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Why Was Kane Williamson Not Picked in New Zealand Test Squad For Zimbabwe Tour?

Chandra Moulee Das

Former New Zealand captain and batting stalwart Kane Williamson was omitted from the side as the Kiwis named the squad for the upcoming two-match Test series against Zimbabwe, slated to start from July 30. Notably, the matches won’t be a part of the new World Test Championship (WTC 2025-27) cycle since the African nation is not a WTC playing nation.

Result – t10 – United Kingdom
ECS England, Wimbledon, 2025
Banstead BAN

159/2

Twickenham TWI

152/7

Banstead beat Twickenham by 7 runs

Result – t10 – United Kingdom
ECS England, Wimbledon, 2025
Weybridge WEY

93/1

Twickenham TWI

153/6

Weybridge beat Twickenham by 20 runs (D/L) method

Result – t10 – United Kingdom
ECS England, Wimbledon, 2025
Banstead BAN

53/1

Spencer SPE

52/5

Banstead Won by 9 wickets

Result – t10 – United Kingdom
ECS England, Wimbledon, 2025
Spencer SPE

174/4

Weybridge WEY

60/10

Spencer Won by 114 runs

Result – t10 – United Kingdom
ECS England, Wimbledon, 2025
Banstead BAN

147/5

Weybridge WEY

146/5

Banstead beat Weybridge by 5 wickets

Upcoming – t10 – United Kingdom
ECS England, Wimbledon, 2025
01 Aug 2025, 02:30 PM IST
London County Cricket LCC

Wimbledon WIM

Upcoming – t10 – United Kingdom
ECS England, Wimbledon, 2025
01 Aug 2025, 04:30 PM IST
Guildford GUI

Wimbledon WIM

Upcoming – t10 – United Kingdom
ECS England, Wimbledon, 2025
01 Aug 2025, 06:30 PM IST
London County Cricket LCC

CFS Pinnacle Pro CPP

Upcoming – t10 – United Kingdom
ECS England, Wimbledon, 2025
01 Aug 2025, 08:45 PM IST
CFS Pinnacle Pro CPP

Guildford GUI

Upcoming – t10 – United Kingdom
ECS England, Wimbledon, 2025
01 Aug 2025, 10:45 PM IST
London County Cricket LCC

Guildford GUI

Result – t20 – Kamrup Metropolitan
GTC Spring T20 Cup, 2nd Edition, 2025
Navarang Club NVR

165/8

City Cricket Club CCC

179/7

City Cricket Club beat Navarang Club by 14 runs

Result – t20 – Kamrup Metropolitan
GTC Spring T20 Cup, 2nd Edition, 2025
Guwahati Giants GUG

184/9

91 Yards Club 91YC

141/10

Guwahati Giants beat 91 Yards Club by 43 runs

Upcoming – t20 – Kamrup Metropolitan
GTC Spring T20 Cup, 2nd Edition, 2025
01 Aug 2025, 09:00 AM IST
Bud Cricket Club BCC

Nabajyoti Club NAJC

Upcoming – t20 – Kamrup Metropolitan
GTC Spring T20 Cup, 2nd Edition, 2025
01 Aug 2025, 01:15 PM IST
Guwahati Giants GUG

City Cricket Club CCC

Live – test – London
India tour of England, Test, 2025
England ENG

India IND

204/6

Upcoming – t10 – Kuwait City
KCC T10 Summer League, 2025
01 Aug 2025, 09:00 PM IST
ACE KRM Panthers KRMPS

Bader & Nie Cricket Club BNC

Upcoming – t10 – Kuwait City
KCC T10 Summer League, 2025
01 Aug 2025, 11:00 PM IST
Kuwait Swedish KUMS

SBS CC SBSCC

Upcoming – t10 – Kuwait City
KCC T10 Summer League, 2025
02 Aug 2025, 01:00 AM IST
Keraniganj Challengers KGC

Jhelum Jaguars JJ

Result – t20 – Kuwait City
KCC T20 Summer League, 2025
Stack CC STCC

161/8

Fakhr-E-Kashmir FEK

165/4

Fakhr-E-Kashmir beat Stack CC by 6 wickets

Result – t20 – Kuwait City
KCC T20 Summer League, 2025
Al mulla Exchange ALECC

71/10

CECC CEC-A

146/9

CECC beat Al mulla Exchange by 75 runs

Upcoming – t20 – Klang
MCA Men’s T20 Inter-State Championship, 2025
01 Aug 2025, 07:00 AM IST
Selangor SEL

