New Zealand have recalled Henry Nicholls to replace Kane Williamson at No.3 for their second Test against England at The Oval this week.
Nicholls last played a Test match in August 2025, scoring 150* against Zimbabwe. He played in the two-Test series as a replacement for Williamson, who missed the tour to play in The Hundred.
Nicholls has played 58 Tests since his debut in 2016, but has only played the two Zimbabwe Tests since 2023, when he was dropped four innings after scoring an unbeaten double-hundred against Sri Lanka. That double-hundred was the only score of more than 40 Nicholls had made in his eight previous Test appearances.
Having played the vast majority of his Test career at No.5, Nicholls will make the move up to No.3 this week to fill in for Williamson after the former captain's abrupt mid-series retirement. New Zealand called up Will Young as batting cover following Williamson's announcement, but he only arrived in the UK earlier this week.
Nicholls recall follows strong domestic returns
Nicholls' form in New Zealand domestic cricket sets a strong backdrop for his recall. He was the leading run-scorer in the 2025/26 Plunket Shield, scoring 870 runs at an average of 96.66, batting between No.3 and No.4.
"He's someone that has a lot of international experience," New Zealand captain Tom Latham said. "He's been out of the squad for a couple of years now, but has certainly forced his way back into the squad through weight of runs at domestic level. It's a really exciting opportunity for him to come back into the side in a role at No. 3 that he's been doing for Canterbury back home."
Despite his drop in form in 2022 and 2023, Nicholls has a Test average just under 40, and has scored 10 Test hundreds. He was part of the side that won the World Test Championship final in Southampton in 2021, and also has 97 white-ball international caps to his name.
The second Test of the series between England and New Zealand will begin on Wednesday (June 17) at The Oval.
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