson |
Ross Taylor (captain) B.J. Watling (wk) Martin Guptill Doug Bracewell Dean Brownlie Andrew Ellis Daniel Flynn Tom Latham Nathan McCullum Kyle Mills Tarun Nethula Rob Nicol Jacob Oram Tim Southee Kane Williamson |
Ross Taylor (captain) Trent Boult Doug Bracewell Dean Brownlie Neil Wagner Daniel Flynn Mark Gillespie Martin Guptill Chris Martin Brendon McCullum Tarun Nethula Kruger van Wyk (wk) Daniel Vettori B.J. Watling (wk) Kane Williamson |