Captain Mitchell Santner has lost his fitness race for the start of the New Zealand cricket season and will miss the Black Caps’ three-match Twenty20 series against Australia.
Santner, 33, won’t be risked as he recovers from a sports hernia suffered playing in England’s The Hundred competition last month, and has relinquished leadership duties to Michael Bracewell.
Bracewell, 34, is no stranger to the Black Caps’ T20 captaincy, after leading New Zealand to series wins against Pakistan away in 2024 and at home to start this year.
“It’s never nice to lose your skipper, but these things do happen,” coach Rob Walter said. “Michael has already been captain of this team. I’m fully confident in how he’ll lead the team.
“To come in as skipper is pretty easy, for this group. They understand what they’re about, and what we’re trying to achieve.”
Aside from Santner, the Black Caps’ stocks have been somewhat depleted by injuries.
As already signposted by New Zealand Cricket, Will O’Rourke (back), Finn Allen (foot) and Glenn Phillips (groin) have been ruled out. They’re joined by the fast bowling duo of Lockie Ferguson (hamstring) and Adam Milne (ankle).
And yet, in spite of those absences, Walter has been able to name a squad of players all capped at international level.
The batting group will be led by all-format players Devon Conway, Daryl Mitchell and Rachin Ravindra, alongside white-ball specialists Mark Chapman and Tim Seifert.
Former captain Kane Williamson has also made himself unavailable for the series, despite committing to the Black Caps with a casual playing agreement, in order to be available for next year’s T20 World Cup in India in Sri Lanka.
Conway and Seifert have signed similar agreements with New Zealand Cricket and will be available for the Black Caps throughout the summer – provided that does not clash with T20 franchise commitments.
Seifert is signed on to play for the Melbourne Renegades in Australia’s Big Bash League, while Conway will turn out for Durban’s Super Giants in South Africa’s SA20.
And while both are injured for this series, Allen and Ferguson will also play in Australia, after remaining with the Perth Scorchers and Sydney Thunder respectively.
Fresh from a career-best 75 not out against South Africa in Zimbabwe, Tim Robinson also remains with the squad, as does Bevon Jacobs, who made his international debut on the same tour.
In the bowling ranks, Kyle Jamieson returns after missing the Zimbabwe tour for the birth of his first child, while Ben Sears is the lone express bowler, after recovering from a side injury.
Matt Henry, Jacob Duffy and Zak Foulkes make up the rest of the fast-bowling contingent, while Ish Sodhi is the lone specialist spinner in Santner’s absence.
The series also begins New Zealand’s run to the T20 World Cup, starting in February. For Walter, who coached South Africa to the final of the 2024 iteration in the Caribbean and the USA, this series gives the chance to set the foundation for players pushing for spots in India and Sri Lanka.
“It’s a highly skilled group of players. There are some exciting ones not in this squad as well,” Walter explained.
“As a collective unit, there’s some really cool attributes to this squad. We can advance our game, there’s no doubt about that.
“The game is pushing everyone to grow, we’ll certainly be on that journey as well. But if you look at general key attributes to play T20, most bases are covered. There are quality players in all departments.
“I’m looking forward to the series, it’ll be a tough one against an Aussie side that play good, aggressive T20 cricket. It’ll be a good test for us.”
Black Caps squad: Michael Bracewell (c), Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy, Zak Foulkes, Matt Henry, Bevon Jacobs, Kyle Jamieson, Daryl Mitchell, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Robinson, Ben Sears, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi
Alex Powell is a sports journalist for the NZ Herald. He has been a sports journalist since 2016.