Conway to miss third Test for birth of his first child

Devon Conway will miss New Zealand’s third and final Test against England this week ahead of the birth of his first child.

New Zealand coach Gary Stead said the team supported Conway’s decision.

“Family comes first in this environment and we’re all really excited for Dev and his wife Kim to welcome their first child,” Stead said.

“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.”

Conway’s absence will likely mean a start for Will Young, player of the series on last month’s historic tour of India, with 244 runs at 48.40, but a spectator for the last fortnight as England stormed to an unassailable 2-0 lead.

Young was the unfortunate collateral of Kane Williamson’s return from the hamstring injury that ruled him out of the India series. Williamson has picked up where he left off, with two half-centuries as the team’s leading runscorer with 195 at 48.75.

However, the rest of the line-up have been found wanting, particularly Conway. A five-ball duck on Sunday dropped the left-handers’ series average to 5.25.

Speaking after the defeat at the Basin Reserve, Black Caps skipper Tom Latham was coy on further changes for Friday’s match at Seddon Park. The squad will reconvene in Hamilton on Wednesday ahead of Friday’s match, with Latham keen to assess conditions at Seddon Park before deciding upon a different balance of XIs, having gone unchanged for the first two Tests.

Left-arm spinner Mitchell Santner could come into consideration given the flat nature of surfaces at the venue. Tim Southee, who will retire from Test cricket at the end of the series, should get his farewell at his home ground despite being the worst performing home seamer, with four wickets at 61.50.