New Zealand’s pace bowling duo Adam Milne and Mitchell McClenaghan are on top of the list for the Champions Trophy. However, their long stint on the sidelines due to injury might hamper their chances.
Adam Milne, 24, has not played since appearing once at the IPL last year due to elbow, side and back injuries while Mitchell McClenaghan, the left-armer, has recently been out with an ankle problem, following eye and pelvis injuries in 2016. The pair was included in 2015 World Cup and last played together during the semi-final against England in World T20 in India last March.
In their absence so far, rookie Lockie Ferguson and Matt Henry have been exceptional in providing support to front-liners Tim Southee and Trent Boult. The four have had a decent outing at home this season, helping New Zealand win both the ODI series, one against Bangladesh and the other versus Australia.
Mike Hesson, New Zealand’s head coach, said the duo need to recover well in time and thus prove their fitness, if they seek to play in the mini World Cup in England later this year.
“Our one-day side has been relatively settled but we’ve had some pinnacle events where we’ve tried to put our best team on the park, such as the Chappell-Hadlee, but we do have some players coming back from injury as well who will need to be considered. It will be challenging because there’s not a heck of a lot of cricket for them to play, but the likes of Milne and McClenaghan will certainly have to come into consideration.”
Trent Boult, who in the past series against Australia picked up a six-wicket haul, delivered another worthy spell against South Africa in the lone T20I. In four overs, he picked up two wickets for just eight runs. And Mike Hesson labelled him and his performance as excellent.
“Trent’s been operating really well for us in the last month, he’s got a lot of confidence but to get 2 for 8 off four overs in a total of 185 is a real anomaly. He was exceptional.”
In the one-off T20 match, South Africa defeated New Zealand by 78 runs, courtesy a five-fer from Imran Tahir. Both sides will now square off in the first ODI at Hamilton on February 19.