Fast bowler Blair Tickner has been withdrawn from New Zealand’s T20I squad for the upcoming three-match series against UAE. Tickner, 29, was due to join the squad in Dubai on Monday, but will instead stay at home in Hawke’s Bay to be with his wife and new-born daughter.
Tickner will be replaced in the squad by Jacob Duffy, who last played for New Zealand during the tour of India in January.
“We’re a family environment and after speaking with Blair we fully support him being at home,” New Zealand’s head coach Gary Stead said. “The birth of a child is a special time and we’re glad to be able to support Blair in being at home.
“Jacob’s been part of many Blackcaps squads in the past and has always acquitted himself well at international level. He’s got good skills and experience and we look forward to welcoming him into our squad in Dubai.”
New Zealand are travelling to the UAE with a somewhat second-string squad, which is without regulars Finn Allen, Devon Conway, Matt Henry, Adam Milne, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips and Ish Sodhi. Those players, however, will return when New Zealand move to England for a four-match T20I and ODI series (August 30 to September 15) that immediately follows the UAE tour.
The captain Kane Williamson is currently on the road to recovery, having undergone surgery for a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament [ACL] in his right knee in April. He is hoping to make the ODI World Cup, which starts on October 5 with a re-match of the 2019 final but admitted that is a “tough goal.”
Trent Boult, on the other hand, is all set to play his first international game in nearly a year. He opted out of a New Zealand central contract in August 2022 to pursue opportunities on the T20 circuit but the door was never closed. The Black Caps picked him to play the T20 World Cup in October later that year and appear likely to do it for the ODI World Cup as well. Boult will return to the squad for the England tour.
New Zealand will play the first of three matches against UAE on August 17, at the Dubai International Stadium.
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