WELLINGTON: Corey Anderson has been ruled out of the one-day series against Pakistan while legspinner Todd Astle is doubtful as injuries trouble New Zealand in the UAE.
Anderson is heading home with a heel problem which kept him out of the final T20I and Astle has picked up a knee “irritation” and is certainly out of the first ODI, with his participation in the rest of the series in doubt. Astle is also part of the Test squad for the three-match series.
Left-arm spinner Ajaz Patel, who made his T20I debut in Abu Dhabi, has been added to the one-day squad to cover for Astle. Batsman George Worker and fast bowler Lockie Ferguson have also been added to the group to fill the vacant spots left when the squad was originally selected.
“Todd’s made good progress over the past couple of days and with his involvement in both the ODI and Test squads; we’re keen to give him every chance to be right,” said New Zealand coach Gary Stead. “It does present another opportunity for Ajaz. He’s impressed us during the UAE tour so far and we have full confidence he can do a job for this team in the 50-over format.”
For Anderson there will be frustration that his return to the ODI set-up for the first time since the 2017 Champions Trophy has been aborted. He has endured a lengthy recovery from back problems and recently announced he would be focusing purely on white-ball cricket ahead of the World Cup. He had started to increase his bowling workloads during the New Zealand A series in the UAE last month but wasn’t used with the ball in the T20Is.
His next chance for an ODI return will now be the series against Sri Lanka which starts on January 3.
Trent Boult and Matt Henry also come into the squad for the one-day series having not been part of the T20Is meaning New Zealand have a strong selection of pace bowlers.
Worker, who made his ODI debut in 2015 but has only played seven matches, will be vying for the berth at the top of order created by Martin Guptill’s absence.
