Five seamers for New Zealand in CT squad

Seamers Ben Sears, Nathan Smith and Will O’Rourke will play their first global tournament at the Champions Trophy (CT) in Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates next month after being named in the New Zealand squad yesterday.
Matt Henry will lead the New Zealand attack after the international retirements of stalwarts Trent Boult and Tim Southee with Lockie Ferguson making up a five-strong pace battery.
Sears returns from a knee injury that kept him out of action for much of last year, while O’Rourke and Smith impressed in the recent Test series against England and the short format series against Sri Lanka that followed.
Left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner will lead the 15-man squad after his appointment as his country’s white-ball captain last month.
Santner, Kane Williamson and Tom Blundell are the only survivors of the New Zealand squad for the last edition of the Champions Trophy in 2017.
“We’re currently blessed with a lot of quality players and that certainly made for some challenging selection discussions,” said coach Gary Stead. “We’ve gone with the squad that will offer us the best options to perform well in the expected conditions in Pakistan and the UAE.”
The Black Caps will play warm-up matches against Pakistan, South Africa and Afghanistan in Karachi and Lahore before the tournament gets underway on Feb. 19.
New Zealand squad: Mitchell Santner (captain), Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry, Tom Latham, Daryl Mitchell, Will O’Rourke, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Ben Sears, Nathan Smith, Kane Williamson, Will Young.
Najmul to lead Bangladesh in Champions Trophy
Najmul Hossain Shanto will captain Bangladesh in the Champions Trophy in Pakistan and Dubai next month, the cricket board said yesterday, with key players including Liton Das missing the cut. Former star all-rounder Shakib Al Hasan is also missing from the 15-man squad for the one-day international tournament.
The Champions Trophy takes place in Pakistan and Dubai from February 19 with Bangladesh placed in Group A alongside India, Pakistan and New Zealand.
Bangladesh are ninth in the ICC ODI rankings.
They play their opener against India in Dubai on February 20.
Bangladesh squad: Nazmul Hossain Shanto (capt), Soumya Sarkar, Tanzid Hasan, Towhid Hridoy, Mushfiqur Rahim, Mohammad Mahmudullah Riyad, Jaker Ali, Mehidy Hasan Miraz, Rishad Hossain, Taskin Ahmed, Mustafizur Rahman, Parvez Hossain Emon, Nasum Ahmed, Tanzim Hasan Sakib, Nahid Rana.