The southpaw will stay back in Wellington to stay with his family, where New Zealand incurred an embarrassing drubbing by 323 runs in the second Test. Mark Chapman, who scored 276 in a recent Plunkett Shield encounter will replace the wicketkeeper-batter in the squad.
“Family comes first in this environment and we’re all really excited for Dev and his wife Kim to welcome their first child. Mark was with the Test squad in India recently and returned to the Plunket Shield by scoring an impressive 276 – so it’s a good time for him to be joining us,” Stead expressed.
However, it is likely that Will Young, who was adjudged the player of the series in the recently-concluded India series will open the batting to fill Conway’s void. Young has been filling the shoes of injured cricketers, especially Williamson in the last couple of years. He smashed 244 runs at an average of 48.40 against India.
The Black Caps have had a horrendous time in the middle following their historic 3-0 whitewash to India. They failed to win home encounters against England in the first two Tests. The only positive has been returning Williamson who picked up from where he left. The former skipper averages 48.75 with 195 runs under his name in the ongoing series.
The third Test, which is also Tim Southee’s farewell game at his home ground, will begin on December 14th.
