24 Nov 2017

Watling won't keep against West Indies

12:58 pm on 24 November 2017

BJ Watling will not keep wickets for New Zealand in the first test against the West Indies next week.

BJ Watling

BJ Watling Photo: Photosport

Watling has been battling a hip injury and has not been behind the stumps during the past three Plunket Shield games for his provincial side Northern Districts.

National selector Gavin Larsen last week said Watling would have to keep in Northern Districts' game against Otago, starting on Friday, to be considered for the role in the series opener against the West Indies.

However, Watling is only playing as a batsman, meaning he will not take the gloves for New Zealand next week.

He remains in the Black Caps squad and could play the Basin Reserve test as a batsman, with Wellington's Tom Blundell his likely replacement.

Blundell is playing in the West Indies warm-up game against New Zealand A, which starts at Lincoln on Saturday.

Meanwhile, Scott Kuggeleign is the latest player ruled out of that game, the Northern Districts all-rounder unable to play because of illness.

Kuggeleign has been replaced in the squad by Wellington's Logan van Beek.

Martin Guptill, Adam Milne and Colin Munro were also ruled out of the game earlier this week by either injury or illness, with Tom Latham, Jimmy Neesham and Hamish Bennett all coming into the New Zealand A squad.