Former SA U19 captain Chad Bowes will make his ODI debut for New Zealand against Sri Lanka when the three-match series starts on Saturday.
Bowes is set to open the batting for the Black Caps at Auckland’s Eden Park more than a decade after skippering South Africa’s juniors at the 2012 U19 World Cup before moving to New Zealand.
Bowes was born in Benoni, Gauteng, and attended Kearsney College in KZN. The 30-year-old plays his domestic cricket for Canterbury.
All-rounder Rachin Ravindra, who has already played three Tests and six T20Is for New Zealand, will also make his ODI debut on Saturday.
“Both guys have earned their spots through performances in the domestic white-ball arena, so we’re really excited about the opportunity,” said New Zealand captain Tom Latham.
After whitewashing Sri Lanka 2-0 in the Tests, New Zealand have released several stars including Kane Williamson, Tim Southee and Devon Conway to their IPL teams.
The sides are looking to break their ODI losing streaks – New Zealand and Sri Lanka both lost all three ODIs on separate tours of India in January.
Sri Lanka head into the New Zealand series needing to win all three matches to claim a direct spot at the ODI World Cup in India later this year. New Zealand have already qualified.
Sri Lanka have included experienced former Test captain Angelo Mathews in their white-ball squad.
Captain Dasun Shanaka is confident that Sri Lanka can win in Auckland, Christchurch and Hamilton over the next week to avoid having to play in an ODI World Cup qualifying tournament.
“It’s possible. It depends on the day. New Zealand is a good side and we aren’t taking anything for granted. We need to do the hard work to win the series,” the all-rounder added.
© Agence France-Presse
