Devon Conway has been ruled out of the first Test between New Zealand and Australia set to start in Wellington tomorrow, with the opening batsman having not fully recovered from a thumb injury suffered in the T20I series last week.
Conway sustained the injury while wicket-keeping in the second T20 at Eden Park last Friday night.
Additional scans in Wellington yesterday revealed damage to his left thumb. Another update will be provided later in the week to ascertain the extent of the injury and final diagnosis.
Black Caps coach Gary Stead said the team was feeling for Conway.
"It’s disappointing for Devon to be ruled out on the eve of an important match," he said.
“He’s a class player batting at the top of the order for us and I know he was really looking forward to this series.”
Canterbury batsman Henry Nicholls has been called into the squad as batting cover and has joined the team in Wellington today.
Nicholls has been in excellent form domestically this season having been dropped from the Black Caps following a poor showing on the tour of Bangladesh late last year.
In six innings in the Plunket Shield this summer, Nicholls has scored 393 runs at an average of 78.6, including two centuries.
In 56 Tests, Nicholls has scored 2973 runs at an average of 37.16, including nine centuries.
Stead welcomed Nicholls back into the squad.
“It’s nice to have a player of Henry’s calibre to call on.
“He has plenty of Test experience and covers a number of positions in our batting order.”
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