New Zealand Lose 11,000 Runs And Close To 600 Wickets Before Start Of Sydney Test Vs Australia

Before the start of the Sydney Test, there was speculation that Kane Williamson would be in doubt for the game as he had skipped practice and training on Thursday. On Friday, the worst fears had come true for New Zealand. Tom Latham was appointed the captain as it emerged that Williamson was indeed ruled out of the Sydney New Year Test. Latham lost the toss and he announced a staggering five changes to the side. Before the match, New Zealand had lost Trent Boult after he sustained a fractured arm due to a blow from a Mitchell Starc bouncer in Melbourne. Now, with the absence of Boult and Williamson's absence, Latham announced that Tim Southee was not playing and Henry Nicholls was also rested due to flu. Mitchell Santner was dropped after two poor Tests in Perth and Melbourne.

In their places, New Zealand included Jeet Raval, handed a debut to Glenn Phillips, picked Matt Henry in place of Southee and included the spin duo of Todd Astle and William Sommerville. This was the first time in more than a decade that Williamson, Southee and Boult were not part of the New Zealand team for a Test.

However, the absence of Williamson, Southee, Boult, Nicholls and Santner represented a loss of over 11000 runs and close to 600 wickets for New Zealand even before a ball was bowled in Sydney. Williamson has 6379 runs at an average of 51 while Nicholls has 1711 runs. Southee also has 1662 runs while Santner and Boult have also made valuable contributions. However, the loss of both Boult and Southee, considered the best new ball pair in the world resulted in the elimination of 526 wickets. Combined with the bowling of all the other absent players, the number is 594.

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The omission of Southee, in particular, is surprising. In the Perth Test, he ended with nine wickets and was comfortably the best bowler on show. Former New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum, speaking to SEN Radio, was surprised at Southee's omission. "They've made the decision, it can't be because of workload as they have two weeks off after this anyway, so it's an interesting decision," McCullum said. After this Test series, New Zealand play India for five T20Is, three ODIs and two Tests that will go on till March. After the end of that tour, New Zealand will play three ODIs in Australia while the Australians will go to New Zealand for three Twenty20 Internationals.

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