Matt Henry Out of Remaining T20Is Against India, Lockie Ferguson to Miss Third Match
New Zealand pacer Matt Henry will miss the remaining three T20Is against India, and Lockie Ferguson will sit out the third match, New Zealand Cricket confirmed on Sunday, October 25. Both bowlers were in action in the second T20I at Hagley Oval, which India won by four wickets.
Henry bowled only two overs in that game before leaving the field with a suspected tight calf, according to captain Mitchell Santner. New Zealand Cricket framed the decision as workload management. Henry will stay in Christchurch and join the ODI squad in Auckland on November 2, ahead of the five-match ODI series that starts on November 4. He had played in the first two T20Is of the series.
Ferguson was also off the field late in the second T20I and did not complete his full quota of overs. He will travel to Auckland on Sunday, skip the third T20I in Wellington on Tuesday, and rejoin the group for the last two matches, at Eden Park on October 30 and Seddon Park, Hamilton on November 1. Kyle Jamieson, who has not played in the series yet, is reported to be in line for the Wellington game.
The changes leave the hosts light on experience in the pace department at a tough moment. In the second T20I, New Zealand posted 180/5, with Glenn Phillips making 70 off 43 balls and Bevon Jacobs 58 off 46. India still chased it down with four wickets in hand, helped by an unbeaten 51 from Tilak Varma. India lead the series 2-0 after two four-wicket wins in Christchurch, and both games went down to the final stages.
New Zealand still have Jacob Duffy, Nathan Smith and Adam Milne available as pace options. With five ODIs and two Tests to follow on this tour, the team has chosen to rotate its fast bowlers across the series rather than risk them in a run of back-to-back matches. How the revised attack copes in Wellington, with the series on the line, will be the first real test of that plan.