Robinson, Clarke, Hay among 11 international players in NZ 'A' red ball squad

Christchurch: New Zealand have announced an extended 19-man squad featuring 11 international players for three four-day matches against India A, starting Saturday at Bert Sutcliffe Oval at Lincoln University.

Rhys Mariu will captain rhe first two games while captaincy for the third match will be decided in due course.

The newest centrally contracted player Nick Kelly is in line to play game three, with fellow capped New Zealand internationals Adi Ashok, Kristian Clarke, Dean Foxcroft, Matt Fisher, Mitch Hay, Jayden Lennox, Ben Lister, Henry Nicholls, and Tim Robinson in line to feature.

The A series runs concurrently with the New Zealand vs India white-ball series and New Zealand’s domestic 50-over competition, meaning thirteen players will be assembled for each match and the remaining squad members will be involved in Ford Trophy.

NZ A will get the chance to face off against some of India’s best red-ball talents in likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal, KL Rahul, Rishabh Pant, and Washington Sundar who have been named in India’s squad for the Hero VIDA Test series against the Blackcaps starting November 19.

New Zealand Cricket Head of High Performance Development Pete Sanford said the matches present a great chance to continue to develop New Zealand’s stocks.

"We're really looking forward to hosting India A," said Sanford. "They've announced a very strong line up which poses a great opportunity for growth as players to test their strengths against international class.

"There's a huge buzz around having India on our shores and I know the squad are raring to get their domestic summer underway."

Match 1: Rhys Mariu (C), Matt Boyle, Max Chu, Kristian Clarke, Dean Foxcroft, Zak Gibson, Mitch Hay (WK), Curtis Heaphy, Simon Keene, Jayden Lennox, Jarrod McKay, Tim Robinson, Fraser Sheat

Match 2: Rhys Mariu (C), Matt Boyle, Kristian Clarke, Matt Fisher, Dean Foxcroft, Zak Gibson, Mitch Hay (WK), Curtis Heaphy, Simon Keene, Jayden Lennox, Jarrod McKay, Tim Robinson, Fraser Sheat

Match 3: Adi Ashok, Matt Boyle, Max Chu (WK), Dean Foxcroft, Curtis Heaphy, Simon Keene, Nick Kelly, Ben Lister, Rhys Mariu, Jarrod McKay, Cam Paul, Henry Nicholls, Fraser Sheat

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