Nine players with international experience have been named across the New Zealand A (NZ A) squads to tour Sri Lanka later this month.
The tour comprises three 50-over matches and two four-day matches across Galle and Hambantota, starting April 5.
Eight BLACKCAPS feature in the NZ A 50-over squad in Muhammad Abbas, Adithya Ashok, Kristian Clarke, Mitch Hay, Ben Lister, Rhys Mariu, Ben Sears, and Tim Robinson.
Abbas, Ashok, Clarke, and Sears will depart the A tour to join the BLACKCAPS ODI squad in Bangladesh, with Robinson also departing after the first red-ball game to join the BLACKCAPS T20I squad.
The red-ball squad will be bolstered by four pace-bowlers in BLACKCAPS latest Test debutant Michael Rae, Otago’s Jarrod McKay, and Canterbury’s Fraser Sheat, along with allrounders Auckland Aces’ Ryan Harrison and Wellington Firebirds’ Peter Younghusband.
Maiden NZ A call-ups have been earned by Harrison, McKay, Sheat, and Younghusband, as well as Auckland Aces’ Rohit Gulati, after impressive performances for their provinces throughout the season.
Harrison’s 18 wickets and over 300 runs during this season’s Plunket Shield campaign place him third and sixth on Auckland’s wickets and runs tally respectively.
Sheat (28 wickets) and Gulati (27 wickets) lead their respective provinces this season for wickets taken.
NZ A to Sri Lanka 50-over Squad
Muhammad Abbas Wellington Firebirds
Adithya Ashok Auckland Aces
Matthew Boyle Canterbury
Max Chu Otago Volts
Kristian Clarke Northern Districts
Rohit Gulati Auckland Aces
Mitch Hay Canterbury
Curtis Heaphy Central Stags
Simon Keene Auckland Aces
Ben Lister Auckland Aces
Rhys Mariu Canterbury
Dale Phillips Auckland Aces
Tim Pringle Northern Districts
Tim Robinson Wellington Firebirds
Ben Sears Wellington Firebirds
NZ A to Sri Lanka four-day Squad
Matthew Boyle Canterbury
Max Chu Otago Volts
Rohit Gulati Auckland Aces
Ryan Harrison Auckland Aces
Mitch Hay Canterbury
Curtis Heaphy Central Stags
Simon Keene Auckland Aces
Ben Lister Auckland Aces
Rhys Mariu Canterbury
Jarrod McKay Otago Volts
Dale Phillips Auckland Aces
Tim Pringle Northern Districts
Michael Rae Canterbury
Tim Robinson Wellington Firebirds – first match only
Fraser Sheat Canterbury
Peter Younghusband Wellington Firebirds
BLACKCAPS Selection Manager Gavin Larsen said it was exciting to reward players with opportunities to continue their development.
“Being able to offer some of our best performing domestic players opportunities to work on their game overseas is crucial to the success of our high performance programme.”
The importance of player depth is not lost on Larsen, as he reflected on a successful home summer for the BLACKCAPS.
“We’ve seen some incredible successes during the summer, with series wins against England, the West Indies, India away, and South Africa, all while relying heavily on our stocks in our domestic system.
“Between BLACKCAPS, NZ A, PSL and IPL, we will have 54 of our cricketers playing at a high level at the same time in varying conditions.
“This NZ A Tour is another chance to look towards the future and give some of our most promising cricketers a chance to continue to develop in foreign conditions.”
The 50-Over squad depart to Sri Lanka on Friday 3 April, followed by the four-day squad members on 10 April.
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