New Zealand finalise squad for England WTC series

Kane Williamson's 15-strong group for their three Test series against England has been locked in.

Trent Boult remains unlikely for the first Test at Lord's which begins on Thursday, while Michael Bracewell is on standby with Henry Nicholls nursing a calf injury.

The BLACKCAPS have named their 15-man squad ahead of the first test against England starting this Thursday at Lord’s.

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Boult arrived in London on Monday and is not expected to be ready, leaving the fast-bowling duties to Tim Southee, Neil Wagner, Kyle Jamieson and Matt Henry.

Jacob Duffy, Blair Tickner and Rachin Ravindra miss out after being named in the earlier extended squad, while Hamish Rutherford will remain in the UK to link up with Leicestershire in the T20 Blast.

The defending champions sit in sixth place on the 2021-2023 World Test Championship table, winning just 38.89% of possible points thus far in the cycle.

The side were unable to claim home series wins over Bangladesh and New Zealand in the recent summer, held to two 1-1 draws.

England meanwhile are stuck at the bottom of the nine-team table, after series defeats to Australia and the West Indies, both away from home.

New Zealand squad: Kane Williamson (c), Tom Blundell (wk), Trent Boult, Devon Conway, Colin de Grandhomme, Cam Fletcher (wk), Matt Henry, Kyle Jamieson, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Ajaz Patel, Tim Southee, Neil Wagner, Will Young, Michael Bracewell (first Test only)