• Home
  • Breaking News
  • Matt Henry Returns Kane Williamson Available Partially As Nz Release Squad For Pak T20is

Matt Henry Returns, Kane Williamson Available Partially As NZ Release Squad For PAK T20Is

image-lqxabbs9Matt Henry (Twitter)

Pacer Matt Henry will make a comeback to national duties via the forthcoming T20I series versus Pakistan at home after a two-month absence from the game. The New Zealand right-arm seamer had been ruled out midway through the ICC World Cup 2023 in India with a hamstring injury. 

Henry, who missed the remainder of the quadrennial event in the subcontinent as well as the away and home series against Bangladesh after suffering the injury, has finally recovered and will be undergoing a preparatory test via Friday's (January 5) Super Smash domestic T20 for Canterbury Kings before making an international comeback. 

The 32-year-old has played 13 previous T20Is for the Kiwis and will be crucial to their planning leading into the T20 World Cup 2024 in June with his ability to skid the ball through on dryish Caribbean & USA surfaces. 


Williamson, Conway Return; Jamieson Still Out 

Also returning to the side are leading batters Kane Williamson and Devon Conway after the two players were rested for the Bangladesh T20Is late in December. Conway had skipped the ODIs earlier in the summer, too, after undergoing an extensive workload at the height of the ICC World Cup 2023 build-up and two Tests in Bangladesh. 

Williamson, who was initially due to captain the BlackCaps in that three-match series before being taken out to manage his workload, will be missing only the third T20I of the five-match series against Pakistan, earmarked as a critical assignment towards T20 World Cup prep. 

Pacer Lockie Ferguson will be making a comeback to the T20I outfit also after recovering from an Achilles injury. The express quick will be playing the final three T20Is of the series. In his place, backup seamer Ben Sears will remain with the squad for the first two matches before leaving the set-up for domestic duties. 

Still missing, however, are Kyle Jamieson, Michael Bracewell, Trent Boult and James Neesham. Jamieson and Bracewell are recovering from their respective hamstring and Achilles injuries while Boult and Neesham are skipping the T20I series to continue with their domestic T20 commitments. 

The five-match T20I series starts on January 12 in Auckland. 


New Zealand squad for T20Is vs Pakistan

Kane Williamson (c, T20Is 1, 2, 4 & 5), Finn Allen, Mark Chapman, Josh Clarkson (3rd T20I only), Devon Conway (wk), Lockie Ferguson (T20Is 3, 4 & 5), Matt Henry, Adam Milne, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner (c, 3rd T20I), Ben Sears (T20Is 1 & 2), Tim Seifert (wk), Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee