According to a press release by New Zealand Cricket, the Blackcaps have announced their squad for the forthcoming KFC T20 Series against Australia. The five match series will start from next monday, February 22 at the Hagley Oval. Blackcaps veteran Martin Guptill will undergo a fitness test ahead of the series. He had previously missed the final two games for the Auckland Aces in the recently concluded Dream11 Super Smash season due a hamstring injury. He will however assemble with the squad in Christchurch on Friday in order to prove his fitness for the series. Waiting in the wings will be Wellington Firebirds star Finn Allen, who has been bracketed in the 13-man squad as a replacement for Guptill, if he is not fit. Although Allen won’t be assembling with the team, selector Gavin Larsen said the 21-year-old’s stunning performance of 512 runs at a strike rate of 193 had not gone unnoticed. “Finn’s been in outstanding form and he’s certainly an exciting talent,” Larsen said. The rest of the Blackcaps squad will look familiar with batsmen Devon Conway, Glenn Phillips and Mark Chapman entrusted with the responsibility to continue in the middle order after strong starts to the international season. Trent Boult, Tim Southee, Kyle Jamieson and Hamish Bennett will constitute the pace-bowling attack along with spinners Mitchell Santner and Ish Sodhi while Jimmy Neesham has overcome his finger injury to be listed as the all-rounder. BLACKCAPS T20 SQUAD: Kane Williamson (c) Hamish Bennet; Trent Boult; Mark Chapman ; Devon Conway; Martin Guptill (pending fitness test) Kyle Jamieson ;Jimmy Neesham; Glenn Phillips; Mitchell Santner, Tim Seifert (wk), Ish Sodhi, Tim Southee, Finn Allen (on stand-by for Guptill) Series Schedule: KFC T20 Series, BLACKCAPS v Australia, Feb 22 – March 7 1st KFC T20: 7pm, February 22, Hagley Oval, Christchurch 2nd KFC T20: 2pm, February 25, University of Otago Oval, Dunedin 3rd KFC T20: 7pm, March 3, Sky Stadium, Wellington 4th KFC T20: 7pm, March 5, Eden Park, Auckland 5th KFC T20: 7pm, March 7, Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui
