A promising left-handed batsman, Henry Nicholls has been talked about highly among New Zealand's cricketing circles over the few years. A fluent strokemaker albeit with a sound technique, the southpaw's talent was unquestionable since the time he made his domestic debut. Although he has represented New Zealand in all three formats, it's a known fact that Nicholls enjoys white-ball cricket more than the longest form of the game. He has had some exposure in the BBL as well.

The 2014-15 domestic season was when Nicholls shone brightly in limited-overs, thereby staking a claim to the national A side and soon, the national team as well. Still early days in Nicholls' career but he has already shown glimpses of the potential that he possesses. Despite being slightly fidgety in Test cricket, he did conjure a century against South Africa at home in 2017. However, Nicholls' strength has been limited-overs cricket and he'll hope to cement his spot in the side as the selectors look to prepare the side for the 2019 World Cup in England.

World Cup 2019 - What to expect

2019 has been a fruitful year for Henry Nicholls as the batsman has averaged in excess of 40 in ODI cricket. The left handed batsman made his debut in 2015 but he notched up his maiden ODI ton against Sri Lanka in the second week of January, 2019. The 154-run partnership he shared with Ross Taylor against Lanka helped the Kiwis post a massive score of 364 as Nicholls scored 124 at a whopping strike rate of 155.

The batsman couldn't contribute much against India in the 5-match ODI series in the same month but got a couple of 50-plus scores against Bangladesh in the next series. With Latham in the side, Nicholls might have to bat either at number 5 or number 6 during the WC 19. If the left-hander manages to get a quickfire fifty in few games, it might prove to be enough with him having an impressive strike rate in ODIs.

by Hariprasad Sadanandan