New Zealand bowler Duffy to make T20 World Cup bow

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Cricket - T20 Series - Scotland v New Zealand - The Grange Club, Edinburgh, Scotland, Britain - July 29, 2022 New Zealands Jacob Duffy in action REUTERS/Russell Cheyne

WELLINGTON, Jan 7 - New Zealand fast bowler Jacob Duffy is set to make his Twenty20 World Cup debut next month after being picked in the 15-member squad led by Mitchell Santner on Wednesday.

The 31-year-old, currently the second-ranked bowler in T20 internationals, was in red-hot form across formats in 2025 when he claimed a total 81 international wickets from 36 matches, breaking Richard Hadlee’s 40-year record of 79.

Lockie Ferguson, Matt Henry and Adam Milne are the pace bowlers alongside pace-bowling all-rounder Jimmy Neesham.

Both Ferguson and Henry may take brief paternity leave during the tournament, New Zealand Cricket (NZC) said in a statement. Kyle Jamieson will travel with the squad as the pace-bowling reserve.

Apart from Santner, New Zealand will have four other spin options in specialist Ish Sodhi and all-rounders Michael Bracewell, Glenn Phillips and Rachin Ravindra.

Finn Allen, Mark Chapman, Devon Conway, Daryl Mitchell and Tim Seifert are the specialist batters.

“I’m really happy with the skills and experience of this squad and I think we have a group which can make New Zealand proud, head coach Rob Walter said.

We’ve got plenty of power and skill in the batting, quality bowlers who can adapt to conditions, plus five all-rounders who all bring something slightly different.

This is an experienced group and the players are no strangers