Cricket: Black Caps set to discuss possibly kneeling with West Indies prior to opening Twenty20

The Black Caps are set to have discussions with the West Indies as to whether they will take a knee prior to their opening international Twenty20 at Eden Park.

The New Zealand international cricket summer gets underway with the Caps' first match in over eight months on Friday.

The huge gap in between matches has been dominated by the Covid-19 pandemic, which halted virtually all sport worldwide. As well as that, the Black Lives Matter movement captivated the world and injected itself into sport, with several players, teams and leagues promoting the cause.

Black Lives Matter has largely dominated American sport, with the NBA and Major League Baseball in particular taking part in pre-game kneeling and making changes to apparel.

Black Caps coach Gary Stead says they will seek out the thoughts and feelings of the West Indies before the match.

"We're actually meeting with the West Indies team around that [Black Lives Matter]," he confirmed.

"It's part of our education and understanding of their thoughts.

"But we also have been with the New Zealand Human Rights Commission as well with 'Give Nothing to Racism', so we're pairing up with them in terms of our own message and making sure that we have our own stance on those things. What happens in terms of taking a knee will be discussed with West Indies.

"We're meeting with them to make sure that we understand how they feel about it and understand their point of view."

Black Caps coach Gary Stead says they will discuss with the West Indies the possibility of kneeling before their opening Twenty20 international. Photo / Photosport

It wasn't that long ago the movement found its way into rugby circles here, when Wallabies outside back Dane Haylett-Petty said it would be a "great show of support" to kneel prior to their second Bledisloe Cup test with the All Blacks.

Dave Rennie confirmed a day later they wouldn't be.

Meanwhile, the Black Caps have confirmed today they will be without allrounder Colin de Grandhomme and spinner Ajaz Patel for their opening test against the West Indies in Hamilton, which will follow on from the three match T20I series.

De Grandhomme has bone bruising at the top of his right foot which will keep him out of both tests, while Patel is still recovering from a left calf tear.

Patel could still suit-up for the second test, which will be in Wellington.

Daryl Mitchell and Mitchell Santner come into the squad as replacements.