Canterbury Wizard Hamish Bennett will join his team mates Shanan Stewart, Rob Nicol and Reece Young as a member of the New Zealand A squad to tour Australia and take on Emerging Players sides from India, South Africa and Australia.

New Zealand Cricket named a 14 man squad early in July, prior to a number of players heading to Brisbane for an intensive three week winter training camp, with one place reserved for a player who stood out during the camp.

Bennett, who has been based in Brisbane during the winter months, has made the most of the opportunities available to him spending a number of hours in the Centre of Excellence at Cricket Australia thanks to a contact of Wizards Head Coach Bob Carter. In return Bennett has been made use of as a net bowler for a number of Australian squads and Academy’s which has obviously paid off.

A member of the New Zealand Emerging Players side prior to the 2009/10 season, playing for New Zealand A is the next step in the ladder for Bennett achieving his ultimate goal of playing for the Black Caps. ‘This is a really great opportunity to gain some more international experience to help me develop my game and give me the best chance of playing for New Zealand’ said Bennett of his selection.

The tournament will be held during August and each side will play in four ODI’s and four Twenty20 matches.

The full New Zealand A Squad is:

Brent ARNEL
Michael BATES
Hamish BENNETT
Neil BROOM
Colin DEGRANDHOMME
Brendon DIAMANTI
Daniel FLYNN
Peter INGRAM
Tim MCINTOSH
Rob NICOL
Aaron REDMOND
Shanan STEWART
Neil WAGNER
Luke WOODCOCK
Reece YOUNG