New Zealand’s Kane Williamson in action during a Test match against England in Hamilton, New Zealand. File
| Photo Credit: AP

New Zealand will aim to exploit Afghanistan’s relative inexperience in red-ball cricket, in the one-off Test starting from Monday (September 9, 2024), and gather momentum ahead of their upcoming World Test Championship challenges in the sub-continent.

New Zealand’s first-ever Test against Afghanistan will kick off a challenging couple of months for the Black Caps who play six long-format matches on the bounce in the subcontinent, something they haven’t done in 40 years.

With their underwhelming subcontinent record in mind (40 losses in 90 matches), New Zealand would want to hit the straps straightaway.

Senior batter Kane Williamson has emphasised on the need to adapt to conditions and with three games under their belt, they would be well prepared for the marquee series against India next month.

Spin is expected to dominate proceedings and New Zealand has come well-prepared with five slow bowling options.

Left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel, who returns to India for the first time since his 10-wicket haul in Mumbai in 2021, is expected to make the playing XI.

Rachin Ravindra, who has been sweating it out in CSK High-Performance Centre in Chennai, is expected to be handy with bat and ball while all-rounders Glenn Phillips, Mitchell Santner, and Michael Bracewell are vying to fill the remaining spinners’ spots.

Matt Henry is New Zealand’s best seamer at the moment but captain Tim Southee’s dip in Test form will be a concern. Will O’Rourke, or express pacer Ben Sears may be given a go.

New Zealand will need to shake off the rust as they haven’t played Test cricket since early March and the tenacious Afghanistan side is poised to pose a strong challenge.

For Afghanistan, who obtained Test status in 2017, this will be only their 10th-ever outing in the traditional format.

They head to the clash having lost their last three Tests against Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Ireland. But in their brief Test journey, they have managed to beat Ireland, Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.

Afghanistan has made significant strides in white-ball cricket, but some players will now need to swiftly make the transition from T20 to Test format.

The disparity in Test experience between Afghanistan and New Zealand is substantial, but Hashmatullah Shahidi and his team will look to gain from familiarity with the Shahid Vijay Singh Pathik Sports Complex in Greater Noida, where they have previously played five ODIs and six T20Is.

Talismanic all-rounder Rashid Khan is not there to bowl his menacing leg-breaks, which is a huge blow for them, while T20 regulars Rahamnullah Gurbaz, Mohammad Nabi, Fazallaq Farooqui, Mujeeb ur Rahman, Noor Ahmad and Naveen-ul-Haq are also not available.

Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, and skipper Shahidi, who averages 44.09 in Tests, will burden the batting responsibilities.

Seam-bowling all-rounder Azmatullah Omarzai is likely to make his Test debut, while Zia-ur-Rehman, Zahir Khan, Khalil Ahmed, Qais Ahmad, Shahidullah Kamal and Bahir Shah are the spin options.

With rain and thunderstorms forecast throughout the week, the match is likely to be affected.

Squads

Afghanistan

Hashmatullah Shahidi (c), Ibrahim Zadran, Rahmat Shah, Abdul Malik, Riaz Hassan, Afsar Zazai (wk), Ikram Alikhil (wk), Bahir Shah, Shahidullah Kamal, Azmatullah Omarzai, Shams Ur Rahman, Zia-ur-Rehman, Zahir Khan, Qais Ahmad, Khalil Ahmad and Nijat Masood.

New Zealand

Tim Southee (c), Tom Blundell (wk), Michael Bracewell, Devon Conway, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Will O’Rourke, Ajaz Patel, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Ben Sears, Kane Williamson, Will Young.

Kane Williamson of New Zealand bats during the first day of the first cricket test between New Zealand and South Africa at Bay Oval, Mt Maunganui, New Zealand, on February 04, 2024.
| Photo Credit: AP

Set to play his 100th Test match, star New Zealand batter Kane Williamson on Wednesday recollected the “surreal” feeling he had when he was surrounded by the legendary Indian cricketers, including the iconic Sachin Tendulkar, during his debut Test in Ahmedabad in 2010.

