Auckland Aces player Bevon Jacobs could make his Black Caps debut in Zimbabwe. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
New Black Caps coach Rob Walter has recalled a promising Auckland batter and a pace man who has not played for the Black Caps since late last year for his first assignment in charge.
Auckland Aces batter Bevon Jacobs is in line to make his Black Caps debut after being included in a 15-strong squad for next month's T20I Tri Series with South Africa and Zimbabwe.
The major omission from the side is Devon Conway, who has struggled for runs in recent years for New Zealand.
The series will be New Zealand's first-white ball tour of Zimbabwe since 2015.
The Black Caps will play the hosts and South Africa in a four-match T20 series at the Harare Sports Club starting 16 July, with the top two teams progressing to the final on 26 July.
Jacobs, 23, is the only uncapped player in an experienced tour party captained by Mitch Santner and featuring the return of speedster Adam Milne.
Jacobs was first called up to the T20 side to face Sri Lanka in December, but did not play in the three-game series and has recently returned from a stint with the Mumbai Indians at the Indian Premier League (IPL).
Milne, who has 53 T20Is to his name, has not featured for the Black Caps since November last year, but has impressed for the Texas Super Kings so far in America's Major League Cricket, claiming 9-96 across his first four matches.
Milne will bolster the pace bowling stocks alongside the ICC's number one ranked T20I bowler Jacob Duffy, and the Canterbury trio of Matt Henry, Will O'Rourke and Zak Foulkes.
Henry is back after a shoulder injury kept him sidelined from international cricket following the ICC Champions Trophy, where he was the tournament's leading wicket-taker, helping propel the Black Caps to the final.
Pace bowlers unavailable for selection for this tour were Ben Sears (side injury), Lockie Ferguson (load management) and Kyle Jamieson - who is awaiting the birth of his first child.
Jacobs will be joined in the batting department by hard-hitting openers Finn Allen and Tim Seifert, who impressed in the home T20I series against Pakistan in March.
Finn Allen is back for Black Caps after record knock. Photo: Michael Thomas / www.photosport.nz
Allen is fresh off a T20 world-record knock for the San Francisco Unicorns (MLC), where he racked up the most amount of sixes (19) in a T20 innings, taking him to a career-best 151 (off 51 balls).
Seifert was the Black Caps' top-run scorer during the home series against Pakistan, amassing 249 runs at 62, including a career-best unbeaten 97 off 38 balls.
Seifert will take the gloves for the series with Allen as the backup wicketkeeper, meaning there's no room for Devon Conway or Mitch Hay in the 15-player squad.
Ish Sodhi, New Zealand's second-highest T20I wicket-taker, will join Santner as the other specialist spinner in the squad.
Kane Williamson wasn't included after making himself unavailable for selection.
Walter is joined by batting coach Luke Ronchi, bowling coach Jake Oram and James Foster, who re-joins the group as a fourth coach.
"I think we've got a really strong squad for this tour and I'm looking forward to getting the team together and getting into the work," Walter said.
"We've got some good experience in the side and it's nice to be able to welcome back a few of the players who missed the March series against Pakistan because of the IPL."
Walter said the series played an important role in the lead up to next year's T20 World Cup.
"This series gives us the opportunity to test the breadth of our squad, explore different players and potentially different combinations against some quality opposition."
Black Caps T20 Tri-Series squad
Mitch Santner (c), Finn Allen, Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Jacob Duffy, Zak Foulkes, Matt Henry, Bevon Jacobs, Adam Milne, Daryl Mitchell, Will O'Rourke, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
