Martin Guptill added to squad for England Tests

The 73 he scored for New Zealand XI against the visiting Englishmen in the tour game last week has opened the door for Martin Guptill to return to the Test side for the two-Test series against England starting under lights in Auckland on Thursday, 22 March.

BJ Watling, the wicket-keeper, had been recalled for the Tests after a long time out because of a hip injury, and Mitchell Santner went out with a knee injury, leaving the squad with 12 names. Guptill has now come in as the 13th member, with Gavin Larsen, the New Zealand selector, saying his presence will give the squad more depth.

“We opted for extra batting cover for that final spot and with Martin having been playing in the middle-order recently, he can cover a number of positions for us,” said Larsen.

Part of the reason for having Guptill in the squad is that Ross Taylor’s fitness has been a matter of concern in recent times. A leg injury during the course of the series of five one-day internationals against England recently kept him out of the final fixture, which New Zealand lost by seven wickets to go down 3-2. And he hasn’t taken part in the training sessions with the national team since then.

Larsen, however, held out hope. “Ross is progressing nicely and is expected to take a full part in training tomorrow. The team are looking forward to what will be a special match beginning on Thursday,” he said, referring to the first day-night Test in New Zealand.

Squad: Kane Williamson (c), Todd Astle, Trent Boult, Colin de Grandhomme, Martin Guptill, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Henry Nicholls, Jeet Raval, Tim Southee, Ross Taylor, Neil Wagner, BJ Watling (wk).