The 33-year-old Williamson, who made 131 in New Zealand’s first innings in the drawn Ahmedabad Test on debut, will be completing a century of Tests in the second match of the two-Test series against Australia beginning here on Friday.

“I remember walking out and looking around the field and seeing all my heroes. I used to love playing backyard cricket as a youngster, and all those guys were in that team that I would try and select,” Williamson told reporters.

“It was Tendulkar and Laxman and Dravid, and it was kind of like, ‘How am I here? I’d better start watching the ball and try and compete’.

“It was quite surreal. I remember being quite eager to try and get into the opposition’s dressing room and chat to some of those guys if I could.”

In that match, Virender Sehwag made 173, while Rahul Dravid scored 104 and Tendulkar 40 in India’s first innings total of 487.

Ninety-nine Tests and more than 10 years later, Williamson said he is still learning.

“Then a few grey hairs later and (after) a number of different experiences over that time, there’s not been many days – probably any – where I haven’t tried to improve and get better as a player,” said the right-handed batter who has scored 8675 runs at an average of 55.25, with the help of 32 hundreds and 33 fifties.

“It’s never a perfect journey. You go through so much. The format of Test cricket in particular really takes you through that. The learning – physically, (and) mentally – the reflection, (and) the memories of almost every Test that when you sit down and dissect it, there’s so much that you do recall.” One of Williamson’s career milestones was New Zealand’s World Test Championships final win against India in 2021 in Southampton, England.

“The Test Championship final (against India in 2021) is something that stands out for a number of different reasons. But it’s a journey, and the highlights aren’t there without the other.

“They’re all experiences that you value and learn from. To perhaps reflect on hundred of those, it’s something I never could have imagined.”

New Zealand’s Trent Boult, right, listens to captain Kane Williamson, left, and New Zealand’s Tim Southee during a match in Sharjah, UAE. File photo
| Photo Credit: AP

Trent Boult and Jimmy Neesham, who both opted out of central contracts, have made the cut as New Zealand on Monday named an experienced 15-member squad, led by Kane Williamson, for next month’s World Cup in India.

Williamson, who last played for the Black Caps in March, returns to the side as he continues to recover from a ruptured ACL he suffered during the IPL earlier this year.

However, it is not yet known whether the batter will be fit for New Zealand’s opening match against England, which is also the tournament opener, on October 5.

New Zealand had lost to England on boundary count in the 2019 World Cup final at Lord’s, after the teams could not be separated by a tie-breaking Super Over.

“From Kane and Tim heading to their fourth tournament to the guys selected for the first time it’s always a very exciting time,” head coach Gary Stead said.

“As with any squad named for an ICC tournament, there have been some tough calls and there will be some disappointed players. The key for us was finding the right balance for the squad and making sure we had our bases covered for what is going to be a very competitive tournament,” he added.

Williamson and experienced pacer Tim Southee, who featured the last time the tournament was held in India in 2011, will be playing in their fourth ODI World Cup.

Alongside the duo, Boult, Matt Henry and Tom Latham, who feature in their third ODI World Cup squad, form the experienced core.

Wicketkeeper Latham will serve as Williamson’s deputy.

All-rounder Neesham, who almost led New Zealand to victory with the bat in the thrilling Super Over in 2019, Lockie Ferguson, Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi have also been retained and will feature in their second consecutive 50-over World Cup.

The likes of Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Daryl Mitchell and Glenn Phillips have earned a maiden call-up for the 50-over mega event, having featured in the T20 World Cup squads before.

Spin all-rounder Rachin Ravindra and batter Will Young are selected in their first senior white ball World Cup squads.

Pacer Adam Milne, who was ruled out of the ongoing England series with a hamstring injury, and opener Finn Allen miss out.

Changes to the 15-player squad can be made until September 28.

New Zealand squad:

Kane Williamson (captain), Trent Boult, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Mitchell Santner, Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Will Young.