In yet another injury blow to New Zealand, fast bowler Matt Henry has suffered a broken left thumb on the opening day of the third and final Test against Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG) on Friday.
The 28-year-old received a blow to his thumb while attempting to take a return catch offered by Joe Burns in the first session of the ongoing Test. Subsequently, Henry was forced to walk off the field for treatment before he returned to the game and finished the day with 21 wicketless overs.
Despite the injury, Henry would continue to bowl for New Zealand in the SCG Test, but his availability will be known by the state of the match.
"An X-ray last night confirmed Matt Henry has broken his left thumb following a blow on day one. It has been strapped and placed in a splint. Henry will continue to bowl in the Test with his batting match dependent," the Black Caps official Twitter handle stated.
Notably, Henry was earlier called-up in the national squad at the expense of Tim Southee for the England series. And head coach Gary Stead now revealed that his extra pace was one of the reasons behind his selection.
"I guess the decision making around that, we just felt that we wanted a little more pace out there, what Matt Henry sort of offers over Tim. And being the workload that Tim has had not just in the last two Tests but if you put the last four together, it's somewhere around 200 overs in a short period of time, just felt that what Matt offered would have given us a point of difference," ESPNcricinfo quoted Henry as saying.
It has been an injury-hit tour for New Zealand as they had earlier lost pacers Lockie Ferguson and Trent Boult due to calf strain and hand injury, respectively.
