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Xtra Time Web Desk: The New Zealand test squad on Sunday departed for London from Singapore for the tour to England and the ICC WTC Final against India that will follow. The first group of the test squad left Auckland on Saturday. The New Zealand contingent will go under strict quarantine for 10 days on reaching London. The players in the first group included Tom Latham, Collin de Grandhomme, Rachin Ravindra, Neil Wagner along with Head Coach Gary Stead. The BlackCaps uploaded a few pics on their official twitter handle.

Three players — Kane Williamson, Kyle Jamieson, and Mitchell Santner are currently in the Maldives as they headed thereafter the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2021 got indefinitely suspended. They will soon travel to London from the Maldives. Pacer Trent Boult will join the squad in UK before the first test. It is very likely all the four IPL bound cricketers will miss the first test at Lords.

Earlier this week, New Zealand Cricket (NZC) had announced that wicketkeeper-batsman BJ Watling will be retiring from international cricket after the tour of England. The 35-year-old has been a stalwart of the Test side since debuting in 2009 as an opening batsman, going on to establish himself as a world-class keeper-batsman and claiming numerous records in his 73 Tests to date.

Watling holds the New Zealand Test dismissals record with 249 catches (excluding 10 as a fielder) and eight stumpings -- the best numbers of any current Test keepers. Watling's batting statistics are equally eye-catching: with eight Test centuries to his name and New Zealand records for the fourth and fifth-highest partnerships: 362 with Brendon McCullum against India at the Basin Reserve in 2014, and 365* with current captain Kane Williamson against Sri Lanka at the same ground a year later.