Mitchell Santner will captain the Black Caps test team. Photo: PHOTOSPORT
The Black Caps are confident they can fill the holes left by captain Tom Latham and all-rounder Glenn Phillips.
The pair are injured with Latham a late scratching from the first test against Zimbabwe, which starts on Wednesday night in Bulawayo.
Will Young will open the batting with Mitchell Santner taking over as captain.
Will Young plays a shot. Photo: RYAN LIM
Santner said while losing Latham and Phillips was a blow, the team wouldn't have any problems adjusting.
"Obviously they're two massive parts of our side. Glenn, that kind of all-round role and Tom, opening the batting and doing such a good job for such a long time. But we've got guys who can come in and and do their job, which is nice," said Santner, who will become the Black Caps 32nd test skipper.
"It's a new feeling. Unfortunate for Tom. He's done such a great job for the test team in the last few years. Obviously it's a great honour to be captain.
"It's still his (Latham's) team and his opinions mean a lot. For me, it's keeping things pretty simple. We've been playing a lot of good cricket recently and want to try to roll that through into these next two weeks."
Latham hopes to be fit for the second and final test against Zimbabwe starting on 7 August.
The Black Caps are in a confident mood following their Tri-Series T20 win over South Africa and Zimbabwe in which they went through the tournament unbeaten.
Coach Rob Walter believes losing Latham won't be a major disruption.
"I thought Mitch did an outstanding job in the T20 series. He's a natural leader, very low key, but certainly has the respect of the players. Strategically, I thought he was excellent. I'm looking forward to seeing how he goes as a stand-in skipper for this test match," Walter said.
Mitch Santner (R) and Rachin Ravindra. Photo: www.photosport.nz
With Latham out and Young opening, the Black Caps batting lineup has been reshuffled, with Henry Nicholls coming into the playing XI.
"We've settled on an eleven. Will Young will open the batting in Tom's absence with Devon Conway.
"Michael Bracewell is in the 11 as well, so he and Mitch (Santner) will be our two spin options. Rachin (Ravindra) is on this path to convincing me he is a genuine allrounder. So I'm hoping that he'll get some overs."
Walter isn't expecting the Bulawayo pitch to produce any significant turn, but he said they needed to be prepared for any eventuality.
"We're fortunate in many ways that our allrounders are spinners. So it just provides a different balance opportunity. The pitch is dry and and the conditions for the week look to be sunny and there's a bit of sort of a, a breeze that blows every day," Walter said.
"So the pitch could dry out. It doesn't tend to turn a hell of a lot. If it does, it's sort of slowish turn, but we've tried to make sure that we can have both bases covered from seam and spin point of view."
The first test between the Black Caps and Zimbabwe in Bulawayo starts at 8pm NZT on Thursday.
