Joe Denly ruled out of England's T20 clash against New Zealand

England's Joe Denly has been ruled out of the side's upcoming T20 clash against New Zealand after he picked up an ankle injury in Christchurch during training. Joe Denly has played just ten T20I and has scored 92 runs for England in the shortest format of the game. Reports suggest that with Joe Denly's injury, one of the Somerset debutants Tom Banton or Lewis Gregory might get their first international cap, replacing the injured Joe Denly. England will face New Zealand in a five-match T20 series commencing from November 1. 

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Tim Southee to lead Kiwis

Paceman Tim Southee will lead New Zealand in the five-match T20 series, with regular captain Kane Williamson sidelined by a hip injury. It begins an intense year of T20 World Cup preparation for the Black Caps, who are ranked six in the shortest form of the game, four places below England. They will play T20 series against England, Australia, India, the West Indies, Bangladesh and Ireland before the World Cup. England are also using the tournament as a launching pad for their T20 World Cup preparations, resting key players in the hope of building depth in their squad. Proven performers Jason Roy, Joe Root, Jos Buttler, Ben Stokes, and Moeen Ali have been rested after a draining spell that included the one-day World Cup and the Ashes Test series against Australia.

Instead, the likes of Tom Banton, Lewis Gregory, Pat Brown, Saqib Mahmood, and Matt Parkinson have been asked to step up and challenge for a place at next year's tournament. Bairstow will also have a point to prove after being left out of the squad for the two Tests against New Zealand that will follow the T20s. Selector Ed Smith has confirmed the England hierarchy will be watching Bairstow closely with a view to eventually returning him to the Test arena.

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Squads

New Zealand: Tim Southee (capt), Trent Boult (games 4 and 5), Colin de Grandhomme, Lockie Ferguson (games 1-3), Martin Guptill, Scott Kuggeleijn, Daryl Mitchell, Colin Munro, Jimmy Neesham, Mitchell Santner, Tim Seifert, Ish Sodhi, Ross Taylor, Blair Tickner.

England: Eoin Morgan (capt), Jonny Bairstow, Tom Banton, Sam Billings, Pat Brown, Sam Curran, Tom Curran, Joe Denly, Lewis Gregory, Chris Jordan, Saqib Mahmood, Dawid Malan, Matt Parkinson, Adil Rashid, James Vince. 

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