Blundell ruled out of second WI Test, Hay set to make debut

New Zealand have been dealt a further blow to their Test squad after wicketkeeper-bat Tom Blundell has been ruled out of the second Test against the West Indies due to a hamstring injury. Blundell suffered the injury while batting in the first Test in Christchurch, last week. As a result, Mitchell Hay is set to make his debut at the Basin Reserve on Wednesday (December 10).

This comes after the trio of Matt Henry, Nathan Smith and Mitchell Santner were ruled outof the remainder of the Test series due to calf, side and groin injuries respectively. New Zealand Cricket named all-rounder Kristian Clarke and fast bowler Michael Rae as their replacements.

New Zealand squad for second Test: Tom Latham (c), Michael Bracewell, Kristian Clarke, Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy, Zak Foulkes, Mitchell Hay, Daryl Mitchell, Glenn Phillips, Rachin Ravindra, Michael Rae, Blair Tickner, Kane Williamson, Will Young

Hay, 25, has made 19 international appearances for New Zealand across the two white-ball formats (12 T20Is, 7 ODIs). In the 29 matches he has played for Canterbury in First-Class cricket, he has scored 1895 runs at a promising average of 48.58, with 17 fifties and a hundred which was his top-score of 146.

Meanwhile, Kyle Jamieson is continuing his red-ball-return-to-play-plan working closely with the backroom staff of New Zealand, having recently featured in the Plunket Shield game for Canterbury against Central Stags. Glenn Phillips, who recovered from a groin strain, played the first two fixtures of the competition for Otago scoring 130 runs and taking nine wickets. Phillips is part of the 14-man squad for the second Test.

Speaking on Mitchell Hay and the new bowlers, head coach Rob Walter said, "Mitch is a young cricketer who's already contributed well to the white-ball side. He also has an excellent record at First-Class level with Canterbury. Having him come into a Test squad is a great moment in his career and we're really excited to see him play his part.

The 24-year-old Clarke has picked up 79 wickets for Northern Districts in 28 matches while Rae (30) has 208 wickets in 70 matches across his First-Class career. "Kristian and Michael are both identified players of interest with great ability, and have both been good performers for their domestic sides over the past few years. "They both have good skill with the red-ball, and there's a great opportunity for them to show that skill for us at the highest level of the game."