Devon Conway, the New Zealand opener, will miss the third and final Test match of the series against England in Hamilton due to the birth of his first child. Conway, who hasn’t been in great form in the ongoing series, scoring just 21 runs in four innings, was coming off a fantastic tour of India but failed to replicate his heroics at home against England. The visitors have already taken a 2-0 unassailable lead in the three-match series.
“Family comes first in this environment and we’re all really excited for Dev and his wife Kim to welcome their first child,” said the Black Caps’ head coach Gary Stead while mentioning that the team supported Conway’s decision to be with his family. Conway’s wife Kim had suffered a miscarriage earlier in January this year and them about to welcome their first child is a heartening news for the couple.
Unfortunately, Conway will miss his teammate Tim Southee’s final Test in Hamilton as the Kiwis look to avoid a whitewash at home and end the current World Test Championship (WTC) cycle on a high. New Zealand Cricket (NZC) announced Mark Chapman as Conway’s replacement in the squad for the final Test.
“Mark was with the Test squad in India recently and returned to the Plunket Shield by scoring an impressive 276 – so it’s a good time for him to be joining us,” Stead added.
In place of Conway, right-handed batter Will Young is likely to get a look-in after being the unfortunate one to miss the last two Tests despite being the Player of the Series against India.
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New Zealand have been poor with both bat and ball in the series so far with England ruling the roost on good batting wickets and with a pace attack forcing the Kiwis to surrender. However, the home side will be keen to give Southee a winning farewell, who too has been out of touch with the ball. The series finale at Seddon Park kicks off on Saturday, December 14.
