Test opener Tom Latham will get a bonus knock against the West Indies pace attack this weekend after Martin Guptill and Colin Munro were late withdrawals from the New Zealand A squad.
Latham was summoned on Wednesday to captain NZA in the three-day cricket tour opener, starting at Lincoln near Christchurch on Saturday.
He and allrounder Jimmy Neesham were whistled up to replace Guptill, whose troublesome hamstring flared up at Auckland training, and Munro who is out due to illness.
It's a setback for the Black Caps ODI opening pair who were both keen to push their test claims in the middle order, but are expected back on the park before Christmas. Guptill, though, faces a race against time to be fit for the first ODI against West Indies in Whangarei on December 20, given his recent history of hamstring issues.
Latham was summoned on Wednesday to captain NZA in the three-day cricket tour opener, starting at Lincoln near Christchurch on Saturday.
He and allrounder Jimmy Neesham were whistled up to replace Guptill, whose troublesome hamstring flared up at Auckland training, and Munro who is out due to illness.
It's a setback for the Black Caps ODI opening pair who were both keen to push their test claims in the middle order, but are expected back on the park before Christmas. Guptill, though, faces a race against time to be fit for the first ODI against West Indies in Whangarei on December 20, given his recent history of hamstring issues.