Daijiworld Media Network - Nottingham
Nottingham, Jun 25: New Zealand suffered a major setback ahead of the third Test against England at Trent Bridge after pacer Matt Henry and all-rounder Glenn Phillips were ruled out due to injuries. The two teams are currently level at 1-1 in the series.
Henry, 34, has been sidelined with a calf injury, while Phillips, 29, will miss the match due to a side strain. Both players sustained injuries during New Zealand’s second Test victory over England at The Oval in London.
The duo played a key role in New Zealand’s 253-run win in the second Test, helping the visitors level the series.
Henry was the standout performer, taking 11 wickets in the match and earning the Player of the Match award. Phillips also made a significant contribution, scoring a quick 100 off 135 balls in New Zealand’s first innings as the team posted 391 runs.
For the third Test, New Zealand made three changes to the playing XI, bringing in Mitch Santner, Ben Sears and Blair Tickner. Kyle Jamieson was rested by the team management, captain Tom Latham confirmed during the toss.
Speaking about Phillips’ absence, Latham said Santner’s experience would be valuable for the side.
“We’ve got a reasonably experienced campaigner coming back in, Mitch, who has played a decent amount of Test cricket and throughout his career. Hopefully, he can make use of the surface at the back end of the game,” Latham said.
On Henry’s absence, Latham said the pacer’s experience, skills and workload would be missed.
“He brings a lot of experience, but also his skill and workload that he brings to our side. He’s a leader among the group, and unfortunately we’ll be missing him this week, but fingers crossed he can get himself right,” he said.
Playing XIs:
New Zealand: Tom Latham (c), Devon Conway, Henry Nicholls, Rachin Ravindra, Daryl Mitchell, Tom Blundell (w), Mitchell Santner, Nathan Smith, Blair Tickner, Ben Sears, William ORourke.
England: Ben Duckett, Emilio Gay, Jacob Bethell, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Jamie Smith (w), Ben Stokes (c), Gus Atkinson, Jofra Archer, Josh Tongue, Shoaib Bashir.