The opener Devon Conway is set to miss the third game of the New Zealand-England tests as he awaits the birth of his first child.
The opener will stay in Wellington, where the Kiwis suffered a 323-run defeat in the second test. Meanwhile, Mark Chapman has been brought into the squad as the replacement.
This might make Will Young to be recalled to playing 11 for the third test at Hamilton.
New Zealand head coach Gary Stead has said that Conway had the full support of the team to remain in Wellington for his child’s birth.
Squad News | Devon Conway will miss the third Tegel Test against England as he awaits the birth of his first child in Wellington this week. #NZvENGhttps://t.co/TqtneR7SrH
— BLACKCAPS (@BLACKCAPS) December 8, 2024
“Family comes first in this environment and we’re all really excited for Dev and his wife Kim to welcome their first child,” Stead said.
“Mark was with the Test squad in India recently and returned to the Plunket Shield by scoring an impressive 276 – so it’s a good time for him to be joining us.”
Conway had been struggling to score runs with 11 and 0 runs during the second test against England, where they were forced to drop out of contention of reaching next year WTC finals at Lord’s.
In the first test he managed to score only 2 and 8 and has been struggling to score runs across all format. In nine tests he scored 386 runs at an average of 21.44 with only three fifties in 18 innings.
In 18 international matches, he made only 546 runs with an average of 21.84. Will Young who batted at number 03 in the absence of Kane Williamson will be likely to bring in to the playing 11.
Kiwis trails 2-0 in the series, with the third match is set to begin on December 14 at Seddon Park.
New Zealand squad for 3rd Test vs England: Tom Latham (c), Tom Blundell (wk), Mark Chapman, Jacob Duffy, Matt Henry, Daryl Mitchell, Will O’Rourke, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Nathan Smith, Tim Southee, Kane Williamson, Will Young.