Johor JOR

Upcoming – t20 – Kuala Lumpur
MCA Men’s T20 Inter-State Championship, 2025
01 Aug 2025, 07:30 AM IST
Kelantan KELN

Melaka MEL

Upcoming – t20 – Klang
MCA Men’s T20 Inter-State Championship, 2025
01 Aug 2025, 11:30 AM IST
Perak PRK

Kuala Lumpur KLPR

Upcoming – t20 – Kuala Lumpur
MCA Men’s T20 Inter-State Championship, 2025
01 Aug 2025, 12:00 PM IST
Sarawak SRAK

Penang PENG

Upcoming – t20 – South Mackay
Mackay T20 Championship, 2025
01 Aug 2025, 10:00 AM IST
Pirates PRS

Comets CMT

Upcoming – t20 – South Mackay
Mackay T20 Championship, 2025
01 Aug 2025, 01:30 PM IST
Marlins MAR

Rockets ROC

Upcoming – t20 – Namibia
Namibia T20, 2025
01 Aug 2025, 01:00 PM IST
Paratus Jets PAJ

NPL Bears NPB

Upcoming – t20 – Namibia
Namibia T20, 2025
01 Aug 2025, 05:30 PM IST
Eavion Eagles EAE

Pupkewitz Motors Wildcats PMW

Upcoming – t20 – Lauderhill
Pakistan tour of West Indies, T20, 2025
01 Aug 2025, 05:30 AM IST
West Indies WI

Pakistan PAK

Result – t20 – Kabul
Shpageeza Cricket League, 2025
Amo Sharks ASS

124/2

Mis Ainak Knights MAK

121/10

Amo Sharks beat Mis Ainak Knights by 8 wickets

Upcoming – t20 – Trinidad and Tobago
USA Women U19 tour of West Indies, 2025
01 Aug 2025, 07:30 PM IST
West Indies Women U19 WIU19-W

United States Of America Women U19 USAU19-W

Abandoned – t20 – Birmingham
World Championship of Legends, 2025
Pakistan Champions PNC

India Champions IAC

Match has been called off

Result – t20 – Birmingham
World Championship of Legends, 2025
South Africa Champions SAC

186/8

Australia Champions AAC

185/7

South Africa Champions won by 1 runs

Williamson will be unavailable for NZ due to his deal with Middlesex, which will also include playing for London Spirit in the Hundred. Notably, the Hundred, which begins on August 5 will clash with the red-ball series. Ahead of the ZIM vs NZ series opener, the squad will assemble in Bulawayo on July 27 after the culmination of a T20I Tri-Series in Harare comprising South Africa, alongside Zimbabwe and NZ.

Speaking about the development, Blackcaps head coach Rob Walter said, “Kane (Williamson) and Michael (Bracewell) were up front with New Zealand Cricket about their availability for this tour during the contracting process. While all Test matches are hugely special and important, the fact these Tests aren’t part of the ICC World Test Championship did influence the discussions on this occasion.”

For the unversed, Kane Williamson had turned down a central contract earlier in June this year. He previously also decided to opt out of a central contract last year to play in T20 and other leagues around the world. He instead had a casual contract and still played in nine of New Zealand’s 13 tests in 2024.

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Two veteran NZ stars make a return

Spinner Ajaz Patel and batter Henry Nicholls have made a return to the Test setup again. Patel’s last appearance came for the NZ where he won the Player of the Match award for his impressive bowling figures (5-103 and 6-57) during their final game of their historic 3-0 series victory against India last November.

On the other hand, Nicholls, who last featured in the Test squad in December 2023, makes his return with a wealth of experience that includes 56 Test matches and nine centuries to his name.

New Zealand Test squad vs Zimbabwe

Tom Latham (c), Tom Blundell (wk), Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy, Matt Fisher, Matt Henry, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Will O’Rourke, Ajaz Patel, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Nathan Smith, Will Young.

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