NZ's Nathan Smith to debut in 1st Test vs England; Young makes way for Williamson, confirms Latham

Christchurch, Nov 27 New Zealand have confirmed seamer Nathan Smith will make his Test debut against England on Thursday, while the Player of the Series from their recent whitewash in India Will Young has been droppe

New Zealand captain Tim Latham also confirmed that former skipper Kane Williamson will return from his groin injury for the first Test, with Will Young, who scored 244 runs and was named Player of the Series during New Zealand's recent 3-0 series whitewash in India last month, making the way.

"He (Young) played fantastically well over in India and did a great job for us, but unfortunately it's nothing on what Youngy has done over the last period of time," Latham said on Wednesday.

"Having someone like Kane come back in boosts your side with the calibre of player he is. He (Young) is a great team man and he has certainly done nothing wrong. It was a tough decision to make, but when you are in those positions you have to make the tough calls and it means your team is in a good spot. Gutted for Youngy, but excited with Kane coming back in," said Latham.

The Kiwi captain also backed Smith to make a strong impression on debut. The bowling allrounder win his first Test cap in the Christchurch contest after he beat fellow pacer Jacob Duffy for the role as fourth seamer.

"He's (Nathan Smith) someone that can move the ball both ways in the air, and hit the wicket reasonably hard. He balances our bowling attack quite nicely with the other three guys. And he can bat a little bit - he's a bit of a bowling allrounder, which certainly helps the balance of our side," Latham told reporters.

Smith earned a Test debut on the back of some strong performances in domestic cricket in New Zealand in recent years and a steady start to his international career following two ODl appearances against Sri Lanka earlier this month. He took 33 wickets at an average of 17.18 during last year's Plunket Shield season and the 26-yer-old has a first-class batting average of 27.02.

"He's someone that has produced results over a period of time for Wellington - he's been domestic player of the year for a couple of seasons in a row. It's great to have someone like that that's earned his spot and certainly deserves to be in this XI. We're looking forward to getting in behind him tomorrow," he added.

New Zealand currently sit in fourth place on the World Test Championship standings and can earn a place in next year's one-off Test at Lord's with a 3-0 series whitewash over Ben Stokes' side.

Source: IANS