Martin Guptill named in West Indies support staff for New Zealand T20Is

Former New Zealand opener Martin Guptill has been roped in by Cricket West Indies (CWI) to “provide specialist support” to its national men’s team for two T20Is of the five-match away series, scheduled to get underway on Wednesday.

The Auckland-born cricketer, who represented Blackcaps in 47 Tests, 198 ODIs and 122 T20Is during his glittering career, spanning from 2009 to 2022, will aid the touring side specifically for the first two games of the series, slated to be played at Eden Park on Wednesday and Thursday, respectively.

Guptill’s appointment by the CWI is aimed at acclimatising the two-time champions with the conditions at the venue.

“Martin Guptill joins the West Indies camp to provide specialist support to the visitors for the two KFC T20Is at Eden Park starting tomorrow,” New Zealand Cricket (NZC) wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

The announcement came the following day, the CWI announced a 15-member squad for the five-match away T20I series against New Zealand, the remaining matches of which, after the Auckland-leg, will be played in Nelson on November 9 and 10, before concluding in Dunedin on November 13.

Squads

West Indies: Shai Hope (c), Alick Athanaze, Ackeem Auguste, Roston Chase, Matthew Forde, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Amir Jangoo, Brandon King, Khary Pierre, Rovman Powell, Sherfane Rutherford, Jayden Seales, Romario Shepherd and Shamar Springer.

New Zealand: Mitchell Santner (c), Michael Bracewell, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Jacob Duffy, Zak Foulkes, Kyle Jamieson, Daryl Mitchell, Jimmy Neesham, Rachin Ravindra, Tim Robinson, Tim Seifert (wk), Nathan Smith and Ish Sodhi.