He last donned the whites for New Zealand in their latest red-ball series against England at home.
After hosting an enthralling T20I tri-series, involving South Africa and New Zealand, Zimbabwe is now set to host the latter for a two-match Test series, starting on July 30. However, former New Zealand captain Kane Williamson is not a part of the Black Caps squad for the upcoming red-ball matches.
BAN
159/2
TWI
152/7
WEY
93/1
TWI
153/6
Weybridge beat Twickenham by 20 runs (D/L) method
BAN
53/1
SPE
52/5
Banstead Won by 9 wickets
SPE
174/4
WEY
60/10
Spencer Won by 114 runs
BAN
147/5
WEY
146/5
Banstead beat Weybridge by 5 wickets
LCC
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WIM
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GUI
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WIM
–
LCC
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CPP
–
CPP
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GUI
–
LCC
–
GUI
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NVR
165/8
CCC
179/7
City Cricket Club beat Navarang Club by 14 runs
GUG
184/9
91YC
141/10
Guwahati Giants beat 91 Yards Club by 43 runs
BCC
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NAJC
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GUG
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CCC
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ENG
–
IND
204/6
KRMPS
–
BNC
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KUMS
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SBSCC
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KGC
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JJ
–
STCC
161/8
FEK
56/2
ALECC
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CEC-A
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SEL
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JOR
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KELN
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MEL
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PRK
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KLPR
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SRAK
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PENG
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PRS
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CMT
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MAR
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ROC
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PAJ
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NPB
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EAE
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PMW
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WI
–
PAK
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ASS
124/2
MAK
121/10
Amo Sharks beat Mis Ainak Knights by 8 wickets
WIU19-W
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USAU19-W
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PNC
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IAC
–
Match has been called off
SAC
186/8
AAC
185/7
South Africa Champions won by 1 runs
The news from the match centre is that Zimbabwe have won the toss and elected to bat first.
Zimbabwe: Craig Ervine (C), Brian Bennett, Sikandar Raza, Tafadzwa Tsiga (WK), Ben Curran, Sean Williams, Nick Welch, Newman Nyamhuri, Vincent Masekesa, Blessing Muzarabani, Tanaka Chivanga.
New Zealand: Mitchell Santner (C), Tom Blundell (WK), Devon Conway (WK), Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Rachin Ravindra, Will Young, Michael Bracewell, Nathan Smith, Matt Henry, Will O’Rourke.
The 34-year-old has opted out of the Test series against Zimbabwe due to his recent contract with Middlesex for the 2025 season. This deal includes his availability to represent London Spirit in The Hundred, Middlesex in the T20 Blast, and at least five county championship matches in the second half of the season.
Previously, the batter decided to withdraw from New Zealand’s central contract for consecutive years to shift his focus to overseas matches. Notably, he has put up 9,276 runs, including 33 tons and 37 fifty-plus scores, in 105 Test matches. The inaugural ICC World Test Championship (WTC) winning skipper last donned the whites for New Zealand in their latest red-ball series against England at home.
However, he has recently notched up a sublime 114 for Middlesex against Northamptonshire, which included 14 boundaries and a six at the Merchant Taylors’ School Ground, Northwood.
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The usual skipper of the Kiwis, Tom Latham, has been ruled out of the series opener against Zimbabwe. The wicketkeeper-batter is yet to recover from his recent shoulder injury. However, the 33-year-old is staying back with the Black Caps Test squad and might feature in the second and final fixture of the tour, which will commence on August 7. The white-ball skipper, Mitchell Santner, is set to lead New Zealand in his absence.
“It’s never great when you lose your captain, who’s a world-class opening batter and a great team man, but that said we’re going to work really hard to have him available for the second Test. We’ll continue to assess and see whether a replacement player is necessary, but at this stage we are hopeful that he’ll recover in time,” stated head coach Rob Walter in a press release.
Mitchell Santner (C), Tom Blundell, Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy, Matthew Fisher, Matt Henry, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Will O’Rourke, Ajaz Patel, Rachin Ravindra, Nathan Smith, Will Young, Tom Latham (ruled out of first match).
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Banstead beat Twickenham by 7 runs