ENG vs NZ | Trent Boult and Henry Nicholls doubtful for 1st Test against England

New Zealand Cricket (NZC) has announced the 15-man squad to face England in the 3-match Test series starting June 2 at Lord's. 

The players like Jacob Duffy, Blair Tickner, Rachin Ravindra, and Hamish Rutherford, who were part of the 20-player camp on this tour, could not make it to the final squad. Rutherford will feature for Leicestershire in T20 Blast 2022, and the other three players will be heading back home. 

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The Wellington captain and all-rounder Michael Bracewell has been added as the cover for Henry Nicholls, who is still on the road to recovery from a right calf injury.

Kiwi spearhead Trent Boult was a part of the Rajasthan Royals (RR) team, who emerged as the runner-up in IPL 2022. Although he has reached London, Boult is doubtful for the series opener. 

The New Zealand head coach Gary Stead spoke on Monday regarding the availability of Boult. 

"Trent arrives in later today and we'll see how he scrubs up but we've had conversations leading up into this. It's part of the world and the way it is right now and I guess with the complexity of putting schedules together and then you have the IPL on top of that, it just adds another layer to it all," Stead was quoted by Espncricinfo. 

In the past ten days, the Kiwi team faced Sussex and County Select XI in the warmup matches, and the players received backing from the team management. 

The likes of Daryl Mitchell and Cam Fletcher hit a half-century against the County Select XI. On the other hand, the team's only spinner Ajaz Patel was the consistent wicket-taker for the team. 

It will be interesting to see if the team management includes Patel in playing XI, as they have been featuring an all-seam attack in the recent few Test series. The likes of Tim Southee, Kyle Jamieson, and Neil Wagner are the confirmed bowlers, while it will be a toss-up between Patel and Matt Henry. 

NZ squad for ENG Test Series: 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 (16th man)