From the squad that toured Bangladesh, Muhammad Abbas, Adi Ashok, Josh Clarkson, Dane Cleaver, Will O’Rourke and Blair Tickner have been left out. Senior fast bowlers O’Rourke, Kyle Jamieson and Matt Henry have been rested following their heavy workloads during the England Test series, while Tickner is due to undergo surgery on his ankle.
Alongside Conway, fellow top-order batter Rachin Ravindra will miss tour after a pre-agreed arrangement with New Zealand Cricket (NZC) to appear in Major League Cricket.
Gavin Larsen, the head selector, suggested that New Zealand’s next three ODI series – this one against West Indies, and the home fixtures against India and Sri Lanka – would go a long way towards shaping the squad for the World Cup.
“We’ve got the 2027 World Cup, it’s starting to bear down on us,” Larsen told reporters. “It’s back end of 2027, but the real context is that we don’t have a plethora of ODI cricket between now and then. There will be a couple of mini-series that are leading into the World Cup, but they would be series where we would be probably fine-tuning and putting the icing on the cake with the World Cup squad.
“So there’s a heck of a lot to play for in these ODIs coming up in the Windies from a players’ perspective and also looking through a selection lens. So Rob [Walter, the head coach] and I will be watching closely and… I don’t think there’ll be any doubt that we’ll be exposing the majority of the players in the squad.
“So it’s already crystal-ball gazing. Rob, being South African, of course, can offer some really good intel in terms of how pitches might play, kick-off times, day-nighters versus day-games, opposition, etc. So we’re starting to have those conversations now around how we might look to balance in a perfect way the playing XI and how we might need to test combinations in the Windies and then through into the Indian series.”
Larsen added that Fisher was a bowler they have been keen to reintroduce to the set-up.
“Matt’s a guy that’s been on our radar now for a good couple of years at least,” he said. “Such is the life of a fast bowler, there’s not many that don’t experience injuries here and there or even a string of them, and Matt’s been no exception. I’m touching wood as I say this, it’s brilliant that he’s back and fully fit.
“I think the other bowler that I’d add into that mix would be [allrounder] Kristian Clarke, whose growth has been excellent as well. And again, it’s going to be a marvellous opportunity to have him exposed.”
Duffy, one of those returning for the West Indies tour, has put together an impressive ODI record and has his sights firmly set on the World Cup but was aware competition would be tight. “In my opinion, the ODI World Cup’s probably one of the more pinnacle events going around,” he said. “That’s the one I sort of grew up watching, 2015, 2019, all that kind of stuff. Those are sort of the highlights of my cricket-watching career.
“Obviously, we’re pushing for places in that squad. It’s about 18 months away now, so the build-up really starts now.”
The first three ODIs will be played in Providence, Guyana, on July 11, 13 and 16, and the fourth and fifth games at Kensington Oval in Barbados on July 19 and 21.
New Zealand squad for ODI series in the West Indies
Mitchell Santner (capt), Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Kristian Clarke, Jacob Duffy, Matthew Fisher, Dean Foxcroft, Mitchell Hay (wk), Nick Kelly, Tom Latham (wk), Jayden Lennox, Daryl Mitchell, Henry Nicholls, Ben Sears, Nathan Smith, Will Young.