Ajaz Patel's impressive performance against England at Edgbaston earned him a spin-bowling position ahead of Mitchell Santner in New Zealand's last 15-player squad for the World Test Championship final.
Daryl Mitchell, who also played in the second Test, is another to miss the cut along with the trio of Doug Bracewell, Jacob Duffy & Rachin Ravindra, who did not feature against England. Tom Blundell has been included to provide cover for BJ Watling, who missed Edgbaston with a back injury, although New Zealand coach Gary Stead said he & captain Kane Williamson both trained on Monday after Were on the way to be available to face India.
"It was all very tough," Stead said on trimming the final squad. "When you go through them you are looking at all the different positions & it was really about covering for all the scenarios that we think we might face.
"You take someone like Daryl Mitchell who has done very well in all his opportunities & Mitchell Santner who has been a long time servant of the team, is some of the guys who stand out as the toughest guys."
Barring any injury fears ahead of Friday's final, the final decision for New Zealand will be around the balance of their attack, which could see Kyle Jamieson batting at No 7 if they opt for all-rounder Colin de Grandhomme. Five go with the specialist bowlers, who were rested at Edgbaston.
"I have a lot of faith in Kyle," Stead said. "He has not batted [at No. 7] at Test level yet, but he's developing well. Over time we see whether Kyle can hopefully finish or definitely get up to that level. We can push our boundaries for this because that would then allow us to look at the team a little differently in terms of group dynamics.
"There's always a conundrum that you go with what you feel is a bit heavy batting or bowling heavy. It's the advantage of being an all-rounder that you can balance the group a little more & that's our goal. That's what we do when we select our teams."
In New Zealand's eight-wicket win, Patel took 4 for 59 in 23 overs to overtake Santner in the spin order. Santner took a wicket in his 23 overs at Lord's, & scored a duck, though bowled without luck & struggled with a cut spinning. With the surface in England offering more to spinners than they often do back home, Stead wanted to have the most aggressive option available.
He said, 'Ejaz bowled well. "Thought he played the role we wanted him to do in both the innings & took some important wickets. It's worth noting that the conditions we are facing in England are a little different from a spin point of view that we have got to play. We meet in New Zealand & I think the wickets here also deteriorate a little faster.
"The role of a spinner is probably a bit more than an attacker which is a lot of times in New Zealand. We felt that we should have our best spinner in terms of the guy who can take wickets for us & that's the nod to Ijaz Why did you get
"Sometimes it's a tough message to send. Often those guys have not done anything wrong & it's around the balance we want in the team but Mitch [Santner] took it the way I expected. He knows he's a key component of our white-ball teams & of course there's a lot of white-ball cricket coming out that he can even go home and prepare."
Stead said the final decision on the side's balance may not have been as simple as that of Patel vs de Grandhomme and will probably be made a day before the final when he will assess the pitch & keep an eye on the weather forecast that suggests rain. is. will be a factor.
"There's a lot of different scenarios that can depend on what [the pitch] looks like, what the weather is like and they can both still play out."
However, it would be a surprise to see none of Jamieson, Tim Southee, Trent Boult and Neil Wagner make the playing XI which means Matt Henry, who was the player of the match at Edgbaston, is set to be on the bench.
"I think in many other teams Matt Henry would have played a lot more cricket, but it's also the strength that we have & it's great that when he got the chance he did what he did," Stead said.
New Zealand WTC Final squad Tom Latham, Devon Conway, Kane Williamson, Ross Taylor, Henry Nicholls, Will Young, BJ Watling, Tom Blundell, Colin de Grandhomme, Kyle Jamieson, Tim Southee, Neil Wagner, Ajaz Patel, Trent Boult, Matt henry