The Black Caps’ hopes of bouncing back from their emphatic defeat in the ODI opener against India have been dealt a blow, with batter Devon Conway ruled out of the rest of the series.
Conway suffered a concussion after what captain Mitchell Santner described as a “nasty collision” with teammate Matt Henry while attempting to take a catch during fielding practice ahead of the match at Eden Park on Wednesday. The incident resulted in both players being scratched from the playing XI.
NZ Cricket has since confirmed Conway’s is severe enough to sideline him for the remainder of the five-match series.
Already slated to play matches four and five, Nick Kelly has been called in early as Conway’s replacement, starting with Saturday’s second match in Wellington.
After their struggles to generate runs against India’s bowling attack in Auckland, the absence of Conway’s explosive stroke play will be keenly felt atop an order which is already without the precocious talents of Rachin Ravindra, himself a victim of a freakish accident.
During November’s home series against the West Indies – his most recent ODI tilt – he starred with a batting average of 50.00 in the three-game series sweep.
“He's been massive for us,” said Black Caps bowler Blair Tickner of the “bruised and battered” Conway.
“Obviously, a crazy event at training but we bring Nick Kelly, who’s another great player. So, it just gives opportunity to others to stand up like we have throughout.
“There's been a few injuries around the last couple of years, but seems every time we had another player coming, they do well.”
In more positive injury news, the Black Caps are set to welcome back – with the most open of arms – their primary strike bowler Henry.
Having dodged a bullet in his training ground incident and passing head injury protocols, the paceman extraordinaire will instantly elevate a bowling attack desperate to tame India’s rampant batting line-up.
“He’s a world-class bowler, right? Him being around the group in any format is amazing, even if he's not playing every game,” Tickner added.
“He has those great experiences as a cricketer. He's been everywhere, so it definitely helps us as bowlers.”
Sent into bat first, the hosts started positively at Eden Park, until Tim Seifert’s dismissal sparked a precipitous collapse, bundled out for just 185 in the 40th over, with the rain-adjusted total of 143 duly mowed down by the tourists.
“We moved on pretty fast. Obviously, we know that we didn't get enough runs, and with the ball we can be even better.
“We saw last time it was pretty good wicket here [in Wellington], so we’re hoping to put some runs on the board and put them under pressure with a ball.”
It might have been significantly uglier had it not been for the Tickner’s valuable late cameo. The No. 11 slammed 34 runs off 23 balls, including a quarter of sixes.
But the humble Hawke’s Bay native admitted he wouldn’t be clamouring to adjust his classification from bowler to allrounder anytime soon.
“I think I had one hit before that training session, so one hit in about two weeks. Then I went out there.
“It was good fun actually. So, you can't complain.”
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