Latest news with #MitchSantner
RNZ News
6 days ago
- Sport
- RNZ News
Cricket: Bevon Jacobs' IPL lessons prepare him for next step
Black Cap Bevon Jacobs is waiting to make his international debut. Photo: Alan Lee / Auckland batter Bevon Jacobs has big ambitions but this year he has been on periphery watching, learning and biding his time before he gets the breakthrough to take the next step in his cricket career. Jacobs has been close to making his international debut and close to playing in the Indian Premier League (IPL) but he has yet to get on the park for the Black Caps or the Mumbai Indians. He was a surprise pick up in the IPL in November as the lowest priced New Zealander in the auction and the only one not have played for the Black Caps yet. The following month he also caught the attention of the national selectors and was called into the New Zealand side for a T20 series against Sri Lanka. Jacobs did not get game time in his first stint with the Black Caps but is hopeful that will change next month during a T20 Tri-Series in Zimbabwe under new coach Rob Walter. Included in a touring squad for the first time, Jacobs sees this as the first step towards the goal of being selected for next year's T20 World Cup. The 23-year-old believes his experience in the IPL, despite not playing a game, was valuable. He trained alongside Indian captain Rohit Sharma, faced fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah in the nets, travelled around with Black Caps captain Mitch Santner and former Black Cap Trent Boult and watched big-hitting English wicketkeeper-batter Jonny Bairstow in action. He said it was "pinch me moments" mixed with recognition of what being alongside that calibre of player and their "crazy amount of knowledge" could do for his own game. "I got three months there to learn new facets of my game and I definitely think I've made those learnings and improvements. Obviously, implementing it into my game is going to be a longer work in progress but taking away from the technical stuff there is also a lot of mental mental learnings that I've got from it as well, which I know will change me, just for the time being so hopefully I can bring what I've learned from there into into the series." Jacobs is unsure what it will take to make a Black Caps playing 11. "If I had the exact answer I'd give it to you, but for me, at this stage, it's just about doing the 1 percenters right, doing what I can, and putting my best foot forward, and if that leads to me getting selection, and if Rob thinks I'm ready, then I'm happy to go about it." Jacobs is versatile, which could be in his favour. "I've had almost two different sort of roles, starting off in that finisher role that's where Mumbai picked up a point of difference for me, which I find really cool. "And then obviously, when I came to Auckland, a little bit more moving up into the middle order. Either way, I think for me, maybe that skill set, what's seen at the moment is trying to finish off an innings I'm just going to try and get better at that, step by step and hopefully that's what gets me into the side." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Int'l Cricket Council
6 days ago
- Sport
- Int'l Cricket Council
Key players return as New Zealand name squad for tri-series
Walter is hoping to use the tri-series to help find combinations that can be successful during the 2026 T20 World Cup. 'With the T20 World Cup around the corner, all of our upcoming series are critically important to our build up," he added. 'This series gives us the opportunity to test the breadth of our squad, explore different players and potentially different combinations against some quality opposition.' New Zealand's first game in the tri-series is against South Africa in Harare on July 16. New Zealand 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
RNZ News
6 days ago
- Sport
- RNZ News
Cricket: Devon Conway replaced by Jacobs in Black Caps squad
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 / 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." 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.
Express Tribune
12-03-2025
- Sport
- Express Tribune
NZ name squad for Pak T20Is
Only six players from ICC Champions Trophy squad are retained for the five-match series against Pakistan. Photo: ICC New Zealand will be led by Michael Bracewell in their upcoming five-match T20I series against Pakistan, beginning in Christchurch on Sunday. A standout in New Zealand's run to the Champions Trophy Final, Bracewell is joined by six other players from the campaign for the upcoming home stand. He takes the reins temporarily from Mitch Santner, who misses the series due to domestic T20 commitments. Bracewell gets his first opportunity to lead his country on home soil having captained the side during a white-ball tour of Pakistan last year, and looks forward to the challenge of hosting Pakistan. "It's a great honour and a real privilege to captain your country," Bracewell said. "I really enjoyed leading the side in Pakistan last year and we've got many players from that squad included for this series as well, which is nice. "Mitch Santner's done a great job since taking over as white-ball captain and I'll really just be trying to build on his good work and create an enjoyable environment for the guys to perform in. "Pakistan are always a dangerous short-form side with lots of power and pace and we know they'll be hurting after an early exit in the Champions Trophy. "For the guys coming back from Dubai, there's obviously a level of disappointment, but also a lot of pride in the way we were able to perform and represent New Zealand. "We've loved all of the support we've received from afar and are certainly looking forward to getting back home and playing in front of our own fans and in front of full venues." Ish Sodhi returns to the group having missed the recent Sri Lanka home series, while Ben Sears comes back after tearing his hamstring which forced him out of the recent Champions Trophy campaign. Kyle Jamieson and Will O'Rourke are available for first three games of the series as the team manage the fast bowlers' workloads after the recent ICC event. Matt Henry, who finished as the leading wicket-taker at the tournament despite missing the final through injury, is named for matches four and five though will be subject to further fitness testing. Finn Allen, Jimmy Neesham and Tim Seifert have also been included in the squad. Selector Sam Wells says the side have one eye on next year's T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka early next year. "We're certainly starting to narrow our sights on the ICC T20 World Cup," Wells said. "We made it clear in our planning and communication with players that availability for that tournament and the build-up to it was required to be considered for this series against Pakistan. "Half of this squad is only returning from the Champions Trophy on Wednesday and so we're going to need to manage those players really carefully. "It's nice to be welcoming back the likes of Ish, Kyle and Ben after time away from our T20 set-up." Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Glenn Phillips, Bevon Jacobs and Rachin Ravindra are also unavailable due to their T20 playing commitments, with Kane Williamson also declaring himself unavailable. New Zealand squad: Michael Bracewell (c), Finn Allen, Mark Chapman, Jacob Duffy, Zak Foulkes (matches 4-5), Mitch Hay, Matt Henry (matches 4-5), Kyle Jamieson (matches 1-3), Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Will O'Rourke (matches 1-3), Tim Robinson, Ben Sears, Tim Seifert, and Ish Sodhi.
